By the author of the acclaimed bestseller Benjamin Franklin, this is the first full biography of Albert Einstein since all of his papers have become available.How did his mind work? What made him a genius? Isaacson's biography shows how his scientific imagination sprang from the rebellious nature of his personality. His fascinating story is a testament to the connection between creativity and freedom.Based on newly released personal letters of Einstein, this book explores how an imaginative, impertinent patent clerk -- a struggling father in a difficult marriage who couldn't get a teaching job or a doctorate -- became the mind reader of the creator of the cosmos, the locksmith of the mysteries of the atom and the universe. His success came from questioning conventional wisdom and marveling at mysteries that struck others as mundane. This led him to embrace a morality and politics based on respect for free minds, free spirits, and free individuals. These traits are just as vital for this new century of globalization, in which our success will depend on our creativity, as they were for the beginning of the last century, when Einstein helped usher in the modern age.

Autorentext

Walter Isaacson is the bestselling author of biographies of Elon Musk, Jennifer Doudna, Leonardo da Vinci, Steve Jobs, Benjamin Franklin, and Albert Einstein. He is a professor of history at Tulane and was CEO of the Aspen Institute, chair of CNN, and editor of Time. He was awarded the National Humanities Medal in 2023. Visit him at Isaacson.Tulane.edu.

Inhalt

Acknowledgments Main Characters CHAPTER ONEThe Light-Beam Rider CHAPTER TWOChildhood, 1879-1896 CHAPTER THREEThe Zurich Polytechnic, 1896-1900 CHAPTER FOURThe Lovers, 1900-1904 CHAPTER FIVEThe Miracle Year: Quanta and Molecules, 1905 CHAPTER SIXSpecial Relativity, 1905 CHAPTER SEVENThe Happiest Thought, 1906-1909 CHAPTER EIGHTThe Wandering Professor, 1909-1914 CHAPTER NINEGeneral Relativity, 1911-1915 CHAPTER TENDivorce, 1916-1919 CHAPTER ELEVENEinstein's Universe, 1916-1919 CHAPTER TWELVEFame, 1919 CHAPTER THIRTEENThe Wandering Zionist, 1920-1921 CHAPTER FOURTEENNobel Laureate, 1921-1927 CHAPTER FIFTEENUnified Field Theories, 1923-1931 CHAPTER SIXTEENTurning Fifty, 1929-1931 CHAPTER SEVENTEENEinstein's God CHAPTER EIGHTEENThe Refugee, 1932-1933 CHAPTER NINETEENAmerica, 1933-1939 CHAPTER TWENTYQuantum Entanglement, 1935 CHAPTER TWENTY-ONEThe Bomb, 1939-1945 CHAPTER TWENTY-TWOOne-Worlder, 1945-1948 CHAPTER TWENTY-THREELandmark, 1948-1953 CHAPTER TWENTY-FOURRed Scare, 1951-1954 CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVEThe End, 1955 EPILOGUEEinstein's Brain and Einstein's Mind Sources Notes Index