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Einstein's War

How Relativity Conquered Nationalism and Shook the World

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Einstein's War

By: Matthew Stanley
Narrated by: Matthew Stanley
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About this listen

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Einstein's War, by Matthew Stanley.

In 1916, Arthur Eddington, a war-weary British astronomer, opened a letter written by an obscure German professor named Einstein.

The neatly printed equations on the scrap of paper outlined his world-changing theory of general relativity. Until then Einstein's masterpiece of time and space had been trapped behind the physical and ideological lines of battle, unknown.

Eddington realised the importance of the letter - perhaps Einstein's esoteric theory could not only change the future of science but also restore the world of cooperative international science in a time of brutal war.

This was the moment that relativity emerged from the trenches before it was known around the world. Einstein's name is now synonymous with 'genius', but it was not an easy road. He spent a decade creating relativity, and his ascent to international celebrity, which saw him on the front of papers around the world in 1919, also owed much to Eddington - whom he met only after the war - and to international collaboration.

We usually think of scientific discovery as a flash of individual inspiration, whereas here we see it is the result of hard work, gambles and wrong turns and all the while subject to the petty concerns of nations, religions and individuals.

Einstein's War teaches us about science through history, and the physics is more accessible as a result - we see relativity built brick by brick in front of us, as it happened, 100 years ago.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio on our Desktop Site.

©2019 Matthew Stanley (P)2019 Penguin Audio
20th Century Europe History History & Culture History & Philosophy Military Military & War Modern Physics Professionals & Academics Science Science & Technology World War I War Funny Mathematics Imperialism

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The story is interesting but delivery is so off putting, The narrator ruins this book. Much better to read it yourself

Disappointing

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Excellent story but the author, who narrates, has an odd rising inflection which is quite off-putting. It would have been better had someone else narrated the book.

enjoyed the epilogue with its thoughts about the philosophy of science.

fascinating story

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I had to give-up listening to this book due to the narration, even though the story is well-written and seemed really interesting. The narration is by the author. He pauses slightly too long after most sentences, like it's the end of a paragraph, and often ends sentences with a rising inflexion. Also, his tone is generally just not quite lively enough.

Poor narration made it unlistenable

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