". . . a hugely rewarding book, liberally scattered with gems."
—New Scientist
"...[a] jewel of a book that both grown-ups and children will enjoy...an ideal companion to the new exhibit on Einstein's life and legacy at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City."
—Philadelphia Inquirer
"...a charming collection...While the children's letters are amusing, much more interesting are Einstein's replies.
—Physics World
"Loved it! Page after page of joyful wisdom! You may well want to buy two copies —one for your children."
—Fred Jerome, author of The Einstein File
"Wonderfully written, this charming little book is a fitting sequel to Alice Calaprice's best seller, The Quotable Einstein
. You'll enjoy every page and every letter in it!"
—Eli Maor, author of To Infinity and Beyond, e: the Story of a Number, Trigonometric Delights, and June 8, 2004: Venus in Transit
"The letters he answered tell us what intrigued and moved the kind sage of Princeton. Alice Calaprice, the world's expert on Einstein's wit and wisdom, enriched her book by a cameo biography of Einstein. I love it."
—Engelbert Levin Schucking, Professor of Physics, New York University
"Readers of this book will discover a new side of Einstein, hitherto little discussed by his biographers—his delight in children. They will also discover new facets of the Einstein myth in the letters of children to him."
—Prof. John Stachel, First Editor of the Collected Papers of Albert Einstein, and Director of the Boston University Center for Einstein Studies
This enchanting book displays a small sampling of the amusing, touching, and sometimes precocious letters sent to Albert Einstein by children from around the world, and his often witty and very considerate responses. Alice Calaprice has compiled a delightful and charming collection of more than 60 letters, most never published before, from children to perhaps the greatest scientist of all time. Enhancing this correspondence are numerous photographs showing Einstein amid children, wearing an Indian headdress, carrying a puppet of himself, donning furry slippers, among many other wonderful pictures. They reveal the intimate human side of the great public persona, a man who, though he spent his days contemplating the impersonal abstractions of mathematics and physics, was very fond of children and enjoyed being in their company.
Obviously, Einstein led a busy life, and so he could not answer every letter sent to him. Nonetheless, he made time to respond to those that touched him in some way. To Monique from New York, who asked about the age of the Earth and when it will come to an end, he patiently responded that it is a little more than a billion years old, and, "As for the question of the end of it I advise: Wait and see!" To "six little scientists" from Morgan City, Louisiana, who despite the skepticism of their classmates maintained that life would survive even if the sun burned out, he wrote, "The minority is sometimes right—but not in your case."
Complete with a foreword by Einstein's granddaughter Evelyn, a biography and chronology of Einstein's life, and an introduction by Einstein scholar Robert Schulmann on the great scientist's educational philosophy, this wonderful compilation will be welcomed by teachers, parents, and all the young, budding scientists in their lives.
A portion of the author's royalties will be donated to UNICEF.Book Binding: Hardcover
Pages: 200
ISBN: 978-1-59102-015-8
Shipping Weight: 2lbs
Author Bio:
Alice Calaprice (Princeton, NJ) is the editor of The Quotable Einstein and The Expanded Quotable Einstein, and the coauthor of An Owl in the House, a science book for young audiences. She was formerly a Senior Editor at Princeton University Press and worked with that press's ongoing series, The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein, for almost 25 years.
