Reviewed
by Aristotel Pappelis
Einstein: His Life and Universe, by Walter
Isaacson, Simon & Schuster, 704 pages 04/10/2007, $32.00, ISBN: 0743264738.
I like the way he
gathered-up Einstein's beliefs and practices. Einstein wrote a friend about his
work: "I promised you four papers."... Isaacson concludes that
Einstein began to sense the significance of his work when he finished the
letter. What an impact they had on science since then. Einstein's imagination
and "faith in the harmony of nature's handiwork" makes for a great
reading time-out. The author's understanding of Einstein's definition of God
and his "religion" is carried throughout the text, bit by bit. Then
he became a determinist. "Behind all the discernible laws and connections
there remains something subtle and inexplicable." When he turns 50 he
"shows a deepening appreciation of his Jewish heritage." He displayed
a profound faith in the orderliness of the universe."... "I am a Jew,
but I am enthralled by the luminous figure of the Nazarene."For
some people, miracles serve as evidence of God's existence." Einstein felt
the absence of miracles reflected divine providence "The fact that the
cosmos is comprehensible, that it follows the laws, is worthy of awe. This is
the defining quality of a 'God who reveals himself in the harmony of all that
exists.' This is Einstein's cosmic religion." Einstein caps his beliefs:
"Everything is determined, the beginning as well as the end, by forces
over which we have no control."