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After studying a large number of published and unpublished letters for a decade, Dennis Overbye, the author of another well-written book "Lonely Hearts of the Cosmos," successfully portrayed young Albert Einstein from the two sides of his personal life and scientific endeavor. In "Einstein in Love" Albert is depicted vividly as a lad who loved his former physics classmate Mileva and constantly tackled the most profound problems of physics. The author also writes in detail about the social and scientific backgrounds of the time and views of the places Albert lived in. Albert's marriage with Mileva comes to an unhappy ending. Then he marries his cousin Elsa. Albert's dark side during the years of these events does not elude Overbye's polished writing. In the section about Albert's relation to the physicist Hendrik Lorentz, the author writes, "Albert was the eternal outsider"; and at another place, "When it came to women he could be like a child." These words cogently summarize the human side of the scientific giant.

A reviewer who is an expert in physics (A. J. Kox for "Physics Today") has criticized that Overbye's discussion of science is not always accurate. The present reviewer thinks that if the description of physics were made more compact, this book would have been much more absorbing. Inclusion of a chronological table might have been a good idea. It is a little disappointing that the source of citation is often of secondary nature; for example, "Bartlett's Familiar Quotations" is cited many times. However, these are only minor defects. This is a laboriously and skillfully written book to be read by all those who love passion and science and revere "Time" magazine's Man of the Century.

The first comment that comes to mind about Einstein in Love is that Overbye can really write well; I find the prose to be much more enjoyable than that of any other Einstein book I am aware of. Overbye also does a good job of at least attempting to explain relativity to a lay reader, while also not ignoring the other important works of the young Einstein on Brownian motion, gravity, etc. I do find the title more than a little misleading, though - Einstein's marriages to Mileva and Elsa and his dalliances with others seem to have little connection at all with the progress of his scientific thought. I suspect that the title is little more than a device to capture attention and sell books. I also find it odd that the book just seems to end for no apparent reason around the time of his divorce from Mileva. Still, if you want a good read about a true genius and his early life and works, this is one of the better places to turn - just don't expect much "scientific romance," except for the beauty pouring out of Einstein's head.

This is an outstanding book! New York Times science writer, Overbye spent years researching Einstein's letters, he traveled places Einstein lived, studied, worked and climbed. This tremendous amount of work done by Overbye combined with his excellent writing style pays off! His depiction of early 1900s era is so vivid and detailed that I almost could smell Zurich and Prague of that time and talk to Einstein's family and colleagues. Einstein was in love with far more than one woman, but his greatest love - theoretical physics and search for truth - are treated extensively as well. The book is not intended and cannot be considered as an introduction to relativity theory. Nevertheless, I have been so moved by engaging treatment of relativity that I found on Internet Einstein's 1905 paper in English translation (the first part of this paper does not require math beyond 8-th grade, yet leaves you with dizzying feeling of turning the world upside down). I highly recommend this book!

This sprawling work on modern cosmology reads much like a novel. It's got real people who come alive as they pursue some of the largest questions science can address: how did the universe begin? How will it end? Will it expand forever? In many ways, this book does for cosmology what Ken Croswell's book THE ALCHEMY OF THE HEAVENS does for the Milky Way Galaxy.

A history of cosmology, somewhat dated now, that is structured around biographies of some of the major players. Allan Sandage, Stephen Hawking, Alan Guth, Beatrice Tinsley, James Peebles, Marc Aaronson, etc. I have to tip my hand and say that this is one of my favorite books about astronomy and cosmology. Maybe I like the biographical aspect, or the fact that Overbye is just a great storyteller, and this is one great story. You gain an inside track into the transition of power between Hubble and Sandage. I don't think I really understood the inflation theory until I read Overbye's presentation (better even than Guth's book "The Inflationary Universe). If you like to read biographies of astronomers, this book will be right up your alley. If you like to read about cosmology and astrophysics, you may be distracted by Overbye's approach, but you'll still find the book worthwhile.

Lonely Hearts of the Cosmos is the greatest book every written about the search for ultimate answers about the universe. But the science is secondary to the gallery of scientists who are revealed in all their pettiness, persistence and ultimately greatness. The story of Allan Sandage - from boyhood dreamer to discoverer of mysteries - could be a book in itself. This is a book of almost poetic prose - a real page-turner that I couldn't set down. Get it today