Einstein's Greatest Mistake: A Biography

“What Bodanis does brilliantly is to give us a feel for Einstein as a person. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book that does this as well” (Popular Science).

In this “fascinating” biography, the acclaimed author of E=mc2 reveals that in spite of his indisputable brilliance, Albert Einstein found himself ignored by most working scientists during the final decades of his life, his ideas opposed by even his closest friends (Forbes). How did this happen?

Einstein revolutionized our understanding of the cosmos with his general theory of relativity, and helped lead us into the atomic age. This book goes beyond his remarkable intellect and accomplishments to examine the man himself, from the skeptical, erratic student to the world’s greatest physicist to the fallen-from-grace celebrity. An intimate biography that “imparts fresh insight into the genius—and failures—of the 20th century’s most celebrated scientist,” Einstein’s Greatest Mistake reveals what we owe Einstein today—and how much more he might have achieved if not for his all-too-human flaws (Publishers Weekly).

Named a Science Book of the Year by the Sunday Times and one of the Top Five Science Books of 2016 by ABC News Australia, this unique book “offers a window onto Einstein’s achievements and missteps, as well as his life—his friendships, his complicated love life (two marriages, many affairs) and his isolation from other scientists at the end of his life” (BookPage).