Einstein
His Space and Times
-
-
2.0 • 1 Rating
-
-
- $17.99
-
- $17.99
Publisher Description
The commonly held view of Albert Einstein is of an eccentric genius for whom the pursuit of science was everything. But in actuality, the brilliant innovator whose Theory of Relativity forever reshaped our understanding of time was a man of his times, always politically engaged and driven by strong moral principles. An avowed pacifist, Einstein’s mistrust of authority and outspoken social and scientific views earned him death threats from Nazi sympathizers in the years preceding World War II. To him, science provided not only a means for understanding the behavior of the universe, but a foundation for considering the deeper questions of life and a way for the worldwide Jewish community to gain confidence and pride in itself.
Steven Gimbel’s biography presents Einstein in the context of the world he lived in, offering a fascinating portrait of a remarkable individual who remained actively engaged in international affairs throughout his life. This revealing work not only explains Einstein’s theories in understandable terms, it demonstrates how they directly emerged from the realities of his times and helped create the world we live in today.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Gimbel (Einstein's Jewish Science), chair of the philosophy department at Gettysburg College, provides a short, comprehensive portrait of Albert Einstein, covering both his life and scientific work. As an installment of Yale University Press's "Jewish Lives" series, the book also focuses on Einstein's understanding of himself as a Jew, despite his secular upbringing and beliefs. Gimbel doesn't minimize Einstein's flaws, revealing the "arrogance, lack of diligence, and unwillingness to follow directions" that cost him friends and jobs, as well as the politics behind the acceptance of his radical theories. In describing the latter part of Einstein's life, Gimbel demonstrates the man's personal complexity. During WWI, Einstein was a strong pacifist who wished for a "United States of Europe." He carried a Swiss passport. His horror at the Nazis and their anti-Semitism drove him not to religion but to an ethnic sense of himself as a Jew. Einstein considered himself a Zionist, though given his outspoken belief in mutual acceptance, he did not support a nation-state, particularly one that took land from non-Jewish Palestinians. Gimbel reminds readers that Einstein was as personally complex as his theories, and that he thought as deeply about sociopolitical concerns as he did scientific ones.
