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

Isaacson frames the scientist's theories in a narrative of wonder and pursuit of freedom.

from the April 10, 2007 edition

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Around the same time, Einstein, immersed in the wonders of science, reached the conclusion that biblical stories could not be true. He eschewed orthodox religious practices for the rest of his life. At the same time, Einstein often referred to the harmony and beauty of what he called the mind of God.

Einstein fought conformity and authority throughout his life, religious and otherwise. "A foolish faith in authority is the first enemy of truth," he once said.

He also retained a childlike sense of wonder, which, in combination with his otherworldly intellect and singular focus, led to greatness.

While Einstein met scientific complications with dogged determination and flexible thinking, his response to personal affairs proved more relative both in theory and in practice. Scientific concerns often overwhelmed his personal life. His first marriage, to a brooding college classmate who boasted neither looks nor personality, devolved into a bitter, estranged relationship. It compromised not only the marriage, but also Einstein's relationship with his two sons.

He carried on a number of affairs and later married his cousin, Elsa. Though kind-hearted and open with the public, Einstein's close relationships were often difficult and messy. He constantly sought refuge in his work.

The influence of growing up in a rigid Germany, with its suffocating sense of order, inculcated a lifelong streak of anti-nationalism, pacifism, and a fierce belief in free speech.

It is fitting, then, that an unorthodox, imaginative thinker such as Einstein would long be locked out of academia. Upon graduation, he struggled to find a job before finally landing employment in the Swiss patent office. Unshackled from the constraints of academic life, Einstein instead found himself surrounded each day by all manner of ideas. Even the physical surroundings of the Bern patent office – trains and large clock towers – would figure into Einstein's thinking as he worked through complex considerations of the laws of physics.

In 1933, Einstein came to America, where he spent his final two decades. By that time, his was one of the most famous faces in the world. Although Einstein suggested exploration of an atomic bomb in a 1939 letter to President Roosevelt, he played no role in the Manhattan Project and was horrified by its ramifications.

In the wake of the atomic bombings in Japan, Einstein spent his final decade publicly calling for a unified world government and an end to violence.

In other words, Einstein's approach to political instability was the same as his exploration of physical incongruities: He sought unity and aimed for improbable, wildly creative solutions.

Or, as Isaacson puts it, "Albert Einstein was a locksmith blessed with imagination and guided by a faith in the harmony of nature's handiwork."

• Erik Spanberg is a freelance writer in Charlotte, N.C.

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