Annus Mirabilis: 1905, Albert Einstein, and the Theory of Relativity

Science News, June 18, 2005

ANNUS MIRABIMS: 1905, Albert Einstein, and the Theory of Relativity MARY GRIBBIN AND JOHN GRIBBIN

By 1905, Albert Einstein had given up on university life, failed at teaching, and taken a job as a junior patent clerk to feed his wife and newborn child. And this was the year of his greatest achievements, in that year, Einstein punished the three papers that laid out what would become known as the theory of relativity. Gribbin and Gribbin concentrate on 1905, but they also describe both the personal and intellectual turmoil in Einstein's life before and shortly after his miracle year. With this focus, the book is unique among Einstein biographies. Fully half of the text here is by Einstein himself: "The Theory of Relativity," his 1916 compilation and revision of the three famous papers. This section, while complex, is remarkably inviting to nonphysicist readers. Included with the book is a time line of Einstein's life and a DVD of an hour-long Einstein biography produced by the A&E network. Chamberlain Bros., 2005, 320 p., DVD, hardcover, $25.95.