A Tale of Two Continents: A Physicist's Life in a Turbulent World

The book I received is in totally new condition.very excellent.

Abe Pais was in hiding during WWII in Holland (actually just across the street from where Anna Frank was hiding); but he was a few years older than Anna Frank, and he survived. While in hiding, he studied physics. That part of the story reads like a thriller. But the narrative throughout is compelling, and honest. After the war, through a sequence of small miracles, and a stunning intelligence, he ended up in Copenhagen to work with Niels Bohr, and then to the US, at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Princeton, where he became a Professor. And in fact, he became a leading and exceptionally successful nuclear physicist. Throughout his career as a physicist, he knew Niels Bohr, Albert Einstein well, and a host of the other pioneers; and he worked with them too. He is fluent in at least 7 languages, and knows many more. All of this is part of his autobiography, which is also filled with charming observations about cultural differences, and observation of human affairs; including affairs of the heart. His whole life was divided between two Continents, hence the title of the book. But Abe Pais's life was divided in several other ways too: The first half was science, and the second writing. Marriages further marked dividing lines. He wrote a number of extremely well received biographies, the best one perhaps `Subtle is the Lord' about Albert Einstein (I have a weakness for biographies!); and his last was his autobiography! In fact, he finished it only a few years before he died. The last 10 years of his life was spent in Denmark; so in some sense closing the circle. Review by Palle Jorgensen, November 2004.