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The World As I See It Reviews

Customer Rating:
Summary: Better options out there...
Comment: I read "Ideas and Opinions" before diving head first into this one, and I'm glad I did. Had I read this first, there's a great chance I never would have read "Ideas and Opinions" which I found to be fascinating. In "The World As I See It," I found it to be a bit jumbled and thrown together without too much thought as to why it's presented the way it is, etc. There are some good bits and pieces included in this book, but overall I just couldn't get into it.

Normally, I like to read while lying in my bed with a dim lamp on, and normally it's not an issue. I can read for hours like this--but I needed to read "The World As I See It" outdoors or with music on, otherwise I was constantly falling asleep after a mere one or two pages.

Again, there are some good things to take from the book, but I think you'll do yourself better by exploring other Einstein works that are out there. Just one man's opinion.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: world as Einstein sees it
Comment: To most of us the name Albert Einstein is synonymous with the formula E = MC-squared. Because the formula is such a simple statement of a complex idea, the public tends to see Einstein as both a simple and complex man. Like a god of sorts, he is omniscient, omnipotent, unknowable, and incomprehensible all at the same time.

The World as I See It presents a clear and coherent picture of Einstein. It contains numerous Einstein's non-technical writings organized in four major parts: The World as I See It, Politics and Pacifism, Germany 1933, and The Jews. My favorite part is by far the first. This part is packed with pure wisdom on a variety of topics. I enjoyed reading things like: "To be sure, it is not the fruits of scientific research that elevate a man and enrich his nature, but the urge to understand, the intellectual work, creative or receptive" (p. 7). Such insights glue the entire book together.

The reader will see in this book Einstein, the scientist, and Einstein the person, both in one unit. Einstein the person was very encouraging to others and thankful to people and things in the world. His letters to a college freshman, to an Arab admirer, to Japanese schoolchildren and so on, all have the same calmness of purpose to them as his messages to VIPs like Lorentz, Berliner, Katzenstein, and others.

In these writings, Einstein distinguishes religion from science. It is clear for instance that he did not believe in God at the time of his writing. Even so, there is no evidence that he sought to dehumanize and ridicule believers, only to defend science and humanity. And defending it he did in Germany, Italy, everywhere. His defense was based on the notion that "There is nothing divine about morality, it is a purely human affair" (p.29).

It is clear that Einstein loved science. It is not hard to understand from the writings in this book how he was a pacifist. He believed in democracy as an ideal, and not surprisingly, he declared in "Germany 1933" that "As long as I have any choice, I will only stay in a country where political liberty, toleration, and equality of all its citizens before the law are the rule" (p. 81).

This is a great book - highly recommended.

Amavilah, Author
Modeling Determinants of Income in Embedded Economies
ISBN: 1600210465

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Customer Rating:
Summary: einstein's essay
Comment: einstein's essay was a good readbut the rest of the letters didnt really get to me

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Nice Collection of Einstein's Thoughts
Comment: This is a short collection of various speeches, letters, and other writings on Einstein's thoughts on various subjects. Delves into matters such as his thoughts on war, religion, and a few other subjects. A very quick read and recommended for anyone who enjoys Einstein's brilliant insights into matters beyond Physics.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: this is my bible ;-)
Comment: I had a v.old copy of this book which was falling apart so I replaced it with a less inspired production but still the same inspiring content. I like AE's view of the world, the greater power, truth and beauty -- it is written by a scientist with heart.

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