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Upon
first glance, the idea of a "scientific romance" puzzled my mind.
I mean, to be quiet honest, both words, science and romance, have
little to do with one another. One is motivated by the mind. The other
is motivated by the heart. Add the name Einstein into the mix, and
you end up with a puzzle more complex than the theory of relativity
itself.
Dennis
Overbye, deputy science editor of The New York Times and author
of LONELY HEARTS OF THE COSMOS, has combined years of research and
study of unpublished letters to bring us his most recent release,
EINSTEIN IN LOVE: A Scientific Romance. The book provides an intimate
glimpse into the not so popular younger years of the Nobel Prize
winning physicist Albert Einstein.
It
was difficult at first to imagine Albert Einstein as a young man
in love. After all, we're talking about the guy who provided experimental
proof of the theory of relativity. After a little reading, however,
my mind began to see a young, insecure boy, who, just like most
boys his age, wanted very much to fit in.
The
book begins with Albert, age 18, writing a letter to the mother
of a young girl whose heart he had recently broken. He mentions
his faults in the letter and even promises to "mind his own business
and avoid romantic adventures" in the future. He also goes on to
say that "strenuous intellectual work and looking at God's nature
are the reconciling, fortifying, yet relentlessly strict angels
that shall lead me through all of life's troubles." Now, I've always
believed that behind every successful person there is a deep drive
that pushes them forward. It appears that Einstein was motivated,
at least in the beginning, by romantic failure. The pieces to this
puzzle of science and romance slowly began to fit together. I didn't
quiet have a full understanding of it all, but I was definitely
off to a great start.
The
book continues with a little more basic history behind Einstein's
life. His birth in 1897 is mentioned along with his well known temper
tantrums as a child, including an incident in which, during a fit
of anger, he threw a bowling ball at his younger sister Maja.
As
the book goes on, Overbye introduces Mileva Maric, a bright young
mathematician who becomes Albert's soul mate. It is this woman who
changes Einstein's life forever. This is his first true love; a
love that would prove to be quite chaotic at times but, nonetheless,
true and sacred to him. It is this love affair around which the
book revolves. A scientific romance of sorts, between two great
minds. The puzzle had been solved. I finally understood how the
two words could go together so well. Science and romance, an odd
mix indeed.
In
essence, EINSTEIN IN LOVE: A Scientific Romance is a great source
of reading for those who want more than just the basic facts found
in most biographies. Dennis Overbye provides a unique glimpse into
the love life of the popular physicist. The excerpts from actual
letters written by Einstein make for interesting reading, and the
book's structure allows for easy navigation in case you need to
go back and refresh your memory on any given topic. Most importantly,
the book provides just enough science and just enough romance to
entertain both the scientific mind and the hopeless romantic in
each of us.
--- Reviewed by Jonathan P.
Lamas
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