Rating: 
Summary: Albert consumed with passion
Review: "Einstein in Love" opened a new door to the rich and immensely eventful life of one great scientist, Albert Einstein. It is quite amazing that a whole community of people are, more than before, dedicated to unravelling more about the life of Albert. Overbye's books does a lot to humanise the early years of Albert till around the early 1920s. This is the first book I have read about Albert, and I cannot compare it to other similarly-aimed books, but I can say that Overbye's account, the result of years of research, gives us lots of insight into Albert's personality: the innocence of a person who's first love was science, his numerous romances, his escapades, the Albert-Mileva menagerie, the friends he had. This books say a lot about how Albert went about constructing his view of physics, and how he managed to live in different societies. It is a must read for anyone interested in knowing more about Albert before 1920.
Rating:
Summary: Albert consumed with passion
Review: "Einstein in Love" opened a new door to the rich and immensely eventful life of one great scientist, Albert Einstein. It is quite amazing that a whole community of people are, more than before, dedicated to unravelling more about the life of Albert. Overbye's books does a lot to humanise the early years of Albert till around the early 1920s. This is the first book I have read about Albert, and I cannot compare it to other similarly-aimed books, but I can say that Overbye's account, the result of years of research, gives us lots of insight into Albert's personality: the innocence of a person who's first love was science, his numerous romances, his escapades, the Albert-Mileva menagerie, the friends he had. This books say a lot about how Albert went about constructing his view of physics, and how he managed to live in different societies. It is a must read for anyone interested in knowing more about Albert before 1920.
Rating: 
Summary: Young Einstein's Love and Work
Review: 0
After studying a large number of published and unpublished letters for a decade, Dennis Overbye, the author of another well-written book "Lonely Hearts of the Cosmos," successfully portrayed young Albert Einstein from the two sides of his personal life and scientific endeavor. In "Einstein in Love" Albert is depicted vividly as a lad who loved his former physics classmate Mileva and constantly tackled the most profound problems of physics. The author also writes in detail about the social and scientific backgrounds of the time and views of the places Albert lived in. Albert's marriage with Mileva comes to an unhappy ending. Then he marries his cousin Elsa. Albert's dark side during the years of these events does not elude Overbye's polished writing. In the section about Albert's relation to the physicist Hendrik Lorentz, the author writes, "Albert was the eternal outsider"; and at another place, "When it came to women he could be like a child." These words cogently summarize the human side of the scientific giant.A reviewer who is an expert in physics (A. J. Kox for "Physics Today") has criticized that Overbye's discussion of science is not always accurate. The present reviewer thinks that if the description of physics were made more compact, this book would have been much more absorbing. Inclusion of a chronological table might have been a good idea. It is a little disappointing that the source of citation is often of secondary nature; for example, "Bartlett's Familiar Quotations" is cited many times. However, these are only minor defects. This is a laboriously and skillfully written book to be read by all those who love passion and science and revere "Time" magazine's Man of the Century.
Rating:
Summary: Young Einstein's Love and Work
Review: 0
After studying a large number of published and unpublished letters for a decade, Dennis Overbye, the author of another well-written book "Lonely Hearts of the Cosmos," successfully portrayed young Albert Einstein from the two sides of his personal life and scientific endeavor. In "Einstein in Love" Albert is depicted vividly as a lad who loved his former physics classmate Mileva and constantly tackled the most profound problems of physics. The author also writes in detail about the social and scientific backgrounds of the time and views of the places Albert lived in. Albert's marriage with Mileva comes to an unhappy ending. Then he marries his cousin Elsa. Albert's dark side during the years of these events does not elude Overbye's polished writing. In the section about Albert's relation to the physicist Hendrik Lorentz, the author writes, "Albert was the eternal outsider"; and at another place, "When it came to women he could be like a child." These words cogently summarize the human side of the scientific giant. A reviewer who is an expert in physics (A. J. Kox for "Physics Today") has criticized that Overbye's discussion of science is not always accurate. The present reviewer thinks that if the description of physics were made more compact, this book would have been much more absorbing. Inclusion of a chronological table might have been a good idea. It is a little disappointing that the source of citation is often of secondary nature; for example, "Bartlett's Familiar Quotations" is cited many times. However, these are only minor defects. This is a laboriously and skillfully written book to be read by all those who love passion and science and revere "Time" magazine's Man of the Century.
Rating:
Summary: Young Einstein's Love and Work
Review: 0After studying a large number of published and unpublished letters for a decade, Dennis Overbye, the author of another well-written book "Lonely Hearts of the Cosmos," successfully portrayed young Albert Einstein from the two sides of his personal life and scientific endeavor. In "Einstein in Love" Albert is depicted vividly as a lad who loved his former physics classmate Mileva and constantly tackled the most profound problems of physics. The author also writes in detail about the social and scientific backgrounds of the time and views of the places Albert lived in. Albert's marriage with Mileva comes to an unhappy ending. Then he marries his cousin Elsa. Albert's dark side during the years of these events does not elude Overbye's polished writing. In the section about Albert's relation to the physicist Hendrik Lorentz, the author writes, "Albert was the eternal outsider"; and at another place, "When it came to women he could be like a child." These words cogently summarize the human side of the scientific giant.A reviewer who is an expert in physics (A. J. Kox for "Physics Today") has criticized that Overbye's discussion of science is not always accurate. The present reviewer thinks that if the description of physics were made more compact, this book would have been much more absorbing. Inclusion of a chronological table might have been a good idea. It is a little disappointing that the source of citation is often of secondary nature; for example, "Bartlett's Familiar Quotations" is cited many times. However, these are only minor defects. This is a laboriously and skillfully written book to be read by all those who love passion and science and revere "Time" magazine's Man of the Century.
