Today’s Post by Joe Farace
“Some books should be tasted, some devoured, but only a few should be chewed and digested thoroughly.” ―
Today’s Post by Joe Farace
In 2020, 750 million books were sold—not just published—and as I mentioned here before, only a few are read widely. Publisher’s Weekly reports that print book sales rose more than 8.9% since the start of the pandemic in 2020. One the other hand, non-fiction book sales have fallen by 2 percent since 2019, while fiction sales have seen a 45 percent surge.
I personally don’t read many non-fiction books. My wife, on the other hand, it’s the only kind of book that she reads. And while I do occasionally read non-fiction books about dinosaurs, most of my limited non-fiction reading are biographies. And it appears I am not alone in this. 331,844,000 non-fiction books are typically sold per year. Memoirs and biographies are the number one best-selling hard copy books, non-fiction category on Amazon ahead of Self Help, Religion and Spirituality, Health, Fitness & Dieting and Politics and Social Science. For e-books, memoirs and biographies come in second behind religion and spirituality
Gift Book of the Week, if not the year.
Impressive is maybe a word that I tend to overuse in my writing but it is the only word that comes to mind when talking about Einstein: The Man and His Mind.
This magnificent book straddles the world of the art book and biography. It has been created at such a high level of production, where it appears that no cost has been spared to create a tribute to maybe the finest scientific mind since Isaac Newton. The quality of the paper used, the perfection of the reproductions and the surprising level of creativity in the book’s design set it apart from any biography you may have ever read before.
But it is a biography as well and takes a closer look at the life of this great man than one might expect. I learned more about Einstein in the forward to the book that I had known up to that time. That said, the text flows easily and, like me, you will be amazed of some of the achievements that Einstein had made even at the beginning of the twentieth century.
For those of us not familiar with the life of Einstein or the world of physics. each page turn results in learning something new about the man. In 1905 he presented a paper that provided the background for what would later become the famous E=MC2equation, which would go on to be used as the basis for creating nuclear energy. Later in life he would write a letter to President Roosevelt urging production of the A-Bomb because he believed the German were working on it as well. (According to the Atomic Heritage Foundation: By 1944, however, the evidence was clear: the Germans had not come close to developing a bomb and had only advanced to preliminary research.) But when bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Einstein said “Woe is me” and lamented his decision to write that letter.
The book does get somewhat technical from time to time but the authors try to explain his theories and work in terms that most readers will find understandable but I will admit that reading explanations of some of his thought experiments can be challenging. But hang in there, maybe read them again. You might get it and you might not but part of the fun of reading this book and any book about science is stretching your brain and Einstein: The Man and His Mind will stretch your mind.
There are also reproductions of many of his scientific papers and if, like me, you just look at’em and say “wow, that looks complicated” there are probably some technically minded or scientifically minded readers (who can read German) that will get something out of them—instead of mere looks at interesting historical documents. All of his later documents are in English.
Einstein suffered from a stomach ailment, specifically an aortic aneurysm that he underwent surgery for in 1948 and it prolonged his life somewhat. In 1955 he was admitted to a hospital, not wanting to be a burden at home but refused surgery saying,” I want to go when I want to…I have done my share, it is time to go. I will do it elegantly.” He passed away in his sleep at the age of 76. His final words were in German, which ironically his English speaking nurse did not understand. So his last words are, sadly, unknown.
This book is not just a biography, it is a celebration of the life of a man unlike any other and showcased on a book like none other, This is also not a photo book per se but is illustrated with some incredible portraits of Einstein. And all of these images are wrapped around a book design that simply will blow you mind each time you turn a page—much as the text will also do. All of this grandeur combine so that during this holiday season, Einstein: The Man and His Mind is the ultimate gift book.
All royalties from the book will be contributed to the Albert Einstein Archives at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
- Einstein: The Man and His Mind
- Hanoch Gutfreund, Hanoch Gutfreund and Michael DiRuggiero
- ISBN-13: 978-8862087841
- Publisher: Damiani
- Pages: 209 pages (hardbound)
- Size: 10 x 1.25 x 13 inches
- Weight: 4.4 pounds
- Price: $51.77 (Prime)