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hysics in Perspective
Book Notes Everyone on Planet Earth knows the name Einstein. Albert Einstein. Many, many books—some good, some not so good—have been written about the man. The new book, Einstein’s Berlin: In the Footsteps of a Genius [Johns Hopkins University Press, 2013, xiii ? 175 pages, $45.00 (paper)] by Dieter Hoffmann, is a most welcome addition. This book implicitly follows the footsteps of Einstein by identifying his residences, his workplaces, and the residences of some of his friends. Moreover, along with the explicit locations of sites where Einstein spent his Berlin life, Hoffmann also identifies the nearby subway stations and the number of minutes it takes to walk from the subway station to a particular site. With the pictures of sites, their addresses, and public transportation information, Hoffmann’s book is a ‘‘must have’’ book for those who are headed for Berlin and bring with them an interest in Einstein. The book, however, is more than a tourist guide. There is personal information about Einstein, and the author makes connections between Einstein’s life and work with the scientific and social life of Berlin. In the summer of 1913, Einstein wrote to his friend Jakob Laub: ‘‘At Easter I’m going to Berlin as an Academy person without any duties, somewhat like a live mummy.’’ After accepting the Berlin appointment, Einstein sent his wife, Mileva, out to look for an apartment in the city. With the help of Fritz Haber, Director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute of Physical Chemistry, and his wife Clara, Mileva found a nice apartment, their first Berlin apartment, located at Ehrenbergstrasse 33, which is a 10-minute walk from either the U1 subway stop Theilplatz or the S1 train station Lichterfelde West. Once in Berlin, that environment did not serve well the marriage of Albert and Mileva. Einstein arrived in Berlin on March 24, 1914; Mileva arrived in mid April. At the end of June, Mileva with their children left the Ehrenbergstrasse apartment and temporarily lived with the Habers before leaving Berlin permanently for Zurich in July. Einstein’s first marriage was over. Einstein’s second and third Berlin apartments are identified in the same fashion as the first: a nice photo, an address, and subway information. Einstein occupied his third apartment with his cousin Elsa whom he soon married. Also, the third apartment was more luxurious. Philipp Frank, who visited Einstein and Elsa with some frequency, had the feeling that ‘‘Einstein forever remained a stranger in such a ‘bourgeois’ household.’’ It was the Prussian Academy of Sciences located on Unter den Linden that offered Einstein his first position that brought him to Berlin. Berlin was the global hotbed of physics in 1913, and that Einstein was offered a position with no 499
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Book Notes
Phys. Perspect.
responsibilities other than doing his own research indicates that in 1913 Einstein was already recognized as a rare talent. Einstein took his academy responsibilities very seriously. Every year Einstein presented several scientific papers a
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