Walter Isaacson did an excellent job writing this inspiring and enlightening biography of Albert Einstein.
The book is meticulously researched and sourced, yet written in a witty and entertaining way that makes it great joy to read.
I was very pleased with the way how relevant concepts, theories, principles, notions, and experiments were introduced and explained in the book (e.
g.
, the equivalence principle, relativity of simultaneity, the Michelson-Morley experiment, Newtonian notions of absolute space and time, etc) as well as the amount of space that was given to other physicists whose work had an impact and influence on Einstein's own work (e.
g.
, Plank, Bohr, Lorentz, Minkowski, etc).
The importance of independent thinking and imagination, and having the courage to abandon the conventional wisdom when necessary, was illustrated with many great examples throughout the book (e.
g.
, Newtonian notions of space and time).
Einstein was even greater genius than he is thought to be.
His ability to come up with such ingenious thought experiments and see their many far-reaching implications on physical reality was truly astonishing.
To my delight, the book is also full of great stories illustrating Einstein's sense of humor.
My favorite story was the one that described his response to Women Patriots after they had petitioned for denying him a visa to enter the United States.
His evocation of the geese that once saved Rome gave me the biggest laugh of all.
This book is well worth the time.
A must read if you are interested in the history of physics.