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Summary: Would you like to know what Einstein knew?
Review: Truly, do you think understanding Einstein's theories and the illusive equation E=mc2 is impossible, reserved only for the physicists and geniuses? Stop! With David Bodanis' book you can understand and explain E-mc2 to anyone! Wouldn't it be great to feel the joy of understand special relativity, general relativity and all its implications. This accessible, well-written, engrossing book does all that and more. It welcomes you as a capable, intelligent person into the seemingly elite world of scientific knowledge. It is fantastic to read and re-read. As accesible as it is it would make an excellent text or reference book also. Do not miss adding this to your collection.
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Summary: Read this for pleasure!
Review: This book is written for the layman. Bodanis is a wonderful storyteller, whetting my appetite for more. He makes the topic easy to understand, but still manages to capture the magnificence of the concepts. I would recomend it to anyone.
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Summary: What was expected -- just more of it than expected!
Review: This book is a quick, interesting read. I didn't enjoy it all that much, but then I don't think it was meant for me. Basically, Bodanis spelled out what he wanted to do from the beginning ... he wanted it to be a biography of the equation, not an explanation. At this, the book succeeds very well.It is a collection of stories that follow modern physics through its twists and turns. The stories, while sometimes biased toward a liberal viewpoint, are fun and interesting to read. At this, the book succeeds. Where I take issue is that it really has very little to do with the equation E-Mc^2. Sure, it glosses over it at points, and invokes its letters at others, but this is really just an excuse to ride on Einstein's coattails. Really, this is an unabashed collection of stories about physicists' lives. If you want to read about the quirks and sidebars of the history of modern physics, this is a great book. However, for any insight whatever into the equation or relativity, it fails miserably.
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Summary: Amazing! Spectacular!
Review: David Bodanis way to go! This is the best book ever! I am in grade 6
and I enjoy physics and aeronautics. This book was very well-written
and even I understood %99.5 of the book. It doesn't give you tons of physical equations to explain Einstein's special theory of relativity but it explains the whole thing in a much better story-like way. It helps if you know some stuff about relativity before reading this book but even if you don't this book will be a great adventure. Highly Recommended.
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Summary: An incredible adventure story!
Review: The best compliment I can offer is that this is the first book I've ever read twice in a row. I did that because some of the scientific principles, while presented in non-technical language, still needed another read before sinking in, but also because it's so incredibly entertaining. What I like best about Bodanis' work is that it presents the evolution of discoveries leading to-and from-"the world's most famous equation" through the lives of the discoverers themselves. Most people best remember events and information which have an emotional "hook" for them. I don't have a mathematical or scientific mind, yet I want to understand these "languages" which have eluded me. This book is a perfect vehicle for me to do so. It is joyful, sad, frustrating, and gripping: all the elements and emotions of the great adventure story that it truly is. I can understand the criticism of those scientists who may feel that the science presented is overly simplistic; however, were it otherwise, it would not be suitable to me or to those who need to understand it most. It may be that science can be studied and grasped without the humanity from which it emerged, but it certainly helps me to understand the passions and curiosities of those pioneers and adventurers who chose those pursuits. I would make this required reading in high school science curricula, with the firm belief that it would turn on the light of scientific study in young people for whom science might otherwise seem a lifeless endeavor. The book's endnotes add immeasurably to its depth. I found it fascinating to read how parts of WWI German warships wound up on the moon, and how the race to build the atomic bomb in WWII was filled with plots which could fill a Ludlum or Forsythe bestseller. E=MC2 is filled with quirky characters, strong-willed and brilliant women (who never received due credit for their contributions), and science presented in a way which lets the non-scientist deeply appreciate the work of the scientifically-minded. In that, it is one of the most important books I've read.
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Summary: a nice light introduction to a deep topic
Review: The secret to enjoying this book is to take it for what it is: a quick, entertaining read to introduce the ideas and history surrounding the revelation that mass and energy are different manifestations of the same basic stuff. If you are looking for any kind of depth, or complete scientific accuracy, or full historical colour, then you are going to be disappointed. On the other hand, if you start with the idea that this book is a sketch, not a painting, then you'll have a fun few hours cruising through it.
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Summary: Physics as thriller!
Review: Somewhere in my Secondary education lurks a desultory 8% for a three-hour science exam. I turned to Arts and Humanities, never to look at another science subject. Until, that is, someone gave me this book.
Good cover I thought. Interesting comments. Might be OK? In a moment of weakness I decided to try it. Was I surprised! Once started, I couldn't put it down!
