Overview

""What Bodanis does brilliantly is to give us a feel for Einstein as a person. I don't think I've ever read a book that does this as well . . . Whenever there's a chance for storytelling, Bodanis triumphs."" --Popular Science ""Fascinating."" --Forbes Widely considered the greatest genius of all time, Albert Einstein revolutionized our understanding of the cosmos with his general theory of relativity and helped lead us into the atomic age. Yet in the final decades of his life, he was ignored by most working scientists, and his ideas were opposed by even his closest friends. How did this happen? Best-selling biographer David Bodanis traces the arc of Einstein's life--from the skeptical, erratic student to the world's most brilliant physicist to the fallen-from-grace celebrity. An intimate biography in which ""theories of the universe morph into theories of life"" (Times, London), Einstein's Greatest Mistake reveals what we owe Einstein today--and how much more he might have achieved if not for his all-too-human flaws.

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9781328745521

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A Sunday Times Science Book of the Year (UK) One of ABC News' Top Five Science Books of 2016 (Australia) Einstein's Greatest Mistake is a pleasure... Bodanis gives voice to the women in Einstein's life, reflecting on their perspectives and quoting them when possible. Bodanis is nonjudgmental, albeit wistful that Einstein didn't accomplish more... [he] achieves a thoroughly engaging and illuminating read. --Shelf Awareness An intimate biography touching on the romances and rivalries of the celebrated physicist, as much as on his scientific goals, Einstein's Greatest Mistake reveals what we owe Einstein today - and how much more he might have achieved if not for his all-too-human flaws. --Bookreporter The most fascinating aspect of London-based journalist David Bodanis' biography Einstein's Greatest Mistake is in revealing just how much of Einstein's early success was related to his own dogged perseverance... [Bodanis] recounts the details of Einstein's inspiration and work on the General Theory of Relativity in clear terms and with more historical context than what is usually found in textbooks. --Forbes This perceptive biography shows how a genius fell out of favour with the scientific world. --Sunday Times (UK), Science Book of the Year While we now remember Einstein for his early success and have reinvented him as a meme with crazy hair and sticking his tongue out, [Einstein's Greatest Mistake] reminds us to go beyond the cliche and remember the human -- flawed, hubristic and alone -- but no less the greatest genius of the modern age. ?--ABC News (Australia), Top Five Science Books of 2016 The author's style is highly entertaining. The composition of the manuscript, interweaving stories of people, of scientific principles, of Einstein's forward vision and troubling challenges, form a narrative that science readers will admire. For anyone interested in the greatest scientist of our time, this book should be required reading. --Astronomy Magazine What Bodanis does brilliantly is to give us a feel for Einstein as a person. I don't think I've ever read a book that does this as well... Whenever there's a chance for storytelling, Bodanis triumphs. --Popular Science A wonderful exposition of the life of Einstein... It comes... with Bodanis' talent for explaining the maths and science of Einstein's work. But the best part is the real feel it gives of Einstein the man, and his thinking. --Cosmos I urge you to buy David Bodanis's new book Einstein's Greatest Mistake...it's a wonderful, fresh and readable take on one of the most fascinating lives in science. --Tim Harford, bestselling author of The Undercover Economist An admiring but critical biography finds the great genius guilty of inflexible thinking in his later years. --The Observer Bodanis has... [an] extraordinary ability to explain complicated physics... Bodanis is a lot like Einstein--minus the great mistake. Both see fun in physics, both love simplicity and brevity. In this book, theories of th

