or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
or
Amazon Prime free trial required. Sign up when you check out. Learn more
More Buying Choices
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
or
Get a £7.15 Amazon.co.uk Gift Card
Subtle is the Lord: The Science and the Life of Albert Einstein
 
 
Share your own customer images
Search inside this book
Tell the Publisher!
I’d like to read this book on Kindle

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

Subtle is the Lord: The Science and the Life of Albert Einstein [Paperback]

Abraham Pais (Author)
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
RRP: £27.00
Price: £25.65 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £1.35 (5%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.
Want guaranteed delivery by Thursday, June 7? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details

Formats

 Amazon Price New from Used from
Hardcover --   -- --
Paperback £25.65   -- --
Trade In this Item for up to £7.15
Get an extra £5 when you trade in books worth £10 or more until June 30, 2012. Trade in Subtle is the Lord: The Science and the Life of Albert Einstein for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £7.15, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.

Frequently Bought Together

Subtle is the Lord: The Science and the Life of Albert Einstein + Thirty Years That Shook Physics: Story of Quantum Theory + The Strangest Man: The Life of Paul Dirac
Price For All Three: £42.45

Show availability and delivery details

Buy the selected items together

Product details

  • Paperback: 576 pages
  • Publisher: OUP Oxford; New Ed edition (25 Aug 2005)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0192806726
  • ISBN-13: 978-0192806727
  • Product Dimensions: 23.5 x 16.1 x 3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 88,098 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

  • See Complete Table of Contents

More About the Author

Abraham Pais
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.

› Visit Amazon's Abraham Pais Page

Product Description

Review

"A Masterpiece... the single most comprehensive study of Einstein's scientific work." (THES )

Review

"A Masterpiece... the single most comprehensive study of Einstein's scientific work." THES
See all Product Description
Inside This Book (Learn More)
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Search inside this book:

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 
(2)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?

› Explore similar items

Customer Reviews

4 star
0
3 star
0
2 star
0
1 star
0
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I have read many books about Einstein, but this combines the story of his discoveries with the real mathematical expressions used by him. However this can make it not readable for many people who do not know anything about physics or mathematics. Nevertheless I believe it is impossible to understand Einstein's life without his theories and without mathematics, because of this I think this is the best scientific biography of Einstein, made for all of us who really want to see equations between the lines.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:  13 reviews
55 of 57 people found the following review helpful
Excellent book for scientists, slightly less for others. 24 Dec 2001
By GPK - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
This book is a very good *scientific* biography of Einstein. This is both its strength and weakness. It is a strength because the author is clearly very knowledgeable about the subject, and therefore I couldn't think of a better book than this one. However, to appreciate the ins and outs of the scientific work of Einstein, you need to be a scientist yourself, or at least be very interested in the subject, because Pais does not avoid technical discussions. Not at all.

Therefore, for people without knowledge on this level, the book is not so accessible (I think), which may lead to disappointments. However, for this group of readers there is also good news: the author has organized the book into two interwoven 'sections': a part that is purely biographical and contains no technical discussions, and a technical part. The two parts are easily recognizable in the table of contents. This makes the book interesting and useful for a broad public.

Summarizing: this high quality book makes no light reading, but it is worth the effort, and the money.

33 of 35 people found the following review helpful
A scholarly scientific biography 7 Feb 1999
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
Subtle is the Lord is a scholarly biography that tries to illuminate both the life and work of Albert Einstein. There is none of the sensationalism here of some other recent biographies. The picture that emerges is of a complex character who defies the iconic images - either of the absent-minded professor, or the man whose work laid the foundations for the atomic bomb - and whose interests and concerns ranged far beyond the abstruse theoretical physics that made him celebrated even in his own lifetime. It is a fascinating story, and one which left me as ever wondering as to the origins of such singular genius. Pais does not spare the reader the details of Einstein's scientific achievements, and inevitably that means that without a degree in physics or mathematics large sections of the book would be hard going indeed. With some familiarity with the physics though, this is a comprehensive and inspiring account of some of the great scientific revolutions of the century.
32 of 37 people found the following review helpful
Subtle is the Lord...but malicious He is not.. 28 July 2001
By Kumar - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
that is what Einstein had to say, when in 1921 he was confronted with rumours that a non-zero aether drift had been discovered by Dayton Miller, a one-time junior of Albert Michaelson. When asked what he meant by this, he remarked "Nature hides her secrets because of her essential loftiness, but not by means of ruse". He is also said to have opined that he had "not for a moment taken [Miller's results] seriously". That was the kind of faith that Albert Einstein had in the laws of Nature that he discovered...a deep faith not capable of rational foundation..

Albert Einstein...the man...the philosopher...the scientist...the physicist...the humanist...the legend...so much has already been written about this one extraordinary human being, that you can be forgiven for grimacing when you see this book and thinking, 'oh, no ! not another one in this never-ending craze'...but think again...this is THE definitive scientific biography of Herr Professor Einstein, coming as it is from a physicist who was close to this great man towards the end of his life. Abraham Pais does a superb job of presenting the state of physics before Einstein, how he changed that and how it has evolved since his times. Science was Einstein's life, his devotion, his refuge, and his source of detachment...Science was his religion...In order to understand the man, then, it is necessary to follow his scientific ways of thinking and doing...and that is what the book precisely does...

One more thing...this is not a layman's book...if you have only a little idea of physics, and are averse to mathematical details, then look elsewhere...this is not for you...but if you have that 'holy curiosity' and 'wonderment of the spectacle that is science', with loads of perseverance, this book does an excellent job of satisfying that quest...it can inspire you to seek greater heights of understanding...(there are tons of references to other more detailed texts)...in the end, you will have had but just a glimpse of Einstein's oeuvre. Thank you.

Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject























i.e., each product must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback


Amazon.co.uk Privacy Statement Amazon.co.uk Delivery Information Amazon.co.uk Returns & Exchanges