Albert Einstein: pocket GIANTS

Everyone has heard of Albert Einstein and everyone knows that he was a genius. Yet only a few people understand his work. In fact, he was just one of many brilliant scientists grappling with the deepest problems of theoretical physics during the first half of the twentieth century. He may not have been the most important or influential of them - the point is arguable - but there is no doubt he was the most revolutionary. Almost single-handed, he transformed the way the world thinks about light, matter, space and time. In the sixty years since his death Einstein has become a legend. The profound obscurity of his theories has contributed to this, as has his archetypal 'mad scientist' appearance. His philosophical and political utterances - both real and imagined - are regularly used to clinch arguments online or in the pub. So how can a modern reader separate myth from reality? This short book attempts to do just that!

ANDREW MAY went to the same Cambridge college, Trinity, as Sir Isaac Newton. After gaining his first degree in Natural Sciences he went on to do a PhD in astrophysics at Manchester University. This was on the subject of galactic dynamics, and the only physics he needed to know he was a Newtonian. He continued as a postdoc in the same area for four years, before moving into the more lucrative if shadowy world of defence science. He worked first in private industry, then in the Civil Service and then in private industry again, for a total of 24 years. He now earns his living as a freelance writer and defence consultant.He is author of Isaac Newton: pocket GIANTS (2015).