Einstein: A Biography

Science News,  August 4, 2007  

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EINSTEIN: A Biography JURGEN NEFFE

In translator Shelley Frisch's newly published English version of a 2005 German best seller, readers gain insight into the personal and professional lives of Albert Einstein--a man of enormous intelligence who had a surprisingly childlike personality. Neffe, a science journalist, documents Einstein's triumphs. The author also reveals the lesser-known struggles faced by this revolutionary academic, who fled Nazi Germany to accept a position at Princeton University. Einstein had his shortcomings. For example, he never gained a full command of the English language and, more important, never completed his work on a unified theory. During his lifetime, his reputation was mixed: The U.S. government put him under surveillance for potential communist activity while others praised his work on the atomic bomb. Neffe uses Einstein's letters to his first wife and sons to profile the physicist's personal life. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2007, 461 p., b&w plates, $30.00.

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