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Einstein  By  cover art

Einstein

By: Walter Isaacson
Narrated by: Edward Herrmann
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Editorial reviews

Why we think it's Essential: Isaacson is the modern master of the biography, so it was only natural that he turn his pen to Einstein. And more than any biography of the past, Isaacson's account unravels the life behind the brain and provides a full picture of the man who embodied the scientific spirit of the 20th century. Edward Herrmann is stirring and moves effortlessly from humorous anecdotes to scientific theories. — Chris Doheny

Publisher's summary

Winner of the 2008 Audie Award for Biography/Memoir

How did Einstein's mind work? What made him a genius? Isaacson's biography shows how his scientific imagination sprang from the rebellious nature of his personality. His fascinating story is a testament to the connection between creativity and freedom.

Based on the newly released personal letters of Albert Einstein, Walter Isaacson explores how an imaginative, impertinent patent clerk, a struggling father in a difficult marriage who couldn't get a teaching job or a doctorate, became the mind reader of the creator of the cosmos, the locksmith of the mysteries of the atom and the universe. His success came from questioning conventional wisdom and marveling at mysteries that struck others as mundane. This led him to embrace a morality and politics based on respect for free minds, free spirits, and free individuals.

These traits are just as vital for this new century of globalization, in which our success will depend on our creativity, as they were for the beginning of the last century, when Einstein helped usher in the modern age.

It's all relative: listen to more about Albert Einstein.
©2007 Walter Isaacson. All rights reserved (P)2007 Simon and Schuster Inc. All rights reserved.

Critic reviews

  • Audie Award Winner, Biography/Memoir, 2008

"[A] lucid account." (Publishers Weekly)
"Isaacson has admirably succeeded in weaving together the complex threads of Einstein's personal and scientific life to paint a superb portrait." (Arthur I. Miller, author of Einstein, Picasso)
"Isaacson has written a crisp, engaging, and refreshing biography, one that beautifully masters the historical literature and offers many new insights into Einstein's work and life." (Diana Kormos Buchwald, General Editor of the Collected Papers of Albert Einstein)

Featured Article: The Best Biography Audiobooks to Educate, Fascinate, and Inspire


The best biographies are ranked not only by the scale and skill of their writing, but also by the strength of their subjects. In the audiobook world, these selections are also judged for the quality of their narrative performances, making those that rise to the top all the more excellent. From lighthearted entertainment to inspirational origin stories, these titles represent the best biography audiobooks now ready for your listening pleasure.

What listeners say about Einstein

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Fascinating genius

Not just the guy who decided you could split the atom, but a man who revolutionize science

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Infinitely Finite

Albert Einstein...Infinitely finite. The Movement of Grace.
Beautiful write.
A listen-to that brought great comfort.

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A very inspiring and educating book!

A very inspiring and educating book!

I now totally agree that deep biography book will charge us greatly in many ways.

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Genius, of course

Everyone knows Einstein, but knowing the whole story, as best we can with our normal brains, is surprising.

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Impeccable

Would you listen to Einstein again? Why?

Yes. There are difficult concepts that I need to ruminate on. Something I can do when I read but not when I listen.

What did you like best about this story?

The content was excellent and so was the narration.

Have you listened to any of Edward Herrmann’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No.

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Great book! Incredible Man!

Excellent book. Fascinating story of one of the most important people of the 20th century. He was literally a “living legend” for most of his life. For those of you who like a well-crafted biographies and/or enjoy science or physics—this is a must read!

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thorough and multi faceted look at his life

The biographer is a great job of bringing out the human side of Einstein, for better and worse. the narrator was also really good. just a well done project. Edifying, especially since Einstein has garnered this enigma of being beyond reproach. Somehow the book still manages to hold his accomplishments and who he was in high esteem while bringing out some of his weaknesses and faults.

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Great book.

have read it a few times now and have enjoyed it each time. The minimum word requirements on Audible are pretty damned stupid so I have added enough to post this review.

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Perfect mix of history, physics and philosophy

Would you listen to Einstein again? Why?

Not only it's a biography of one of the most notable people of the last century, but it's a very interesting look at the development of physics leading up to the atomic bomb.
It also covers quite a bit of science history and many notable scientists for that period since Einstein was in a middle of much of it. All this with a backdrop of late 19th/early 20h centuries, word war one, word war two, and the postwar America. Add in some surprising influence of philosophy on Einstein's thinking and even the politics he was involved in and I found to be very interesting and captivating reading.

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Loved it!

The reader was good, the story was good, and eventhough it got a bit technical about the covariance issues in the tensors einstein was using and this might annoy the layman, it didn't detract from the overall experience. And the mathematically literate will not be too offended by the authors obvious unfamiliarity with said issues. It was a bit funny too.

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