Einstein in Love: A Scientific Romance

From Barnes & Noble

Forget the archetypal image of the shock of white hair crowning the lauded public genius -- Dennis Overbye, author of Lonely Hearts of the Cosmos, tells the story of Einstein as a young rebel and heartbreaker, paying particular attention to Einstein's passionate, troubled marriage to his first wife, Mileva.

San Francisco Chronicle

...meticulously researched and beautifully written...[Overbye] humanizes a legend and reminds readers that even icons have dark sides.

Sciences

The recipe for a successful popular science book...is to have either Einstein or sex on the cover. Einstein in Love has both...

KLIATT

This New York Times Notable Book of the Year is a fascinating look at how Einstein the fallible man became Einstein the superhuman icon. There's as much science as exploration of Einstein's problematic first marriage and the parts each played in the development of the man and scientist. Subtitled "A Scientific Romance," the romance is as much about Albert and science as Albert and his young scientist bride. How great people became great is always a wonderful subject for young people. This book is clearly written and scrupulously researched, but it is not an easy book to dip into for research. A must read for teachers of physics, a potential read for sophisticated secondary school students. Readers who put in the time will learn a great deal about how 20th-century physics developed and the lives of some of the scientists who made it happen. Category: Biography & Personal Narrative. KLIATT Codes: A—Recommended for advanced students, and adults. 2000, Penguin, 416p. notes. bibliog. index., $15.00. Ages 17 to adult. Reviewer: Daniel J. Levinson; History & English Teacher, Thayer Acad., Braintree SOURCE: KLIATT, March 2002 (Vol. 36, No. 2)

Library Journal

Through objective research and excellent writing, Overbye (Lonely Hearts of the Cosmos) succeeds in creating a captivating portrait of Einstein's marriage to Mileva Maric, his first wife, and of their world. Einstein as lover, spouse, and father is fully drawn, and the picture is not flattering; he was by turns manipulative, mean-spirited, petty, and philandering. Throughout, we see the scientist in love with physics and himself, usually to the detriment of his family. While the picture of the family, including an illegitimate daughter, is not as fresh, Overbye does give a thorough account of Maric and the contributions she made as a scientist in her own right to Einstein's work. What makes the book especially interesting, however, is the context it provides: the bulk of the text comprises a thorough examination of the couple's scientific, social, and educational milieu and the discoveries made in science preceding and during Einstein's early years, when he did his greatest work. Overbye's grasp of the science results in a masterpiece of writing. Lay readers will close this book finally understanding what a marvelous and tempestuous time it was for scientists during those years--and what a rogue Einstein was at home. Recommended for all collections, particularly history of science collections. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 10/15/99.]--Michael D. Cramer, Raleigh, NC Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.\

Michael Fowler

[In] Einstein in Love Mr. Overbye has taken the many hundreds of letters and Einstein's publications as a base and added an impressive amount of his own research. He has interviewed dozens of descendants of those close to Einstein and apparently every place that Albert or Mileva ever lived in or visited. The result, written in breezy prose, is a convincing picture of the young Albert enjoying life and science (at least most of the time) in Switzerland, and later in Prague and Berlin, in the early years of the 20th century.... this is a good and an interesting book. The science is on the whole fairly well explained, the errors being mostly in peripheral material. More important is the full, rich account of Albert Einstein's personal life, a healthy corrective to the popular myth of the cosmic saint. At the end of the book, there is no doubt in the reader's mind that he was all too human.
—New York Times

Scientific American Editors

Overbye's book is a rich and absorbing account of Einstein's scientific work in the first two decades of the 20'th century and his family life from childhood onward. Oberbye is excellent at describing the great man's work...Overbye sias that his "goal has been to bring the youthful Einstein to life, to illuminate the young man who performed the deeds for which the old man, the icon, is revered." He has done that admirably.

Kirkus Reviews

An expertly crafted account of the life, loves, and science of Einstein during the first two decades of the 20th century.