Albert Einstein: A Biography

"(Folsing) provides a nuanced, nonjudgmental personal portrait resting firmly on prodigious archival work. Albert Einstein allows us to see deeply into (his) inner world". -- Alan Lightman, The New York Review of BooksThe name of Albert Einstein has become synonymous with supreme wisdom and benignity. Not only was he responsible for the fundamental remapping of our understanding of the physical cosmos, he also left a legacy of outspokenness on the crucial moral, political, and religious issues of the twentieth century. Drawing on an unprecedented number of sources, Albrecht Folsing throws into fresh relief the remarkable life of Einstein, approaching the man through the science and situating him in the creatively charged times in which he thrived. Albert Einstein is both an engaging portrait of a genius and a distillation of scientific thought. Folsing sheds light on Einstein's development and the complexity of his being: his childhood idiosyncrasies, his views on war and peace, his stimulating friendships with colleagues, and his intense relationships with women. This is a serious yet highly readable and intimate account of the genius who expanded our understanding of nature and of the singular man who played such an exceptional role in the cultural growth of this century. "A provocative portrait...Folsing is painstaking and thorough in his research, taking us step-by-step through the crystallization of Einstein's thoughts". -- The Washington Post Book World "The best recent treatment of Einstein's life in and out of science". -- The Boston Book Review "Richly detailed...(Folsing) has managed to bring a fresh tint to this iconic figure of modern science". -- San FranciscoChronicle