A Sunday Times Science Book of the Year (UK) One of ABC News' Top Five Science Books of 2016 (Australia) Einstein's Greatest Mistake is a pleasure... Bodanis gives voice to the women in Einstein's life, reflecting on their perspectives and quoting them when possible. Bodanis is nonjudgmental, albeit wistful that Einstein didn't accomplish more... [he] achieves a thoroughly engaging and illuminating read. --Shelf Awareness An intimate biography touching on the romances and rivalries of the celebrated physicist, as much as on his scientific goals, Einstein's Greatest Mistake reveals what we owe Einstein today - and how much more he might have achieved if not for his all-too-human flaws. --Bookreporter The most fascinating aspect of London-based journalist David Bodanis' biography Einstein's Greatest Mistake is in revealing just how much of Einstein's early success was related to his own dogged perseverance... [Bodanis] recounts the details of Einstein's inspiration and work on the General Theory of Relativity in clear terms and with more historical context than what is usually found in textbooks. --Forbes This perceptive biography shows how a genius fell out of favour with the scientific world. --Sunday Times (UK), Science Book of the Year While we now remember Einstein for his early success and have reinvented him as a meme with crazy hair and sticking his tongue out, [Einstein's Greatest Mistake] reminds us to go beyond the cliche and remember the human -- flawed, hubristic and alone -- but no less the greatest genius of the modern age. ?--ABC News (Australia), Top Five Science Books of 2016 The author's style is highly entertaining. The composition of the manuscript, interweaving stories of people, of scientific principles, of Einstein's forward vision and troubling challenges, form a narrative that science readers will admire. For anyone interested in the greatest scientist of our time, this book should be required reading. --Astronomy Magazine What Bodanis does brilliantly is to give us a feel for Einstein as a person. I don't think I've ever read a book that does this as well... Whenever there's a chance for storytelling, Bodanis triumphs. --Popular Science A wonderful exposition of the life of Einstein... It comes... with Bodanis' talent for explaining the maths and science of Einstein's work. But the best part is the real feel it gives of Einstein the man, and his thinking. --Cosmos I urge you to buy David Bodanis's new book Einstein's Greatest Mistake...it's a wonderful, fresh and readable take on one of the most fascinating lives in science. --Tim Harford, bestselling author of The Undercover Economist An admiring but critical biography finds the great genius guilty of inflexible thinking in his later years. --The Observer Bodanis has... [an] extraordinary ability to explain complicated physics... Bodanis is a lot like Einstein--minus the great mistake. Both see fun in physics, both love simp

Bodanis is a lot like Einstein--minus the great mistake. Both see fun in physics, both love simplicity and brevity. --The Times (UK) Fascinating. --Forbes Highly entertaining...This book should be required reading. --Astronomy Magazine A thoroughly engaging and illuminating read. --Shelf Awareness Named Science Book of the Year by the Sunday Times (UK) Widely considered the greatest genius of all time, Albert Einstein revolutionized our understanding of the cosmos with his general theory of relativity and helped lead us into the atomic age. Yet in the final decades of his life, he was ignored by most working scientists, and his ideas were opposed by even his closest friends. How did this happen? In Einstein's Greatest Mistake, best-selling biographer David Bodanis shows how Einstein's imagination, self-confidence, and astonishing early successes paved the way for his greatest failure: his inability to accept the truth of quantum physics, one of the most significant scientific discoveries of his age. An intimate biography in which theories of the universe morph into theories of life (The Times), Einstein's Greatest Mistake reveals what we owe Einstein today, and how much more he might have achieved if not for his all-too-human flaws.

Bodanis is a lot like Einstein--minus the great mistake. Both see fun in physics, both love simplicity and brevity. --The Times (UK) Fascinating. --Forbes Highly entertaining...This book should be required reading. --Astronomy Magazine A thoroughly engaging and illuminating read. --Shelf Awareness Named Science Book of the Year by the Sunday Times (UK) Widely considered the greatest genius of all time, Albert Einstein revolutionized our understanding of the cosmos with his general theory of relativity and helped lead us into the atomic age. Yet in the final decades of his life, he was ignored by most working scientists, and his ideas were opposed by even his closest friends. How did this happen? In Einstein's Greatest Mistake, best-selling biographer David Bodanis shows how Einstein's imagination, self-confidence, and astonishing early successes paved the way for his greatest failure: his inability to accept the truth of quantum physics, one of the most significant scientific discoveries of his age. An intimate biography in which theories of the universe morph into theories of life (The Times), Einstein's Greatest Mistake reveals what we owe Einstein today, and how much more he might have achieved if not for his all-too-human flaws.

Author Information

DAVID BODANIS taught for many years at Oxford University and has written numerous books, including E=mc2, an international bestseller that was translated into two dozen languages and long-listed for the Samuel Johnson Prize.

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