Albert Einstein: Physicist, Philosopher, Humanitarian

By: Don Howard, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Don Howard

These 24 lectures present a wide-ranging intellectual exploration of this iconic scientist, genius, and champion of social justice. More than just a biography of Einstein's life, Albert Einstein provides you with an inside look at how this brilliant thinker arrived at his various revolutionary breakthroughs.

According to Professor Howard, retracing the thought processes that led to Einstein's ideas is the key to understanding them. Guided by him, you'll reason your way to historic insights such as these: Light has both wave- and particle-like properties; absolute space and absolute time are meaningless concepts; and gravity is caused by the curvature of space-time. Each of these ideas sparked a scientific revolution. The first led to quantum physics; the second and third are conclusions from the special and general theories of relativity, which this lecture series explains in nontechnical detail.

In addition to the groundbreaking scientific concepts, you'll learn how Einstein's dynamic life reflected a range of interests and passions that extended into fields like religion, international relations, and social justice. Indeed, as you'll discover, Einstein frequently engaged with many of the leading social and political issues of his day.

These lectures are the perfect introduction to Einstein, putting his scientific discoveries into the context of his personal life, his philosophical views, and his outlook on the world. By the final lecture, you'll have become better acquainted with the whole Einstein: his ideas, his thought processes, and his impact on both his own time and ours.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2008 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2008 The Great Courses

Enjoyed & Learned

So much enjoyable new-to-me information on this incredible man. I highly recommend this for anyone who has even the smallest interest in physics. I reccomend it even more highly for anyone who has even the smallest (and hopefully greater than that) interest in humanitarianism.

There is a lot in this story!

I have always simply thought of Einstein as a great physicist, but it's amazing to learn about the menu dimensions of this extraordinary man! Really, really interesting listen!

A great story

An absolutely comprehensive overview of Albert Einstein’s life. I strongly recommend it to get a better view of the whole man.

Wonderful! Educational!

A very comprehensive look at Einstein's life, his impact on science, history, and culture. The professor was passionate and articulate. Einstein's theories were explained so the common man could understand them. I hated to come to the end of this lecture series. Well done!

A great book about a great man...

I really enjoyed this book. I learned so many things about this great man that I never new before. I highly recommend this book to everyone.