Who ever thought E=mc2 could be so interesting? This is not blackboard after blackboard of incomprehensible equations. No. This is the Human tale of practical questions that caught the imagination of different people at different times in history. It is the story of how they solved them and in doing so changed the way we think, and the way we comprehend the world. It is also an engrossing tale of near misses, obstacles, personal hardships, petty foibles and professional jealousies. Bodanis begins by separating the famous equation into its four parts, and we then follow the early contributors in each area. Faraday, a humble bookbinder, attended a public lecture in London that changed his life, and went on to develop first formulations of the modern concept of energy. Lavoisier experimented with matter (mass), and how it changes or can be made to change. Ole Roemer, a young Dane in Paris, solved the question Galileo had lacked the equipment to solve - the speed at which light travels. Even Recorde's Sixteenth Century symbol = (now a commonplace sign for 'is equal to') had to undergo transmutations of meaning over the centuries before it embodied the meaning required for this formula. By the end of page 70 the reader is standing with Einstein on the shoulders of those who enabled him to move understanding forward into the nuclear age with his discovery that E=mc2. The rest of the book carries the reader over the contributions and lives of participants as Bodanis maps the path of the equation through the Twentieth Century, looking at its many applications including the development of Nuclear Weapons. An exciting section details the race to build The Bomb during World War II. This tale covers bureaucratic bungling which initially delayed the start of the US program, the loss of all 30 Commandos in one British raid to sabotage Germany's efforts, and the sacrifice of innocent Scandinavian lives as a necessary evil in preventing the greater one of German success before the Allies. The portrayal of the personalities and tensions of those working on the (US Bomb) Manhattan Project is also compelling reading. Those who assume this field to be a 'boys own' region of discovery will be surprised by the pivotal work of three women. They were Madame du Chatelet (Voltaire's precocious and brilliant mistress), Lise Meitner (the Jewess removed by Nazi Germany from the lab where her work was expropriated by Otto Hann who never fully comprehended its significance), and, Cecelia Payne (the butt of Rutherford's jokes, also bullied by later professors when her work far outstripped theirs). While the book is written for the naïve reader, three Appendices provide a wealth of more detailed information for those wishing for fuller information. They are a Follow-up of other Key Participants (15 pages), Notes to the Text (65 pages), and a Guide to Further Reading for each chapter (18 pages). There is also a short Epilogue on "What Einstein did Next." Rutherford is reputed to have said "If you can't explain it to the cleaning lady, then you haven't understood it yourself." It is a measure of Bodanis' success, and the interest and accessibility he brings to this arcane formula, that one former refugee from science is enjoying discovering an interest in this field.
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Summary: Easy Read!!!
Review: I like Bodanis style of writing, once you start reading this book you can't stop. Very easy to read and learn some interesting facts, and it conbines history with science and personalities. Buy it and read it!
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Summary: Nice but not Relativity
Review: Einstein is probably the most famous physicist on earth. Everybody is also familiar to his equation E=mc2 (square), but few knows what it really means. This book is intented to teach the layman what are these symbols all about. It is short, clear and reads well (I had finished it in 2 days) Still it gives you a decent understanding on the subject.
Bodanis starts by explaining the role of the letters involved (ancestors of the equation). Then comes Einstein's turn and E=mc2 during World War II. Some astronomy concepts (like the sun) are finally explained.
It has of course a seamy side too. Don't expect to be a Relativity professor after this book. Since the topic is huge, you will have to read many other textbooks if you really want to master relativity. For instance the authors doesn't assert the discussion of Newtonian physics vs. Relativity.
All in all, "A Biography of the World's Most Famous Equation" is a great way to begin a fascinating journey.
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Summary: Creative Treatment but Flimsy Results
Review: Bodanis is an expert on intellectual history, not on any one type of science, and that explains the structure of this book. The theme of this book is one of the most creative ideas I've seen in a long time - writing the biography of an idea (Einstein's e=mc^2) as if it were a person cruising through history. Hence the story is not about Einstein's life, or even developments in particular areas of science, but how this equation has worked its way into the public consciousness. Bodanis' coverage of each part of the equation, E, the "equals" sign, M, C, and "squared" is also a very creative concept. Unfortunately, Bodanis can't quite pull off the story without a background in hard science, so the book merely points out the gaps in his non-scientific presentation style. Bodanis quickly rushes through many scientific disciplines, sometimes in just a few paragraphs, that would require many textbooks to adequately explain. And the accuracy of many of his scientific explanations is suspect. You can see several of the other reviews here at Amazon for examples of his faulty science. I would like to add that Bodanis' descriptions of sub-atomic processes (see especially chapter 8) are suspiciously evasive and lacking on details, and show a complete lack of acknowledgement for quantum mechanics. Also, his quick description of the end of the universe (sputtering out as all energy is all used up) is only one of many viable theories on cosmology, though Bodanis does not acknowledge this, except for an extremely brief mention in the footnotes. Most annoyingly, Bodanis does a lot of stretching in this book, trying to add suspense to the history of e=mc^2 in the development of the atomic bomb, and trying to connect the equation to every single branch of science, even plate tectonics in one example. These are indirect connections at best, but the author tries to give them full significance anyway. In fact, Bodanis can hardly get through two paragraphs without mentioning the equation. So while the unusual "biography" idea behind this book is highly creative and original, the results just don't add up.
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