Rating:
Summary: Another Winner
Review: Dennnis Overbye has been blessed with a unique talent - the ability to translated complex scientific theory into language that the thinking reader can understand. In "Lonely Hearts of the Cosmos" we read about the theory and history of cosmology along with the personal travails of one scientist an the bitter infighting among all scientists. In this non-novel novel, we are immersed into the nascent world of relativity. From its theoretical origins [thinking outside the box] we are given a review of classical physics and the theories / illuminations of the greatest scientist of this age. The scientific story advances within the framework of Einstein's personal life. It is rare that an individual can succeed in all areas of endeavor, be they love, work or play. One feels some disappointment with his personal travails and while he may appear cold or disloyal, many times great people sublimate their relationships to their passion. Unlike other intellectuals whose personal lives were a total repudiation of the their professed ideology (Marx was an utter slackard, Hellman and Brecht were serial liars, Fuller switched positions with the wind, scolding the world when they began to ignore his newest mania), Einstein never tried to impose a social scheme on others. He loved quietly as one should and made his mistakes in private, again as one should. All in all, a successful work.
Rating:
Summary: Another Winner
Review: Dennnis Overbye has been blessed with a unique talent - the ability to translated complex scientific theory into language that the thinking reader can understand. In "Lonely Hearts of the Cosmos" we read about the theory and history of cosmology along with the personal travails of one scientist an the bitter infighting among all scientists. In this non-novel novel, we are immersed into the nascent world of relativity. From its theoretical origins [thinking outside the box] we are given a review of classical physics and the theories / illuminations of the greatest scientist of this age. The scientific story advances within the framework of Einstein's personal life. It is rare that an individual can succeed in all areas of endeavor, be they love, work or play. One feels some disappointment with his personal travails and while he may appear cold or disloyal, many times great people sublimate their relationships to their passion. Unlike other intellectuals whose personal lives were a total repudiation of the their professed ideology (Marx was an utter slackard, Hellman and Brecht were serial liars, Fuller switched positions with the wind, scolding the world when they began to ignore his newest mania), Einstein never tried to impose a social scheme on others. He loved quietly as one should and made his mistakes in private, again as one should. All in all, a successful work.
Rating:
Summary: Another Winner
Review: Dennnis Overbye has been blessed with a unique talent - the ability to translated complex scientific theory into language that the thinking reader can understand. In "Lonely Hearts of the Cosmos" we read about the theory and history of cosmology along with the personal travails of one scientist an the bitter infighting among all scientists. In this non-novel novel, we are immersed into the nascent world of relativity. From its theoretical origins [thinking outside the box] we are given a review of classical physics and the theories / illuminations of the greatest scientist of this age. The scientific story advances within the framework of Einstein's personal life. It is rare that an individual can succeed in all areas of endeavor, be they love, work or play. One feels some disappointment with his personal travails and while he may appear cold or disloyal, many times great people sublimate their relationships to their passion. Unlike other intellectuals whose personal lives were a total repudiation of the their professed ideology (Marx was an utter slackard, Hellman and Brecht were serial liars, Fuller switched positions with the wind, scolding the world when they began to ignore his newest mania), Einstein never tried to impose a social scheme on others. He loved quietly as one should and made his mistakes in private, again as one should. All in all, a successful work.
Rating:
Summary: For the Love of Physics
Review: I think a biography of a scientist ought to give readers four things. First, it should explain the scientist's work and its significance. Second, it should place the scientist in the context of his times, presenting the problems with which the scientist struggled and his growing awareness of an answer. Third -- especially for a scientist as famous as Einstein -- it should humanize the subject, digging into the myths and popular perceptions to show us the soul beneath. And fourth, it should leave the nonspecialist wanting to learn more about the science. Dennis Overbye's Einstein in Love excels at all four objectives. If you know of Einstein from popular accounts, try this book. You'll learn the state of physics at the close of the 19th century, and you'll find Einstein wasn't quite the lone wolf he's often portrayed as. You'll discover a young genius living in, and ultimately shaping, interesting times. There's some excellent informal presentation of special and general relativity, and more important, you can follow along as Einstein struggles through two decades to formulate it all. But prepare for some disillusionment along the way, as Einstein's true love (physics) substitutes for lasting relationships with women, and with his children. Still, this nonspecialist left the book with an even greater appreciation for how Einstein transformed our lives. In fact, I'm so intrigued to understand that transformation fully, I may just go buy a book on tensor theory!
Rating:
Summary: An all-too-human genius
Review: In this book Overbye has adroitly blended Einstein's often-difficult personal relationships with the discoveries that made him the most celebrated scientist in a century during which there was no shortage of brilliant scientific minds. All in all, I found it one of the most engagingly-written and informative histories of science I've ever encountered. One cannot read this work without wondering how the author was able to lay his hands on, and then digest, that mountain of material -- epistolary, journalistic, and geographic. It would appear that he read hundreds and hundreds of letters and visited every locale of importance to Einstein in the first four decades of his life. I would recommend this book for anyone with an interest in knowing how scientific progress happens. Overbye's thoughfully-constructed and lucid explanations should, moreover, prove of particular value to those whose previous exposure to physics has left them with the desire for a fuller understanding of some of its more complex principles. For me, not least among this work's plusses was that it attached names that had been little more than textbook entries -- Planck's constant, Wien's law, Bohr atom, Born-Haber cycle, and many others -- to real people. Einstein's universe did, after all, include real people.
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