Einstein at Home

""These interviews with the Einstein family housekeeper pierce the veil of myth and legend that surround Albert Einstein. Their unpretentious account of everyday rhythms in Einstein's household brings the world-renowned figure down to earth, and the effect is greatly enhanced by the expert translation and introduction by Josef Eisinger." --Robert Schulmann, former director of the Einstein Papers Project "Josef Eisinger has done a great service in making these colorful and informative interviews available in English. They provide a revealing and sometimes surprising portrait of the great scientist as a human being, through the eyes of someone who knew him in a special way." -- Jerrold Seigel, author of The Idea of the Self and Between Cultures "Albert Einstein remains, sixty years after his death, the most instantly recognizable figure among scientists, past or present. He changed the face of science, became, as much as the pop stars of a later age, an international celebrity, and left his mark on the course of twentieth-century history. The unmistakable countenance, with its gentle eyes, untamed moustache, and shaggy mop of hair, looks out benignly from innumerable photographs, portraits, and cartoons. Einstein's remarkable life and achievements have been worked over by many biographers, and yet his personality has remained in many respects elusive. Josef Eisinger, after a distinguished academic career in physics, turned his attention to the history of his subject, and to his lifelong fascination with Einstein. He has brought to light, from previously untapped archives, personal recollections of Einstein's private life and habits, his day-to-day interactions with family and friends. The contents of this book, following on from the author's previous work on Einstein's worldwide travels, Einstein on the Road, are largely quarried from the recollections of the family's observant housemaid. They bring to life the Einstein ménage and paint an absorbing picture of the great man in the last years before the cataclysm that was soon to engulf Germany and put an end to the Einsteins' comfortable bourgeois existence. --Walter Gratzer, Emeritus Professor, King's College London PRAISE FOR JOSEF EISINGER'S EINSTEIN ON THE ROAD: "Readers can appreciate Einstein not just as a man whose thoughts and equations are beyond ordinary reach, but as a hearty, healthy human who truly enjoyed life. Through these pages, one can take those trips with Einstein and vicariously live the experiences. A fascinating book for leisure time. Summing Up: Highly recommended. General readers and lower-division undergraduates." --Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries "Anyone interested in Einstein and the history of his times will find this a very enjoyable read." --BookViews Pick of the Month