Rating: 
Summary: Wish I could go back in time and not read it.
Review: Lots of praise and an interesting concept led me to finally read this book, only to be disappointed. The mini-stories are undeveloped, and don't really engage you. Lots of repetition also, hard to believe he teaches writing at MIT.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointed
Review: ...The dreams are based on different views of how time might vary from one place to another and the implications of such variations. Some are within the bounds of my imagination but many seem to me to be quite far fetched and unhelpful in understanding the effects of such variations and it seems unlikely that Einstein's brain would have entertained such views even when he was asleep.
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Summary: Never read anything like this Before!!
Review: To be very very honest - I always have hated science, pyshics and the numerous theories i had to go through at school. Phew, that was some task!!The minute I set eyes on this book, I never thought I would enjoy it - it was just one of those impulse purchases, and it worked wonders. The dreams of a scientist - the dreams of a human being - transporting through various theories - told in a beautiful poetic prose structure without being one second boring or monotonous. Mr. Lightman should write more of fiction. Fiction that transcends barriers of time and space. An awesome read!!
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Summary: A MUST READ!!!
Review: Einstein's Dreams is a book that will truly make you wonder...what if? Lightman's creativity is unmatched! He made extrememly complex ideas and suggestions understandable. The reader of this book can be of any age, every person should read this novel at least once in their lifetime!! And after reading it once, you'll want to read it again and again!!!! This novel allows for the reader to have an imagination they never realized they had. It is a masterpiece, and is recommended to all.
Rating:
Summary: A Whimsically Wonderful Read
Review: Einstein's dreams gives the (fictional) story of a series of dreams that lead to Einstein's "Theory of Time". The writing is good, and the subject mater (ie, the dreams) is quite intriguing, even if his characterization of Einstein is not entirely accurate.
Rating: 
Summary: What is real?
Review: Einstein's Dreams by Alan Lightman is a fiction book inspired on Albert Einstein's studies of the functioning of the world based on the mysteries of time. I would recommend this book to all readers interested in philosophical themes. The book revolves around the concept of time,its mystery, and how it controls the world. "Suppose time is a circle, bending back on itself. The world repeats itself, precisely,endlessly"(page 8). This concept is extended and looked to from other views throughout the book. The reader will find himself/herself reading about parallel worlds in which the same opportunities are presented but different decisions are made, and that changes the outcome of their lives. In addition to the captivating theme, Lightman's creative and detailed imagery makes every scene so common and real which helps intensify the reader's amazement after reading each entry. If you liked the concept of the Matrix you'll like this book given that it's also about a meditative subject that could be considered not so far from reality.
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Summary: Eistein's Dreams
Review: This is a short, poetic novel that imagines what Einstein's dreams were like during his work on the theory of special relativity. Each dream is a rich story about time, interspersed with fictionalized glimpses into Einstein's daily life of working on his theory, being a clerk in the patent office, his marriage to Mileva (and his child), and his close friendship with Besso. I often re-read this book over and over again. I love it.
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Summary: Great Book, even for the Non-physics lover
Review: After I first read this book, I loved it. I have read several books on Einstein's theories and taken many classes on them, but this book gives a completely different perspective on all of that. Most "sci-fi" authors will focus on answering questions like "what is time like?" or "how does time work?"; however the beauty of this book lies in the fact that Lightman does not seek answers to these questions. The book is composed of little short stories, each beginning with a simple explanation and definition of how space and time work in that world. Then Lightman proceeds to answer a more interesting question: "what would people be like if time were like this?" He provides some wonderful depictions of alternative realities, but from the social perspective, not a scientific one. It is a great read, and quite quick as well, all you need is a few days. The book is composed of about 25 "dreams", each independent of the other, so it is great to just read a few stories and then put it down. Highly Recommended.
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Summary: A beautifully written exploration of human relations.
Review: Imagine a scientist and a writer contemplating the range and meaning of life experience and collaborating on how best to depict them on the printed page. Now imagine the scientist and the writer bundled into one person and you have Alan Lightman, professor of physics and writing at MIT. This is a book of deceptive brevity and focus. It is not a novel. Instead, it is a collection of short essays lucidly joined togheter by the common thread of supposing that time could exist in forms apart from the linear that we take to be true. It brilliantly seizes upon the familiar and revered Albert Einstein (who hypothesized that time slows as one approaches the speed of light) during his patent office days. Einstein features in these essays only tangentially; rather, it is his well-known idea about the progress of time that provides the reader with a logical foundation and a springboard for ruminations (dreams) about other courses time might take. Time might be circular, endlessly repeating, it might run backward, it might go so slowly as to be almost frozen, it might last a day, or it might last forever. The possibilities are explored in thirty separate ways, and Lightman the scientist is imaginative and exciting indeed. This is all very interesting, but the crux of the essays, it seems to me, is how the movement of time would affect people living in these different scenarios. Thinking about how these things might happen, the book opens a window into the human heart. Here Lightman the writer displays insight, conveyed with delicacy and fragility. The tender longings of the parent, for example, are, with a few deft strokes of the pen, drawn in aching wishes that their babies, toddlers, and children could stay - O so much longer - the little ones they are. Lightman has an unusual gift for conveying meaning, not only with his sentences, but also with sentence fragments. Ordinarly this would exasperate me, but in this book, the technique added to its soaring beauty. Einstein's Dreams is so short that you can whiz through it, but I think that, in so doing, you would shortchange not only the depth this book has to offer, but also your own reading pleasure. If it is read slowly, so as to soak in its messages and the wonder of its language, you will come away with much joy and much to think about.
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Summary: Brevity and Genius for the Busy
Review: Lightman constructs an illusory world, wherein Einstein is forced into surreal daydreams by the tedium of his work in the Swiss patent office. Einstein plays a rather bit part for his namesake having graced the cover; however, the thematic quality this lends is profound: Lightman through this particular construction is given the opportunity to explore the philosophical possibilities of time, whether it is circular, running reverse or merely amok. It is as if one were able to examine the possibilities of time through a kaleidoscope and inspect each fragment in detail; questioning the curious affects individually, as they impact the human experience - both emotive and physical.
I highly recommend the text, because if brevity truly is the brother of beauty, Lightman certainly has an undervalued talent for beauty, in presentation as well as prose. At 179 pages of broad and readable print on extremely small pages, you will be re-reading in under an hour.
By the twenty-fifth page however, I was beginning to feel that Lightman's construction and structure were reminiscent of something I had previously read: it was Italo Calvino's Cosmicomics, which is longer, and perhaps even stranger, yet ultimately lacks Lightman's brevity or authority. I highly recommend this novel to anyone, but especially those whose minds are open and wanting, yet stubbornly persist in their claim that they do not have the time - you have the time for this!
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