Who Got Einstein's Office? Eccentricity and Genius at the Institute for Advanced Study

I'm surprised I didn't know about this book sooner. It was published in 1988 and definitely deserves to be better known. This is one of the more enjoyable books on the history of science I've read. It details the history of the Princeton Institute for Advanced study through the lives and careers of some of its most famous scions. There are chapters on Einstein, Kurt Goedel, Oppenheimer, John von Neumann (the inventer of the electronic computer), and Ed Witten, the author of the string theory, and many others.The book is full of amusing and fascinating details and stories about the many famous and often eccentric scientists and mathematicians who worked in its cloistered halls. For example, referring to Einstein's eventual obsession about disproving the uncertainty aspect of quantum mechanics, Oppenheimer once said, "Einstein is cuckoo." Oppenheimer once learned Greek so that he could read classic literature in the original. Upon learning that several of his fellow scientists were meeting to discuss Italian literature, he learned enough of it in a month to start reading the books. Godel developed a paranoid delusion and spent his last months refusing any food, eventually starving himself to death, having become convinced that his doctors were trying to poison him.Before Einstein came to the U.S., there was a movement in Germany against "Jewish physics." One hundred supposed scientists joined this group and once held an anti-Einstein meeting at a large auditorium, with thousands of people in attendence. Einstein himself went to the event just to see what the whole thing was about, and finding out of course that their objections were nonsense and "absurd," as Einstein said. But it was at that point that Einstein finally decided things were getting a little too overheated in the Fatherland and he finally left for the states--their loss and our gain.Another funny thing about Einstein was just how crazy the public went over him. They named everything from their children to their boats after him. One time Einstein visited the famous biologist J.B.S. Haldane in England, and his daughter fainted dead away at the sight of him.The public may not have really understood much about Einstein's new ideas--light having weight, space actually being curved, and so on--but all that mattered was that Einstein understood it. He was the prophet of a new world order and would revolutionize our understanding of reality with his unique genius, and the public was practically giddy as a schoolgirl about Einstein as a result.There are many other interesting and funny stories about the lives of these emminent thinkers in the book, but I'll leave the rest for you to read for yourself. This book is definitely worth your time and money.

A fine history of The Institute For Advanced Study, endowed as a place that would "permit a haven where scholars and scientists may regard the world and its phenomena as their laboratory without being carried off in the maelstrom of the immediate. . ."A memorable series of oral histories / stories about the interaction of some of the 20th century's most famous theoretical physicists: Niels Bohr, Einstein, Max Planck, Lorentz, de Broglie and so many others who passed through the Institute. A fascinating look into the every day lives of some of the brightest stars in physics. You don't need to know a thing about math or physics to enjoy this fine portrait of a fascinating group of minds at work and play.

If you are interested in what happened in the 20th century in science, technology, and ultimately history, then you will want to know what happened at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, NJ in the 1930s - 1950s.The array of talent at IAS from Einstein, Von Neumman, Godel, Pauli, and Dirac present at one-time was truly breathtaking.

I borrowed this book out of curiosity, got immediately engrossed, and it has been one of the few books I've read to completion recently. I then decided that I had to own my own copy.Ed Regis manages to present a cross section of ground breaking 20th-century thinking in mathematics, physics and astrophysics via a series of mini biographies of the Institute for Advanced Study's most illustrious characters. Given the complexity of the subjects, the author did a splendid job of providing deep technical detail in a manner the uninitiated can grasp (oh sure, there are sections that might make ones eyes glaze over, but this makes the book more interesting for more advanced readers).A great result of this book is that it whets the appetite to learn more about certain subjects, which will benefit new and used book sellers.Lastly, the author strikes a balance between reverence for the Institute and its members, and candor in assessing their shortcomings.Roger Benton

A very entertaining look at the history and personalities of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, at one time or another, home to 14 or more Nobel laureates. Learn how the Institute was created and how Einstein was recruited to be it's first member. Meet Godel, von Neumann, Dyson, Oppenheimer, Pauli, Witten and other luminaries up close and personal through their years at IAS, a place where these great minds have had no other duties or responsibilities than to explore new frontiers of thought and imagination. A very interesting look at the exotic, quirky, and sometimes downright nutty personalities of some of the greatest figures in science. A fast-paced read that I never found boring. Martin Gardner also gave it high praise.