The Private Lives of Albert Einstein

Highfield, science editor of Britain's Daily Telegraph , and Carter, an editor of the Daily Express , here examine aspects of the life of Albert Einstein (1879-1955) that fall short of his image as a secular saint. They point out that as a youth Einstein sometimes cowered before his mother's will and that he was a mawkish, sentimental and not always loyal teenager. He is faulted for shrinking from some of his children's and his own problems in adulthood and for loving more than one woman. And, if Einstein's failings seem insufficient, the authors also refer to a supposed conspiracy by managers of his literary estate to control the publication of love letters he wrote that have passed into the estate of his son Hans Albert. Highfield and Carter also reiterate the scandal of a second illegitimate daughter whose claim rests on unprovable DNA testing. The material gathered here is not quite new and is in many cases questionable. Photos not seen by PW . (May)