Silvan S. Schweber is Professor in the History of Ideas, Emeritus, Brandeis University.
Have we not heard enough of these two men? Yet Silvan S. Schweber
shows us in his new book, "Einstein and Oppenheimer", that there is
still more to say. What we know about these two giants of physics
largely concerns their genius--their formidable mental powers--but
this focus tends to foreground the individual at the expense of
intellectual and scientific context. Schweber's aim is ambitious:
to capture another quality that he calls the greatness of Einstein
and Oppenheimer--to show how their actions altered humanity's
"ideas concerning what human beings can be or do." We know much
about the genius of these two men, Schweber implies, but little of
their greatness.--Robert P. Crease"American Scientist"
(09/01/2008)
In a brief review, it is not possible to do full justice to
Schweber's probing book, which merits careful reading.--Michael W.
Friedlander"Physics World" (02/01/2009)
In six illuminating essays focusing on the later years of these
fascinating figures, Schweber shows that no scientist--however
great--is an island.--P.D. Smith"The Guardian" (01/16/2010)
Schweber has set himself quite a task in seeking to add to our
understanding [of Einstein and Oppenheimer]. By my reckoning he has
succeeded, not so much by uncovering significant new material as by
reflecting wisely and eloquently on Einstein's and Oppenheimer's
politics, their relationships with their colleagues, and their
contributions to science.--Lawrence Black"Times Higher Education
Supplement" (05/22/2008)
The real interest of Mr. Schweber's account--and what makes his
dual biography unusual--is the emphasis he places not on Einstein's
or Oppenheimer's scientific achievements, which have been often
enough described, but on their later careers, when both found
themselves, for different reasons, strangely sidelined.--Eric
Ormsby"New York Sun" (05/21/2008)
"Schweber has set himself quite a task in seeking to add to our
understanding [of Einstein and Oppenheimer]. By my reckoning he has
succeeded, not so much by uncovering significant new material as by
reflecting wisely and eloquently on Einstein's and Oppenheimer's
politics, their relationships with their colleagues, and their
contributions to science." -- Lawrence Black "Times Higher
Education Supplement"
You'd be forgiven for thinking there is little we don't know
already about Einstein and Oppenheimer. Yet this book plots the
lives of the 20th century's most charismatic physicists to a
greater end than biography. Focusing on the cultural milieus in
which they thrived, Schweber investigates Einstein and
Oppenheimer's very different manifestations of genius--one
solitary, one social. Schweber's depth of analysis, particularly in
describing both scientists' affinities for Buddhist thought,
insists that there is much more to learn about each.
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