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Isaacson uses simple examples to convey esoteric principles and manages not to alienate readers who may have avoided science classes. Einstein wasn’t a lab man, so he invited others to prove his theories. Ten years later he introduced the theory of general relativity, on the effects of gravity on light. The most controversial posited the theory of specific relativity, which dealt with the speed of light and energy’s effect on a particle of matter. Ten years later, in 1905, the fruits of that imagination would produce four scientific papers that would transform Isaac Newton-based physics. Einstein once described how, at age 16, “he imagined what it would be like to ride alongside a light beam.” His mind simply went places no others had gone, particularly when figuring out what makes our universe tick.

He had a nonconformist streak and a soaring imagination that allowed him, in today’s jargon, to think outside the box. He loved Mozart almost as much as he loved physics and played the violin well. “Looking back at a century that will be remembered for its willingness to break classical bonds, and looking ahead to an era that seeks to nurture the creativity needed for scientific innovation, one person stands out as a paramount icon of our age: the kindly refugee from oppression whose wild halo of hair, twinkling eyes, engaging humanity and extraordinary brilliance made his face a symbol and his name a synonym for genius,” writes Isaacson, bringing to life the human side of the scientist.Įinstein lived a full, lustrous life. Isaacson, the former Time managing editor and current columnist who has biographies on Benjamin Franklin and Henry Kissinger to his credit, writes with clarity in explaining the physics of Einstein’s era and beyond, making the book an accessible, fascinating account of one of the 20th century’s greatest figures.Įinstein was born in 1879 in Munich, and died in 1955 in Princeton, N.J. You won’t need to recall high school physics and geometry to grasp Einstein’s soaring concepts, which changed the study of the science and provided the seedling for the atom bomb.

Like its subject, Walter Isaacson’s ambitious biography of Albert Einstein radiates intelligence, wit and eloquence.