| Publication Overview Physics World, December 2005
When the idea for an International Year of Physics to mark the centenary of Einstein's five great papers was first mooted, it was not hard to imagine that publishers would want to get in on the act. Sure enough, 2005 has seen a steady flow of new and re-released books about the great physicist, ranging from Einstein's Miraculous Year to Einstein for Dummies. But of all the books about Einstein that have passed through the Physics World office during the last 12 months, Einstein: A Hundred Years of Relativity is by far and away the most appealing.
Presented in a glossy, coffee-table format, the book contains material on all aspects of Einstein's scientific work and private life, including 11 highly readable essays by the likes of Steven Weinberg (on Einstein's search for unification), Philip Anderson (on Einstein's scientific legacy) and Stephen Hawking (a brief history of relativity). Other chapters look at Einstein's love letters, his status as an icon as science, and his troubled links with Germany during the Nazi era.
Composer and performer Philip Glass examines Einstein's love of music, while Max Jammer tackles Einstein's religious views. There is an extract from Einstein's own Autobiographical Notes, as well as a preface by Freeman Dyson. The book also contains what was probably the last article ever written by Joseph Rotblat, who died earlier this year. Rotblat, who shared the 1995 Nobel Peace Prize, writes about Einstein’s quest for global peace, pointedly warning that "the threat of a nuclear holocaust is still with us".
Best of all, though, is that the book has been published in association with the Hebrew University of Jerusale, which owns the copyright to many of the most famous photos of Einstein. It is therefore filled with a myriad of familiar and not-so-familiar images, including three rare colour photos of Einstein taken in his later life. There are also facsimile reproductions from some of his many papers, as well as a copy of his 1896 graduation certificate from his school in Aarau, Switzerland, proving that he got a "6" (the top mark) in physics.
Matin Durrani
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