Albert Einstein is an icon of the twentieth century. Born in Ulm,
Germany, in 1879, he is most famous for his theory of relativity,
which is considered the founding principle of modern physics. He
also made enormous contributions to quantum mechanics and
cosmology, and for his work he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1921.
A self-pronounced pacifist, humanist, and, late in his life,
democratic socialist, Einstein was also deeply concerned with the
social impact of his discoveries.

Much of Einstein's life is shrouded in legend. From popular images
and advertisements to various works of theater and fiction, he has
come to signify so many things: the quintessential absent-minded
professor; the gentle eccentric; the pacifist; the super-human
genius.

In Einstein: A Biography, Jurgen Neffe presents a clear and
probing portrait of the man behind the myth. He recounts Einstein's
life with detail and accuracy, presenting a comprehensive account
of the educational, religious, psychological and historical
conditions that enabled Einstein to become the ber-physicist of all
time. Unearthing new documents, including a series of previously
unknown letters from Einstein to his sons, which shed a new light
on his role as a father, Neffe also paints a rich portrait of the
tumultuous years in which Einstein lived and worked.

With a background in the sciences, Neffe describes and
contextualizes Einstein's enormous contributions to our scientific
legacy. He leads his readers through today's institutes and
laboratories worldwide, where Einstein's work continues to thrill
researchers and scholars.

A bestseller in Germany, Einstein is sure to be a classic
biography of the man and proverbial genius who has been called the
brain of the [twentieth] century.