There are already so many books about Albert Einstein that each time another is published, you can almost hear the collective groan of popular-science book reviewers. And yet, gems about this icon of modern physics continue to be written because he is such a rich subject, with more original sources referring to him becoming public every year. Still, it does take a new angle on Einstein to get publishers and reviewers excited. Samuel Graydon – science editor of the Times Literary Supplement – has achieved just that in his book Einstein in Time and Space: a Life in 99 Particles.

Rather than trying to cover Einstein’s entire life or work, or choosing one aspect to focus on, Graydon has done something different. He has written 99 very short chapters that each looks at a detail that might not have been considered weighty or relevant enough by other biographers. These are often anecdotes from letters, diaries or memoirs that, while being small moments individually, add up to a portrait of Einstein who is recognizably human, not just an icon. Meanwhile, other chapters concentrate on a person who was important to Einstein – from his sister Maja to one of the last friends he made, mathematician Kurt Gödel.

Graydon does not skip the physics, however. He provides concise explanations of Einstein’s scientific work that are clear and well contextualized. He tells the reader which papers were revolutionary, which were incremental and which were just plain wrong. Graydon also includes many of Einstein’s scientific collaborators, including his first wife Mileva Marić who for years checked his work before he submitted it for publication.

This is not a book revering Einstein, but neither is it a character assassination. The Einstein in these pages is a brilliant theorist who is terrible at mathematics. He is friendly and charming but also a flirt who cheats on both his wives repeatedly. He is a vocal supporter of civil rights in the US but writes some very racist things during his travels in Asia. He is so firmly anti-establishment that he turns down an offer to be the second president of Israel. And he is so determined to continue smoking against his doctors’ advice that he convinces himself it is acceptable if he steals the tobacco from friends and colleagues.

And if a chapter whets a reader’s interest, then Graydon’s detailed acknowledgements section provides yet another fantastic resource.

• 2023 John Murray Publishers 312pp £20hb

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• Source: https://physicsworld.com/a/albert-einstein-the-living-breathing-human-being/