Einstein's Dreams (Vintage Contemporaries) (Paperback)
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Staff Reviews
I repeatedly revisit this book because TIME mystifies me. Lightman’s premise - Einstein is working on the theory of relativity, exploring varied notions of time - offers vignettes that define time differently. In one, time moves slower at higher altitudes. The wealthy live close to the clouds, coming down infrequently so they can live longer. Each vignette portrays the different definitions on how humans behave.
— Ashby
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A modern classic explores the connections between science and art, the process of creativity, and ultimately the fragility of human existence.
“A magical, metaphysical realm ... Captivating, enchanting, delightful.” —The New York Times
Einstein’s Dreams is a fictional collage of stories dreamed by Albert Einstein in 1905, about time, relativity and physics. As the defiant but sensitive young genius is creating his theory of relativity, a new conception of time, he imagines many possible worlds. In one, time is circular, so that people are fated to repeat triumphs and failures over and over. In another, there is a place where time stands still, visited by lovers and parents clinging to their children. In another, time is a nightingale, sometimes trapped by a bell jar.
Now translated into thirty languages, Einstein’s Dreams has inspired playwrights, dancers, musicians, and painters all over the world. In poetic vignettes, it explores the connections between science and art, the process of creativity, and ultimately the fragility of human existence.
“A magical, metaphysical realm ... Captivating, enchanting, delightful.” —The New York Times
Einstein’s Dreams is a fictional collage of stories dreamed by Albert Einstein in 1905, about time, relativity and physics. As the defiant but sensitive young genius is creating his theory of relativity, a new conception of time, he imagines many possible worlds. In one, time is circular, so that people are fated to repeat triumphs and failures over and over. In another, there is a place where time stands still, visited by lovers and parents clinging to their children. In another, time is a nightingale, sometimes trapped by a bell jar.
Now translated into thirty languages, Einstein’s Dreams has inspired playwrights, dancers, musicians, and painters all over the world. In poetic vignettes, it explores the connections between science and art, the process of creativity, and ultimately the fragility of human existence.
ALAN LIGHTMAN is the author of seven novels, including the international best seller Einstein’s Dreams and The Diagnosis, a finalist for the National Book Award. He has taught at Harvard and at MIT, where he was the first person to receive a dual faculty appointment in science and the humanities. He is the host of the public television series Searching: Our Quest for Meaning in the Age of Science. He is a professor of the practice of the humanities at MIT.
“A magical, metaphysical realm ... Captivating, enchanting, delightful.” —The New York Times
“Endlessly fascinating. A beguiling inquiry into the not-at-all theoretical, utterly time-tangled, tragic and sublime nature of human life.” —The Boston Globe
“Lightman is an artist who paints with the notion of time.” —Los Angeles Times
“Endlessly fascinating. A beguiling inquiry into the not-at-all theoretical, utterly time-tangled, tragic and sublime nature of human life.” —The Boston Globe
“Lightman is an artist who paints with the notion of time.” —Los Angeles Times