Einstein

His Life and Universe

By: Walter Isaacson

Narrated by: Edward Herrmann

Length: 21 hrs and 30 mins

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)

There is a God

Perhaps Short of proving there is a God, Einstein comes pretty close! When comparing today’s geniuses, such as Elon musk, or Jeff Bezos, Einstein stands clear with his humility and gentleness.

Stay Curious!

Asking questions, finding answers, realizing there are more questions, this is the key to being passionately curious, learning and potentially doing incredible things.

Rec’d cuz we like Sci-Fi

The physics is way over my head
But then they explain it
And I understand
What an incredible life
What incredible contributions to science & humanity
I love biographies & history
Highly recommend this book

Personal and Insightful

The book gave a good level of insight into Einstein's personality and personal life. At the same time Einstein's contrios in theoretical physics and his philosophy and politics are also covered as well.
Overall it was an enjoyable listen.

Fascinating, but get the abridged version

I found Einstein's life story fascinating, but I vastly underestimated how long it would take to get through the full 21 hours. There was so much detail at times that it became a chore to listen to. I'd recommend the book, but do yourself a favor and get the abridged version instead.

Entertaining, illustrating, great listen!

Would you consider the audio edition of Einstein to be better than the print version?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Although I listened to it and did not read it, I am quite sure that the excellent narration added to the great experience that this book turned out to be.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Without a doubt, the subject of the biography, who was quite a special being although quite human and imperfect. We get to make the acquientance of some of the other luminaries of the world of science and politics through the book. We also meet the women in his life whom he did not always treat as well as he could have. I was very surprised to learn that regardless of his eccentricities, Einstein was quite a magnet to the opposite sex.

Which scene was your favorite?

There are many memorable scenes in Einstein's remarkable life. This was a book of "great thoughts" rather than scenes. Einstein's way of seeing the world and how it was central to his contributions to humanity was what interested me most going into this book and the biographer did an excellent job in describing something so elusive.

Any additional comments?

Be prepared for passages on relativity and quantum physics that are perhaps a bit more detailed than some would prefer. One must say that the author did a superlative job at explaining both, at least at a level that would help the reader appreciate the complexity of both principles and how they remain revolutionary today.

Einstein

Very good book. The only thing I had hoped for and didn't get was more about the spiritual side. I understand through people who knew him that Einstein was very interested in contemplative religion, spirituality and the nature of God, but this book doesn't connect on that level.

Still, a good listen.

Great!

This is the third book by Walter Isaacson that I have listened to. Like the the other two, it was highly informative, well-written, and insightful. The author does a great job of explaining complex scientific concepts without talking down to the reader. The narration was excellent.

Still the greatest

I always liked Albert. Since I was a young boy, I always considered him to be the greatest man that ever lived. I did know many things about his live, but in this book I found a few more. It provided a different vision of the man, finding out things about his personality provides a different incite about the full picture of his life. This is a good book, make sure you like him enough, it is a long reading, but the time passes quickly. It's all relative i guess.

Perfect except...

something, I don't know what, seemed to be missing. Perhaps it was Einstein's voice. It may not be the fault of the reader, but for whatever reason, I kept having a hard time visualizing Einstein. I enjoyed the history and analysis, though I did have some trouble following the theoretical parts (perhaps because I didn't work at it too hard; I'm sure those who know a little physics would find it easier; otherwise, if you hear it as I did, the book is still interesting in explaining Einstein both academically and socially.