Einstein:

His Life and Universe

By Walter Isaacson
675 pp. Simon & Schuster, 2007 $32.00

Reviewed by Tabitha Thompson

We all know him. Einstein, the icon of genius. Grizzled shock of silver-white hair, German accent, mustache, famously photographed sticking his tongue out at the world. We’ve heard the well-worn story of how he failed math, but later came up with the theory of relativity. The sweet old genius we all know.

Or do we?

In fact, not only did Einstein not fail math, he had mastered calculus before the age of fifteen. He continued to be an excellent student, albeit one whose ideas were nonconformist. He considered concepts that could only exist if one refuted basic physical laws that Newton had established. At the Zurich Polytechnic his professor rejected his graduate research proposals until Einstein chose a staid, bland topic—his professor’s specialty—to fulfill the assignment.

Author Walter Isaacson shows that it was his rebellious nature that was the core of his genius. It made it possible for him to reject such universal truths as the “law” of absolute time.

Isaacson gives a more intimate portrait of Einstein than most have offered, which is understandable given that Isaacson was the first to read Einstein’s most personal papers, which were released to the public in 2006. He paints a portrait of a man who had the persistence of a bulldog for physics, but little patience for the people closest to him. For while he was willing to ruminate on his theory of special relativity for a decade and chased a unified field theory for 30 years, he brought a quick end to difficult relationships.

When his marriage became strained Einstein delivered a contract to his wife with a “cold scientific approach.” It read, in part:

Conditions.

1. You will make sure

1. that my clothes and laundry are kept in good order;
2. That I will receive my three meals regularly in my room;

3. You will obey the following points in your relations with me:

1. you will not expect any intimacy from me, nor will you reproach me in any way;
2. you will stop talking to me if I request it

And yet, he was also deeply compassionate for people on the larger level. Einstein was a humanist and a pacifist. In spite of his rebelliousness against control and authority, he was indeed the “kindly and gentle professor, distracted at times but unfailingly sweet, who wandered about lost in thought, helped children with their homework, and rarely ... wore socks.” He also stood up for various causes of human rights and democracy whenever he could. Isaacson also peppers this biography with nuggets of Einstein’s political wisdom, much of which seem prophetic in relation to current events.

Part literary nonfiction work, part historical narrative, part physics primer, Isaacson’s Einstein is delivered in a conversational style. The complexities in Einstein’s life, his work, his theories, his relationships, his activism and pacifism, his kindness and his cruelty are brought to light by Isaacson's narrative which weaves scenes and information in such a way as to make it feel less like a reconstruction and more like a modern novel.

Taking the icon off his pedestal takes away some of the awe one has for Einstein as genius. And it instills awe for Einstein as human, the very flawed man who struggled throughout much of his life, but managed to uncover some of the wonders of the universe.

Read our Etude Q&A with Walter Isaacson.