Allen Esterson was a Lecturer in Mathematics and Physics at
Southwark College in London before his retirement.
David C. Cassidy is Professor Emeritus at Hofstra University.
Ruth Lewin Sime is Professor Emerita in the Department of Chemistry
at Sacramento City College.
What is made abundantly clear, however, is what it was like to live
in the shadow of Albert Einstein. Careful and thorough research
that includes everything from the couple's old school records to
letters written between the two reveal what Maric actually did do
and places her within the context of women's struggle to enter the
world of science at the turn of the twentieth century. The book
does reveal that success is not based in gender but in opportunity,
encouragement, and education, and that denying such things to women
is a sorry waste of gifts much needed by a troubled world.—ForeWord
Reviews
Ultimately, the authors conclude, buying into myths about Mileva
Einstein-Maric does her a further injustice by denying her a unique
place in scientific history…Hers is 'the very human, real story of
a fallible, yet brave and determined young woman who, for various
reasons, was not able to fulfill her dreams for the career and
marriage she had hoped for.' Given the barriers women in science
still face, her story remains relevant.—Washington Post
Throughout history Albert Einstein's first wife, Mileva Maric, was
practically written out of the great physicist's story. Later she
was credited as a secret collaborator on his most famous theories.
Scholar Esterson and science historian Cassidy aim to set the
record straight in this compelling biography. They pore over school
transcripts, letters and contemporary accounts to assemble a
cohesive picture of Maric's life. She overcame bias against women
in science to pursue a Ph.D. in physics—but ultimately gave up her
career when she married Einstein. As his confidant and study
partner during his university days, Maric undoubtedly did
contribute to Einstein's development as a scientist. But the
authors find no evidence that she was a co-inventor of relativity,
as some have claimed. 'Tragically,' they write, 'she did not
achieve her full potential as a scientist... nor did she realize
her hopes and dreams in marriage and in life.'"—Scientific
American
Somewhere under the noise and dust is the real person whom
Cassidy's evidence shows: an intelligent woman who worked hard to
get an intellectually demanding education and suffered deep
personal blows on top of the deeper bruise of being the wrong
gender at the turn of the wrong century. Our century needs to
attend to her. The deck is still stacked against female scientists.
A Mileva Maric coming of age in the twenty-first century would
still face lack of credit — and it would be only one in a long list
of barriers and biases.—Nature
What emerges instead is a portrait of a capable but frustrated
young woman who tragically did not achieve her full potential as a
scientist...This biography of Einstein's forgotten first wife
instead offers a haunting indictment of Albert as a distant and
ultimately disloyal companion: a quantum husband who was neither
here nor there; a visionary who saw the starlight in the universe
but not the darkness closer to home.—Financial Times
Evidence-based biographies such as Einstein's Wife are
essential.—Science
...the book represents an impressive, compassionate
accomplishment.—The Spectator
Einstein's Wife reconstructs Mariic's early life fairly and
accurately. The compact volume will be an informative addition to
library collections and a fascinating account for curious
readers.—Physics Today
Einstein's Wife provides at last an authoritative account of Mileva
Einstein-Maric´'s real standing in history. It is also a case study
of a painstaking pursuit of the facts against the background of a
long history of mythologizing. And finally, it answers the nagging
question of why such extensive and painstaking historical research
is truly needed.—Physics in Perspective
What is made abundantly clear, however, is what it was like to live
in the shadow of Albert Einstein. Careful and thorough research
that includes everything from the couple's old school records to
letters written between the two reveal what Maric actually did do
and places her within the context of women's struggle to enter the
world of science at the turn of the twentieth century. The book
does reveal that success is not based in gender but in opportunity,
encouragement, and education, and that denying such things to women
is a sorry waste of gifts much needed by a troubled world.—ForeWord
Reviews
Einstein's Wife provides an extremely valuable contextualization of
Maric's undoubted achievement in blazing a trail for women in
science.—Times Literary Supplement
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