Synopses & Reviews
"A stellar array of twenty historians and philosophers, artists and scientists, and writers and critics has contributed to this fascinating examination of Albert Einstein's legacy and its relevance for our times. We are presented with a multifaceted, interpretive effort to understand in novel terms Einstein's science, music, and politics, his relationship
to God and aesthetics, and his unusual position at the divide between a now-vanished world and a future that will surely retain deep traces of his unique contributions and personality."--Diana K. Buchwald, Einstein Papers Project, Caltech
"Whether serendipitously or by design, many of us have found ourselves involved in some aspect of Einstein's multifaceted legacy. This far-reaching volume of personal essays clarifies why Einstein's persona has been so seductive and so meaningful to us all."--Alice Calaprice, editor of The New Quotable Einstein
"Here is the complete Einstein: the physicist, whose many insights and achievements persist at the forefront of modern science; the man, who remained idealistic, philosophically minded, and politically engaged throughout his life; and the iconic visionary, who continues to inspire individual creativity. This is a generous book, rich with detail."--Tony Robbin, author of Shadows of Reality: The Fourth Dimension in Relativity, Cubism, and Modern Thought
"Einstein for the 21st Century is accessible to a broad readership and attractive because its distinguished authors, all experts in their disciplines, cover a very large intellectual space. There are so many fine and interesting contributions that there is something for nearly every potential reader."--Helge Kragh, University of Aarhus, Denmark
Review
"This lovely compendium of essays on Einstein's cultural impact is as stunning in its breadth as Einstein was in his science. Among the book's contributors are such luminaries as Lisa Randall and E.L. Doctorow. Browsing through this book is like eavesdropping on the reminiscences of great artists, novelists, historians, and scientists as they discuss their favorite old teachers. How remarkable, then, that they are all discussing the same man." Seed Magazine
Review
"Books on Einstein are scarcely in short supply but much of this collection feels fresh, probably because, astonishingly, Einstein's work is still, at the forefront of physics. But it's also because his life touched so many worlds outside science, including nuclear weapons, Nazi Germany, Zionism and the Arab-Israeli conflict, civil rights and the arts." Andrew Robinson, Financial Times
Review
"A remarkable volume....At turns illuminating and disorientating, this is a book that I can recommend to all those interested in that eternal enigma, Albert Einstein." Brian Foster, Physics World
Review
"There are many books written about Einstein, but this is one of the most important that this reviewer has ever read. This work clearly articulates the complex nature of this man, his thought, and this overwhelming influence on the cultural identity of much of the world, even though it has been over 50 years since his death." G. D. Oberle III, Choice
Review
"A stellar array of twenty historians and philosophers, artists and scientists, and writers and critics has contributed to this fascinating examination of Albert Einstein's legacy and its relevance for our times. We are presented with a multifaceted, interpretive effort to understand in novel terms Einstein's science, music, and politics, his relationship to God and aesthetics, and his unusual position at the divide between a now-vanished world and a future that will surely retain deep traces of his unique contributions and personality." Diana K. Buchwald, Einstein Papers Project, Caltech
Review
"Whether serendipitously or by design, many of us have found ourselves involved in some aspect of Einstein's multifaceted legacy. This far-reaching volume of personal essays clarifies why Einstein's persona has been so seductive and so meaningful to us all." Alice Calaprice, editor of The New Quotable Einstein
Review
"Here is the complete Einstein: the physicist, whose many insights and achievements persist at the forefront of modern science; the man, who remained idealistic, philosophically minded, and politically engaged throughout his life; and the iconic visionary, who continues to inspire individual creativity. This is a generous book, rich with detail." Tony Robbin, author of Shadows of Reality: The Fourth Dimension in Relativity, Cubism, and Modern Thought
Review
"Einstein for the 21st Century is accessible to a broad readership and attractive because its distinguished authors, all experts in their disciplines, cover a very large intellectual space. There are so many fine and interesting contributions that there is something for nearly every potential reader." Helge Kragh, University of Aarhus, Denmark
Review
"This book makes an entertaining, engaging and informative effort to tackle a notoriously difficult topic: Albert Einstein's influence on society and culture. Einstein is strongly associated with modernism in the public mind. But the natural impulse to portray the man himself as a modernist has always been complicated by his own conservative taste in the arts (and even, it could be argued, in the sciences)..." Daniel Kennefick, American Scientist (read the entire American Scientist review)
Synopsis
More than fifty years after his death, Albert Einstein's vital engagement with the world continues to inspire others, spurring conversations, projects, and research, in the sciences as well as the humanities.
Einstein for the 21st Century shows us why he remains a figure of fascination.
In this wide-ranging collection, eminent artists, historians, scientists, and social scientists describe Einstein's influence on their work, and consider his relevance for the future. Scientists discuss how Einstein's vision continues to motivate them, whether in their quest for a fundamental description of nature or in their investigations in chaos theory; art scholars and artists explore his ties to modern aesthetics; a music historian probes Einstein's musical tastes and relates them to his outlook in science; historians explore the interconnections between Einstein's politics, physics, and philosophy; and other contributors examine his impact on the research, projects, and conversations of our time. Uniquely cross-disciplinary, Einstein for the 21st Century serves as a testament to his legacy and speaks to everyone with an interest in his work.
