Einstein at Home

Description

These intimate, candid descriptions of the private life of Albert Einstein come from a series of interviews with Herta Waldow, a housekeeper who lived with Einstein and his wife and daughter from 1927 to 1933 at their residence in Berlin. After World War II, science historian Friedrich Herneck interviewed Ms. Waldow and published the conversations in the former East Germany. Unavailable in English till now, these five interviews offer fascinating glimpses into the great scientist's daily routines while he lived as a celebrated scientist in Weimar Germany. Einstein's well-known idiosyncrasies come to life in these conversations- his disheveled hair that was only poorly trimmed by his myopic wife, his love of classical music, his playing of the violin to help him think, his delight in sailing, his wide circle of friends and many social engagements, and his female companions besides his wife. Many celebrity acquaintances are also mentioned- from movie star Charlie Chaplin and conductor Erich Kleiber to writers Thomas and Heinrich Mann and fellow scientists Max Planck, Max Born, and Erwin Schr dinger. With a detailed introduction that puts these interviews in context, these colorful conversations create a vivid picture of Albert Einstein the man.

Friedrich Herneck (1909-1993) was a German historian of science. Among his many books were Einstein and His Worldview and Einstein and the Atom Bomb. Josef Eisinger is the author of Einstein on the Road and the translator of Brahms's letters in Johannes Brahms, Life and Letters, by Styra Avins. A native of Vienna, he is a physicist whose research has ranged from nuclear physics to molecular biology and from the history of medicine to music history. He is professor emeritus in the Department of Structural and Chemical Biology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, the author of some two hundred articles in professional journals and books, and the recipient of two Guggenheim fellowships.

""These interviews with the Einstein family housekeeper pierce the veil of myth and legend that surround Albert Einstein. Their unpretentious account of everyday rhythms in Einstein's household brings the world-renowned figure down to earth, and the effect is greatly enhanced by the expert translation and introduction by Josef Eisinger." --Robert Schulmann, former director of the Einstein Papers Project "Josef Eisinger has done a great service in making these colorful and informative interviews available in English. They provide a revealing and sometimes surprising portrait of the great scientist as a human being, through the eyes of someone who knew him in a special way." -- Jerrold Seigel, author of The Idea of the Self and Between Cultures "Albert Einstein remains, sixty years after his death, the most instantly recognizable figure among scientists, past or present. He changed the face of science, became, as much as the pop stars of a later age, an international celebrity, and left his mark on the course of twentieth-century history. The unmistakable countenance, with its gentle eyes, untamed moustache, and shaggy mop of hair, looks out benignly from innumerable photographs, portraits, and cartoons. Einstein's remarkable life and achievements have been worked over by many biographers, and yet his personality has remained in many respects elusive. Josef Eisinger, after a distinguished academic career in physics, turned his attention to the history of his subject, and to his lifelong fascination with Einstein. He has brought to light, from previously untapped archives, personal recollections of Einstein's private life and habits, his day-to-day interactions with family and friends. The contents of this book, following on from the author's previous work on Einstein's worldwide travels, Einstein on the Road, are largely quarried from the recollections of the family's observant housemaid. They bring to life the Einstein menage and paint an absorbing picture of the great man in the last years before the cataclysm that was soon to engulf Germany and put an end to the Einsteins' comfortable bourgeois existence. --Walter Gratzer, Emeritus Professor, King's College London PRAISE FOR JOSEF EISINGER'S EINSTEIN ON THE ROAD: "Readers can appreciate Einstein not just as a man whose thoughts and equations are beyond ordinary reach, but as a hearty, healthy human who truly enjoyed life. Through these pages, one can take those trips with Einstein and vicariously live the experiences. A fascinating book for leisure time. Summing Up: Highly recommended. General readers and lower-division undergraduates." --Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries "Anyone interested in Einstein and the history of his times will find this a very enjoyable read." --BookViews Pick of the Month