Author: Dennis Overbye File Type: epub In Einstein in Love, Dennis Overbye has written the first profile of the great scientist to focus exclusively on his early adulthood, when his major discoveries were made. It reveals Einstein to be very much a young man of his time-draft dodger, self-styled bohemian, poet, violinist, and cocky, charismatic genius who left personal and professional chaos in his wake. Drawing upon hundreds of unpublished letters and a decade of research, Einstein in Love is a penetrating portrait of the modern eras most influential thinker.**Amazon.com ReviewIn his first book, Lonely Hearts of the Cosmos, New York Times science writer Dennis Overbye humanized the formidable intellects who have probed the inner workings of the universe. With Einstein in Love, he takes on the most formidable intellect of all--and the result does justice to a complicated man and his equally complicated work. Overbyes narrative concentrates on the years between 1896 (when the 17-year-old Einstein arrived in Zurich to study physics) and 1919 (when he used measurements of light deflection during a solar eclipse to support his new theory of relativity thus beginning a reign as the 20th centurys most famous scientist). Its no accident this period begins with Einstein meeting fellow student Mileva Maric, who would become his first wife, and closes with his second marriage. Physics was not all Einsteins life, writes Overbye. He lived on Earth with a belly and a heart. Accordingly, Einstein in Love depicts a young man who liked to hike, play the violin, flirt, and tell dirty jokes. Albert and Mileva had a child before they were married (Michelle Zackheims popular 1999 book, Einsteins Daughter, attempted to unravel the mystery of Lieserls fate), and the young father was as careless of convention in his dress and grooming as in his scientific work. Indeed, although Overbye nicely captures Einsteins personality, the real excitement comes in those chapters delineating his thought. The book effortlessly incorporates a capsule history of physics from the Greeks to the Victorians, both laying out the issues with which Einstein grappled and suggesting just why his solutions were so revolutionary. Even those with little grounding in science will easily grasp why Einsteins ideas made such an impact, not just on fellow physicists, but on a populace that at the dawn of the 20th century was ready to accept the demise of all the old certainties. As usual, Overbyes work is a model of science writing for the general reader its also a perceptive biography highlighting Einsteins most creative years. --Wendy SmithFrom Publishers Weekly Of the many recent and imminent books on Einstein, Overbyes (Lonely Hearts of the Cosmos) may have the most compelling title and most fulfilling approach. An accomplished science writer, Overbye, deputy science editor of the New York Times, tells the story of Einsteins early years, when he cultivated his image as the shaggy and sloppy, garrulous and brilliant bad boy of physics and committed himself to twin passions revolutionizing our understanding of the universe, starting with light, gravity and time and living the bohemian life with the woman hed eventually marry, Mileva Maric, a superior mathematician in her own right. At first, it seemed that Mileva and Albert would make the world together, but Alberts passion for physics proved the stronger. As Einsteins fame grew and his theories - the development of which Overbye explains brilliantly - gained adherents, he escaped the drudgery of work in the patent office for a series of university appointments, while his wife and their children faded into the background. He took up with other women, which, as the reader learns, was even sadder than it may at first appear, because of all that Maric gave up to be with him, including their first child, Lieserl, born out of wedlock and sent away so that she wouldnt hinder Einsteins career. Overbyes aim - which he accomplishes with the precision of a scientist and the ear of a musician - is to portray Einstein the man, not the myth (no picture of Einstein can be complete that does not explore both disparate strains of his life, both the sacred and the profane). In the end, the reader may come to like Einstein less but appreciate his achievements even more. (Oct.) 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Author: Robert Kriech Ritner File Type: pdf To date, no comprehensive treatment of Egyptian magic has focused on the practice of the magician. Both general studies and textual publications have emphasized instead the religious elements in the contents of recited spells, while the accompanying instructions, with their vignettes and lists of materials, instruments, and ritual actions, remained uninvestigated. This study represents the first critical examination of such magical techniques, revealing their widespread appearance and pivotal significance for all Egyptian religious practices from the earliest periods through the Coptic era, influencing as well the Greco-Egyptian magical papyri. The author also discusses the pagan-Egyptian influence on Old and New Testament practices and in the lives of the Coptic Desert Fathers. The third edition is a reprinting of the second, which included minor corrections from the original edition. This volume is a significant revisionist approach to ancient Egyptian magic. As a result of a methodical analysis of both the textual and archaeological records, Ritner concludes that the boundaries between ancient Egyptian magic, religion, and medicine were not as strictly observed as modern commentators believe. Furthermore, he categorically denies the frequent attempts of moderns to define ancient Egyptian magic as a phenomenon dealing with the supernatural, practiced primarily for nefarious purposes sub rosa by strictly observed as modern commentators believe. Furthermore, he categorically denies the frequent attempts of moderns to define ancient Egyptian magic as a phenomenon dealing with the supernatural, practiced primarily for nefarious purposes sub rosa by individuals outside of the religious mainstream. Ritners engaging prose style and felicitous exegesis of even the most arcane material make for easy reading. But more important still, the content of the work ensures that it will become a vital reference tool for all engaged in any aspect of ancient Egyptian religion.[From a review by R. S. Bianchi in Journal of the American Oriental Society 114 (1994) 513-14]. xviii + 322, 22 bw figs, 2 tbs (Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilization 54, Oriental Institute 1993, revised edition 1997)

Author: James W. Feldman File Type: pdf span Segoe UINuclear Reactions explores the nuclear consensus that emerged in post-World War II America, characterized by widespread support for a diplomatic and military strategy based on nuclear weapons and a vision of economic growth that welcomed nuclear energy both for the generation of electricity and for other peaceful and industrial uses. Unease about the environmental consequences of nuclear energy and weapons development became apparent by the early 1960s and led to the first challenges to that consensus.spanspan Segoe UIThe documents in this collection address issues such as the arms race, mutually assured destruction, the emergence of ecosystems ecology and the environmental movement, nuclear protests, and climate change. They raise questions about how nuclear energy shaped--and continues to shape--the contours of postwar American life. These questions provide a useful lens through which to understand the social, economic, and environmental tradeoffs embedded within American choices about the use and management of nuclear energy.span

Author: John Bunyan File Type: pdf Originally published between 1909 and 1917 under the name Harvard Classics, this stupendous 51-volume set-a collection of the greatest writings from literature, philosophy, history, and mythology-was assembled by American academic CHARLES WILLIAM ELIOT (1834-1926), Harvard Universitys longest-serving president. Also known as Dr. Eliots Five Foot Shelf, it represented Eliots belief that a basic liberal education could be gleaned by reading from an anthology of works that could fit on five feet of bookshelf. Volume XV features two essential works of 17th-century religious literature The Pilgrims Progress is an allegorical tale of everyman Christian and his journey from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City of Zion, which parallels the spiritual odyssey of English preacher and writer JOHN BUNYAN (1628-1688). The Lives of Donne and Herbert, by English writer IZAAK WALTON (1593-1683), are short biographies of English preacher and metaphysical poet John Donne and Welsh priest and poet George Herbert, in which Walton highlights their virtuous characters.