The contributors are: Leon Botstein, Lorraine Daston, E. L. Doctorow, Yehuda Elkana, Yaron Ezrahi, Michael Friedman, Jurg Frohlich, Peter L. Galison, David Gross, Hanoch Gutfreund, Linda Henderson, Dudley Herschbach, Gerald Holton, Caroline Jones, Susan Neiman, Lisa Randall, Jurgen Renn, Matthew Ritchie, Silvan S. Schweber, and A. Douglas Stone.
Synopsis
More than fifty years after his death, Albert Einstein's vital engagement with the world continues to inspire others, spurring conversations, projects, and research, in the sciences as well as the humanities. Einstein for the 21st Century shows us why he remains a figure of fascination.
In this wide-ranging collection, eminent artists, historians, scientists, and social scientists describe Einstein's influence on their work, and consider his relevance for the future. Scientists discuss how Einstein's vision continues to motivate them, whether in their quest for a fundamental description of nature or in their investigations in chaos theory; art scholars and artists explore his ties to modern aesthetics; a music historian probes Einstein's musical tastes and relates them to his outlook in science; historians explore the interconnections between Einstein's politics, physics, and philosophy; and other contributors examine his impact on the innovations of our time. Uniquely cross-disciplinary, Einstein for the 21st Century serves as a testament to his legacy and speaks to everyone with an interest in his work.
The contributors are Leon Botstein, Lorraine Daston, E. L. Doctorow, Yehuda Elkana, Yaron Ezrahi, Michael L. Friedman, Jürg Fröhlich, Peter L. Galison, David Gross, Hanoch Gutfreund, Linda D. Henderson, Dudley Herschbach, Gerald Holton, Caroline Jones, Susan Neiman, Lisa Randall, Jürgen Renn, Matthew Ritchie, Silvan S. Schweber, and A. Douglas Stone.
Synopsis
"A stellar array of twenty historians and philosophers, artists and scientists, and writers and critics has contributed to this fascinating examination of Albert Einstein's legacy and its relevance for our times. We are presented with a multifaceted, interpretive effort to understand in novel terms Einstein's science, music, and politics, his relationship to God and aesthetics, and his unusual position at the divide between a now-vanished world and a future that will surely retain deep traces of his unique contributions and personality."--Diana K. Buchwald, Einstein Papers Project, Caltech
"Whether serendipitously or by design, many of us have found ourselves involved in some aspect of Einstein's multifaceted legacy. This far-reaching volume of personal essays clarifies why Einstein's persona has been so seductive and so meaningful to us all."--Alice Calaprice, editor of The New Quotable Einstein
"Here is the complete Einstein: the physicist, whose many insights and achievements persist at the forefront of modern science; the man, who remained idealistic, philosophically minded, and politically engaged throughout his life; and the iconic visionary, who continues to inspire individual creativity. This is a generous book, rich with detail."--Tony Robbin, author of Shadows of Reality: The Fourth Dimension in Relativity, Cubism, and Modern Thought
"Einstein for the 21st Century is accessible to a broad readership and attractive because its distinguished authors, all experts in their disciplines, cover a very large intellectual space. There are so many fine and interesting contributions that there is something for nearly every potential reader."--Helge Kragh, University of Aarhus, Denmark
About the Author
Peter L. Galison is the Pellegrino University Professor of the History of Science and of Physics at Harvard University.
Gerald Holton is the Mallinckrodt Research Professor of Physics and Research Professor of the History of Science at Harvard.
Silvan S. Schweber is professor emeritus of physics and the Richard Koret Professor in the History of Ideas at Brandeis University.
Table of Contents
Introduction ix
PART 1: Solitude and World
Chapter 1: Who Was Einstein? Why Is He Still So Alive? by Gerald Holton 3
Chapter 2: A Short History of Einstein's Paradise beyond the Personal by Lorraine Daston 15
Chapter 3: Einstein's Jewish Identity by Hanoch Gutfreund 27
Chapter 4: Einstein and God by Yehuda Elkana 35
Chapter 5: Einstein's Unintended Legacy: The Critique of Common-Sense Realism and Post-Modern Politics by Yaron Ezrahi 48
Chapter 6: Subversive Einstein by Susan Neiman 59
Chapter 7: Einstein and Nuclear Weapons by Silvan S. Schweber 72
PART 2: Art and World
Chapter 8: Einstein and 20th-Century Art: A Romance
of Many Dimensions by Linda Dalrymple Henderson 101
Chapter 9: Rendering Time by Caroline A. Jones 130
Chapter 10: Into the Bleed: Einstein and 21st-Century Art by Matthew Ritchie 150
Chapter 11: Einstein and Music by Leon Botstein 161
Chapter 12: Seeing the Unseen by E. L. Doctorow 176
PART 3: Science and World
Chapter 13: The Assassin of Relativity by Peter L. Galison 185
Chapter 14: Space, Time, and Geometry: Einstein and Logical Empiricism by Michael L. Friedman 205
Chapter 15: Einstein as a Student by Dudley Herschbach 217
Chapter 16: Learning from Einstein: Innovation in Science by Jürgen Renn 239
Chapter 17: Einstein and 'h: Advances in Quantum Mechanics by Jürg Fröhlich 257
Chapter 18: Einstein's Unknown Contribution to Quantum Theory by A. Douglas Stone 270
Chapter 19: Einstein and the Quest for a Unified Theory by David Gross 287
Chapter 20: Energy in Einstein's Universe by Lisa Randall 299
Notes 311
Contributors 341
Index 349