ASTONISHINGLY, a century after Einstein completed the work he called 鈥渢he most valuable theory of my life鈥�, there is still plenty to write about relativity and the man who conceived it.
Among the very different but equally fascinating books is a first translation of (Cambridge University Press, 拢65). Wazeck describes how relativity sounded the death knell for a culture dominated by classical mechanics, which had been broadly tolerant of amateurs and independent scholars. The arrival of big science put paid to individual eccentrics, even as Einstein鈥檚 famous papers scotched 19th-century dreams of unifying the sciences. Relativity, it seems, had its unsung casualties.
鈥淏ig science put paid to eccentrics, as Einstein鈥檚 papers scotched dreams of unifying the sciences鈥�
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Einstein also bagged the scalp of the celebrated philosopher Henri Bergson, besting him in debate in Paris in April 1922, at a public gathering both men had gone to great lengths to avoid. Einstein鈥檚 point 鈥� that time is relative in space 鈥� engaged the attention of 鈥渆very coachman and every waiter鈥� in Europe, he wrote later. Bergson鈥檚 riposte, that there is more to time than clock time, seemed trivial in comparison.
Jimena Canales鈥檚 task in (Princeton University Press, $35) is to explain why Bergson wasn鈥檛 wrong, and why treating time as a fourth dimension is a dangerous and metaphysical convenience. Whether or not you agree, this humane and melancholy account of how two talents misunderstood each other will linger in the mind.
Far more tongue-in-cheek is Marcia Bartusiak鈥檚 (Yale University Press, $27.50), which traces black holes to a 1783 paper by English astronomer John Michell. But Einstein鈥檚 difficulty with the idea is what centres her work, and she calls his 1939 disproof of the singularity a strong candidate for the dubious distinction of being his worst scientific paper.
The irony, that Einstein sought desperately for order in a universe he had so thoroughly trashed, is not lost on Bartusiak, who packs a lot of learning into a deceptively light and enjoyable read.
Equally enjoyable, but with a very different focus, is by Steven Gimbel (Yale University Press, $25). The clue here is that the book is part of Yale鈥檚 鈥淛ewish Lives鈥� series. In a mere 191 pages, Gimbel packs it all in 鈥� science that changed the world, the personal disasters, the celebrity 鈥� and the uncomfortable reassessment of what being a Jew meant to him.
But for those who just want to engage with Einstein鈥檚 theory, there鈥檚 (Princeton University Press, $26.95), a republishing of the work Einstein intended for a popular audience. The editors are Hanoch Gutfreund and J眉rgen Renn, who, in (Princeton University Press, $35), also offer key background to a facsimile edition of 鈥淭he Foundation of General Relativity鈥�. They remind us of the charm a manuscript affords: rare glimpses into the working process of a great mind.
This article appeared in print under the headline 鈥淓instein鈥檚 worlds鈥�
