Free Creations of the Human Mind
The Worlds of Albert Einstein
Michael D Gordin author Diana Kormos Buchwald author
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Oxford University Press Inc
Publishing:28th Aug '25
£14.99
This title is due to be published on 28th August, and will be despatched as soon as possible.
A nuanced portrait of Albert Einstein, a world citizen pivotally engaged in politics, humanitarianism, and science. Albert Einstein (1879-1955) was the most influential scientist of the twentieth century, and his influence shows little sign of abating. His work comprises of much of today's understanding of the structure of the microphysical and cosmic universes. Einstein was a man of the modern world, faced with intellectual and existential challenges of extraordinary magnitude, a working scientist immersed in epochal theories of special relativity, the quantum theory, but also in organizational activities and teaching at Princeton's Institute for Advanced Study. More than any other past scientist, Einstein still pervades popular iconography and has come to symbolize genius, creativity, and innovation infused with humanism, wisdom, and humor. His life is interconnected with so many of the important political and intellectual movements of his era - Zionism, pacifism, Nazism, nuclear weapons, philosophy, civil rights, McCarthyism, the League of Nations, and more- that his views shaped the world he lived in while his persona acquired a formidable patina deposited by generations of apocryphal mythmaking, both during and after his lifetime. Free Creations of the Human Mind: The Worlds of Albert Einstein presents a concise and nuanced account of Einstein's life and work embedded in his intellectual and social contexts, based on the substantial discoveries made through the study of his tremendous personal archive and several generations of assiduous scholarship. By disentangling the public persona from the private man, the rhetorical statement from the heartfelt conviction, this book shows Einstein as a man of the modern world, faced with intellectual and existential challenges of extraordinary magnitude, whose life was framed by turbulent, violent historical events.
Albert Einstein lived a life of soaring scientific creativity. He also witnessed, and responded to, some of the most searing developments of modern times: world wars, the rise of Nazism, and the nuclear age. This remarkable book traces how the efforts of Einstein's life hung together. * David Kaiser, Germeshausen Professor of Physics and the History of Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology *
Written in lucid, accessible prose and resting on deep knowledge of the man and his multiple engagements, Free Creations of the Human Mind convincingly challenges received wisdom concerning his scientific creativity and ideas about relativity and quantum theory. It discerningly probes the impact of antisemitism on his attitudes towards Israel and civil rights, of war and the atomic bomb on his pacifism and support for an open world order. A wholly enthralling and informative book. * Daniel J. Kevles, Professor Emeritus of History, Yale University, and author of The Physicists: the History of A Scientific Community in Modern America *
Someone might think there is nothing new to say about Einstein, but that is wrong. This short book is a treasure for both the Einstein beginner and the devoted scholar. The reader learns not only the basics of Einstein's scientific worlds, centered on quantum and relativity theories, but also the contours of his worlds as German, Jew, Zionist, American, internationalist, public citizen, and celebrity icon. Writing in a highly engaging manner, Buchwald and Gordin also convincingly show the relevance of Einstein's commitments for today's science and politics. * Mary Jo Nye, Professor Emerita of History, Oregon State University *
[This] brief, appealing book discusses the general theory of relativity and quantum theory, but is preoccupied mainly with Albert Einstein's life, personality and philosophy, especially his complex relationship with war - including the design of the atomic bomb - and pacifism. * Andrew Robinson, Nature *
Delightfully short, the sort of thing you could binge over a weekend for a dose of comfort and courage ... a brief yet intimate portrait that nevertheless captures the many facets of Einstein as a human being. * Urmila Chadayammuri, Nature Astronomy *
ISBN: 9780197678190
Dimensions: 201mm x 132mm x 25mm
Weight: 295g
152 pages