Einstein and Oppenheimer : the meaning of genius /

This book is a composite of articles and lectures on Einstein given in 2005 and articles on Oppenheimer's life. Each chapter is largely an independent essay: there are two on Einstein, two on Oppenheimer, and two on both of them. Schweber (emer., Brandeis Univ.) attempts to take Einstein and Oppenheimer and cut them down to size. He does this by emphasizing the community of physicists with whom they surrounded themselves and interacted. Instead of dealing with the "meaning of genius," he demeans the concept. Schweber begins the preface thus: "In the light of numerous publications connected with the centennial of Albert Einstein's annus mirabilis of 1905 and the several biographies of J. Robert Oppenheimer that have appeared in the past few years, one may well ask whether another book on Einstein and Oppenheimer is warranted." He justifies the book by saying that he explores "their link to Buddhist thought, their metaphysics" and how they coped with success. There is enough new content here to recommend the book to historians of modern science, many of whom would enjoy taking issue with Schweber. Summing Up: Recommended. General readers, researchers/faculty, and professionals. A. M. Strauss Vanderbilt University

*Starred Review* Typically viewed as solitary geniuses, the two most prominent scientists of twentieth-century America Einstein and Oppenheimer here appear in their defining social contexts. Einstein may have achieved remarkable feats in the apparent isolation of a Swiss patent office. Yet Schweber deflates the myth of the iconoclastic loner, detailing the revolutionary's extensive debt to the community of European researchers. Schweber's insightful narrative indeed reveals how Einstein's subsequent reliance upon his unaided talents left him stranded in sterile theorizing, cut off from the collaboration of younger colleagues exploring quantum mechanics. As one of those colleagues, Oppenheimer captured the limelight as the director of the Manhattan Project, a position awarded him because of the leadership he had already demonstrated in fusing the diverse talents of pioneering scientists at Berkeley. But the publicly triumphant Oppenheimer delved deep in Vedic scripture and American Pragmatism trying to quell self-doubts born of his ambivalent Jewishness and his costly tardiness in reaching the frontiers of physics. Schweber finally confronts readers with ruptures in both men's public lives, as Einstein breaks with institutions resistant to his personal imperatives and Oppenheimer self-destructs in the glare of a security-clearance hearing. Those interested in the history of culture will learn much from these parallel dramas illuminating the oft-neglected social dynamics of science.--Christensen, Bryce Copyright 2008 Booklist

Very recently, there have been excellent biographies of Einstein (Walter Isaacson's Einstein) and Oppenheimer (Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin's American Prometheus). So, what new information can be found in this combined treatment? The question posed in Schweber's preface is intriguing: "How did Einstein and Oppenheimer try to remain relevant after they had made their singular contributions?" After experiencing their greatest achievements, both men had sometimes exalted, sometimes tumultuous careers. Both were parts of a scientific and political community uniquely engaged in the beginning of the Cold War nuclear arms race. Schweber (history of ideas, Brandeis Univ.) examines selective parts of their later careers (for example, Einstein's role in the founding of Brandeis University, Oppenheimer's work with the interdisciplinary Institute of Advanced Studies) and portrays them as key figures in their sociopolitical times, who wore their iconic credentials with great pride--and maybe sometimes hubris. This book is more about the times than it is about these historic figures, and as such it provides insight and perspective but not so much discovery or conclusiveness. For larger academic libraries with collection strengths in the history of science.--Gregg Sapp, Science Lib., SUNY Albany (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.