The Cambridge Companion To Einstein

This book is a collection of essays on the life and work of Albert Einstein. The essays cover his work in physics, including his contributions to early quantum theory and the opposition to his light quantum hypothesis. They also discuss his path to the general theory of relativity and the beginnings of two fields it spawned, relativistic cosmology and gravitational waves. The book closes with essays on his later years and his relation to twentieth-century philosophy.

This volume is the first systematic presentation of the work of Albert Einstein, comprising fourteen essays by leading historians and philosophers of science that introduce readers to his work. Following an introduction that places Einstein's work in the context of his life and times, the book opens with essays on the papers of Einstein's 'miracle year', 1905, covering Brownian motion, light quanta, and special relativity, as well as his contributions to early quantum theory and the opposition to his light quantum hypothesis. Further essays relate Einstein's path to the general theory of relativity (1915) and the beginnings of two fields it spawned, relativistic cosmology and gravitational waves. Essays on Einstein's later years examine his unified field theory program and his critique of quantum mechanics. The closing essays explore the relation between Einstein's work and twentieth-century philosophy, as well as his political writings. Review: '... indispensable for anyone who wants to discover more about Einstein.' Rawaa Mahmoud Hussain, The British Journal for the History of Science