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Given the hundreds of books about Albert Einstein, it is a wonder this story has not been told. "Einstein's Jury" documents the physicist's twenty-five year struggle to win acceptance for relativity, a theory which most established scientists considered bizarre, metaphysical and incomprehensible. "Einstein's Jury" is a cliff-hanger, with author Jeffrey Crelinsten calling the play by play as we follow Einstein toehold to toehold, struggling to climb the vertical wall leading to scientific acceptance. Crelinsten holds us in suspense. The scientific debate was nasty, even before the First World War split the jury further by pouring national prejudices on the flames. Acceptance was not a foregone conclusion: Einstein's jury debated for decades. To borrow a phrase from Wellington after the battle of Waterloo, the verdict was "a damned close-run thing." Crelinsten marshals his pro- and anti-Einstein forces brilliantly, using previously unpublished papers and letters to cover the knock-downs, slight advances, reverses and ultimate success.
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Einstein's Jury: The Race to Test Relativity by Jeffrey Crelinsten
Robert Fripp, June 28, 2006
Given the hundreds of books about Albert Einstein, it is a wonder this story has not been told. "Einstein's Jury" documents the physicist's twenty-five year struggle to win acceptance for relativity, a theory which most established scientists considered bizarre, metaphysical and incomprehensible. "Einstein's Jury" is a cliff-hanger, with author Jeffrey Crelinsten calling the play by play as we follow Einstein toehold to toehold, struggling to climb the vertical wall leading to scientific acceptance. Crelinsten holds us in suspense. The scientific debate was nasty, even before the First World War split the jury further by pouring national prejudices on the flames. Acceptance was not a foregone conclusion: Einstein's jury debated for decades. To borrow a phrase from Wellington after the battle of Waterloo, the verdict was "a damned close-run thing." Crelinsten marshals his pro- and anti-Einstein forces brilliantly, using previously unpublished papers and letters to cover the knock-downs, slight advances, reverses and ultimate success.(1 of 3 readers found this comment helpful)