Editorial Reviews
Review
"This is pure enjoyment. The Einstein Scrapbook contains, of course, a short and good biography and concise summaries of Einstein's most famous work and his other contributions to science, as well as his involvement in world politics and peace, all of which have been covered thoroughly elsewhere and many times. But it's the photographs that make the most impact. He could be solemn and dignified and also a clown. He was more than a little an actor and this is delightfully obvious in these pictures. On looks alone Einstein could have been a supporting player in Hollywood films at any stage of his life. The humanity demonstrated here is uplifting." -- Roy Herbert, New Scientist
"An engaging kaleidoscope of documents and photographs from Einstein's personal effects. The collection provides an interesting window through which to view this icon's scientific, political, and social contributions." -- Science News
"This thinking-man's coffee-table book [is] a handsomely produced tome that pays due tribute to one of the greatest minds in history. At the very least, The Einstein Scrapbook helps answer why its subject has been the object of such other-worldly adulation. It is not just for his alleged super-human powers of mind and character qualities he shared with at least a half-dozen of his scientific contemporaries, among them Max Planck, Niels Bohr, and Enrico Fermi. As this book repeatedly makes clear, it was Einstein's very human qualities, in combination with his almost super-human intellect, that made him such an exemplary figure." -- Calev Ben-David, Jerusalem Post
"Of all the books I have read about Einstein, this is the only one that is easy and fun to read, and yet is highly informative. Ze'ev Rosenkranz teaches us about Albert Einstein, the man and his passions." -- David B. Rosenfeld, Jewish Herald Voice
" An excellent, highly accessible book... The book is profusely illustrated and contains some fine examples of Einstein's doggerels and quirky humor." -- Tom Tugend, Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles
"The Einstein Scrapbook is a brilliant book chronicling the life of a brilliant man... I applaud what Rosenkranz has accomplished: the almost impossible task of capturing the entirety of a giant of a man who is both real and an abstraction, a thinking man who moves beyond flesh and has become a concept unto himself." -- Thomas Fortenberry, Midwest Book Review
Book Description
Einstein is the personification of supreme intellect, his name synonymous with genius. His scientific theories revolutionized the way we look at reality itself. His legacy of pacificism, Zionism, and social justice continues to inspire millions of people around the world. The Einstein Scrapbook offers a unique glimpse into the life and work of this remarkable man which will delight those for whom he is a hero and those familiar with him only as an icon. Featuring illuminating documents and photographs from his personal papers -- many published here for the first time -- it provides a kaleidoscope through which to see the great scientist and humanist anew.
The book opens with an engaging and concise biography that explores Einstein's family history and education, his career as a scientist and educator, his complex marital relations, and his role as a father. In subsequent sections, The Einstein Scrapbook presents an overview of Einstein's scientific theories, from his breakthrough articles on the special theory of relativity, quantum theory, and Brownian motion published in 1905 -- his annus mirabilis -- through his revolutionary general theory of relativity in 1916 and his final quest for a unified field theory. The book also shows Einstein's role in the international peace movement and his views on social and economic justice, as well as his Jewish identity and his relationship to the Jewish people and the State of Israel, which culminated in his being offered the presidency of Israel in 1952. On the lighter side, this book chronicles Einstein's passion for music and sailing, his charming correspondence with children from around the world, and some of the curious letters he received from fans during his later years, and it concludes with a look at Einstein's mythic status. Drawn from the collection of the Hebrew University's Albert Einstein Archives, The Einstein Scrapbook perfectly reflects Einstein's brilliance, humor, generosity, and nobility.
From The Einstein Scrapbook:
"Dear Elsa,... If you were to recite the most beautiful poem ever so divinely, the joy I would derive from it would not come close to the joy I experienced when I received the mushrooms and goose cracklings you cooked."
"Dear Mother, Good news today. H. A. Lorentz has telegraphed me that the British expeditions have definitely confirmed the deflection of light by the sun. Unfortunately, Maja has written me that you're not only in a lot of pain but that you also have gloomy thoughts. How I would like to keep you company again so that you're not left to ugly brooding... Affectionately yours, Albert"
"Concern for man himself and his fate must always form the chief interest for all technical endeavors, concern for the great unsolved problems of the organization of labor and the distribution of goods--in order that the creations of our mind shall be a blessing and not a curse for mankind. Never forget this in the midst of your diagrams and equations."
"I am deeply moved by the offer from our State of Israel [to serve as President], and at once saddened and ashamed that I cannot accept it. All my life I have dealt with objective matters, hence I lack both the natural aptitude and the experience to deal properly with people and to exercise official functions. For these reasons alone I should be unsuited to fulfill the duties of that high office, even if advancing age was not making increasing inroads on my strength. I am the more distressed over these circumstances because my relationship to the Jewish people has become my strongest human bond, ever since I became fully aware of our precarious situation among the nations of the world."
"Dear Posterity, If you have not become more just, more peaceful, and generally more rational than we are (or were)--why then, the Devil take you. Having, with all respect, given utterance to this pious wish, I am (or was) Yours, Albert Einstein"
The Einstein Scrapbook
The Einstein Scrapbook,Ze'ev Rosenkranz,The Johns Hopkins University Press,0801872030,1879-1955,Archives,Biography / Autobiography,Biography/Autobiography,Einstein, Albert,,History,Physics,Relativity,Relativity Theory,Science,Scientists - General,20th century,Biography: general,Education / Elementary,Einstein, Albert,History of science,c 1800 to c 1900
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