In 'Einstein: His Life and Universe,' energy, mass, and enlightenment

A great year could be defined as winning the Masters in your first attempt as a professional (Tiger Woods, 1997), sweeping the Oscars after a storied directing career (Martin Scorsese, 2007), or any number of impressive accomplishments, from winning the presidency to creating the iPod. If those feats count for greatness, what superlative could then be summoned to describe what Albert Einstein achieved in 1905?

In that single year, as Walter Isaacson reminds us in a new biography offering hearty helpings alike of energy, mass, and light, Einstein did the unthinkable. In a series of papers, he devised a revolutionary quantum theory of light; established once and for all the tangible existence of atoms; explained a scientific riddle of motion that had vexed scientists for the preceding 80 years; overhauled the concept of space and time; and, oh, by the way, crafted the world's best-known equation: Energy equals mass times the square of the speed of light. He was 26.

To Isaacson's credit, Einstein: His Life And Universe conveys the dizzying concepts of physics in a way most lay readers (this one certainly qualifies as that) can grasp. For example, when explaining Einstein's equation of speed and mass, he notes the enormity of converting matter into energy with powerful simplicity. The energy in the mass of one raisin, he writes, could supply most of New York City's energy needs for an entire day.

Untangling Einstein's discoveries and accomplishments require a bit of genius in itself for the scientifically challenged among us. After all, as Isaacson points out, Einstein came to symbolize the perception that modern physics operated at a level far above the heads of most people, a stark contrast to the earlier, more accessible cause-and-effect breakthroughs ushered in by Galileo, Isaac Newton, and Benjamin Franklin, among others. While everyone has at least a fuzzy knowledge of Einstein – the shock of unkempt hair, the use of his name as a synonym for genius and an enduring, iconic pop-culture familiarity – much of his basic biography is at least unexamined and probably unknown, as well, by the mainstream audience Isaacson's book targets.

It is a story, and life, every bit as remarkable as the landmark physics theories proffered by Einstein. Born to an irreligious German Jewish family, Einstein was considered anything but a synonym for brilliance as a small boy. His lack of verbal communication worried Albert's parents so much so that they consulted a doctor. Albert was past his second birthday before he began using words and a family maid dubbed him "the dopey one."

Soon enough, he would become a precocious, if rebellious, student. At 12, Albert's uncle introduced him to the Pythagorean theorem. The boy was captivated.

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