Astrophysicist Goldsmith and science journalist Bartusiak (Einstein's Unfinished Symphony
) have gathered 21 previously published pieces by an all-star cast, including Stephen Hawking, Owen Gingerich, Steven Weinberg and others, and added two new but weak essays of their own to create an eclectic collection on the life and science of Albert Einstein. Reading expositions of the same events from different perspectives in different essays is fascinating, to a point—but this collection occasionally exceeds that point. Equally unfortunate is chapters targeting different audiences. Some—like Andrea Gabor's wonderful analysis of the life of Mileva Maric, Einstein's first wife; A. Zee's engaging discussion of the meaning of gravity; and Jeremy Bernstein's thoughtful piece wondering how Einstein's revolutionary science can be differentiated from pseudoscience—are perfect for the general reader. Others—like John Stachel's chapter examining how Einstein came to grips with special relativity and G. Holton's essay on the impact Einstein had on nonscientific culture—are designed for more specialized readers. And because each chapter is relatively short, none delves much beneath the surface so that the whole is far less satisfying than are any of its constituent parts. Illus. (Feb.)
