Einstein in Kafkaland: How Albert Fell Down the Rabbit Hole and Came Up with the Universe

Einstein in Kafkaland: How Albert Fell Down the Rabbit Hole and Came Up with the Universe by Ken Krimstein

Based on the title alone, I wanted to love this graphic novel. Tying together Einstein and Kafka had a lot of potential. They both had lived in Prague around the same time. They were both Jews that revolutionized their fields despite spending times working in tedious jobs (insurance salesman or patent clerk.) The graphic novel didn't quite live up to its potential. It focussed on Einstein and how he further developed his theory of relativity while on sojourn in Prague in 1911. The area was part of the Austria-Hungarian empire at the time. There was an intellectual climate in place. Einstein had various foils that would help him refine his theories. He also had family challenges - they would much rather be back in Zurich. The book buts a lot of these things together, but does not quite deliver. It is a few isolated life vignettes that don't come together to form a complete narrative, nor completely show development of relativity. Kafka is there, but in a bit role. There is also the ghost of Euclid and a narrator skeleton. The illustration style is also a bit surrealistic. It just doesn't quite make it.

Charlie Thorne and the Last Equation

Charlie Thorne and the Last Equation by Stuart Gibbs

The narrator has a near-whisper voice that makes it hard to understand. (The "other" characters she voices have a much clearer narration than the main voice.) Charlie Thorne is a 12 year old genius girl. She is brought in to help find Einstein's last equation. This can theoretically help give the holder huge strategic advantage. Both the CIA and Israelis are trying to find it, as well as bad guys. Charlie uses her smarts to identify various bad guys and actions and discover where Einstein hid it. She sees the equation, but then it is destroyed. There are various chases and narrow escapes. She is smart, but not a great fighter. Book was fairly good, but gets knocked down due to the audiobook narration.

Einstein: His Life And Universe

[October 2009] This book portrays Einstein as a human, with many foibles, without being condoning or condescending. Many of Einstein's great insights in theoretical physics are presented in an easy to understand manner - often using his own "thought experiments". He comes across as a brilliant physicist who had just the right personality to fit the role. He was just enough of a non-conformist 'ham' to grab the public's attention, while being normal enough to keep the attention. He comes across as a man totally dedicated to his ideas, regardless of whether they were popular.

The book provides balanced coverage of his entire life. The great discoveries while working in the patent office as well as his later pacifist and zionist leanings are all well covered. Some Einstein 'myths' are covered and convincingly debunked. Alas, the completeness also brings about one of the books faults. With personal and professional threads moving at different paces, the narrative often seems to jump around, with a seemingly dropped plot line picked up again a few chapters later.