ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE!!! A must read for anyone interested in learning something (or a lot of things) new - it is truly accessible for anyone. I learned so much about not only the equation, but the history of it's creation and how it's tied to nuclear bombs and even the beginning and end of the universe!

What struck me about this book was that it allowed me to understand the science behind, and the evolution of Einstein's E=mc2 equation. Broke down the theories and sciences in a fairly easy way to understand, and highlighted how Einstein's work was completed on the shoulders of many others who came before him, and was continued by those who followed. Whether you have a particular interest in science or not, this is a fascinating read. A tad dry in places, but the amazing connectivity in our world that Bodanis describes kept me at it.

I know next to nothing about physics but found this to be super engaging. It’s more so a collection of short historical stories on various scientific discoveries that culminated in and branched from Einstein’s E=mc^2.

E.g. the discovery of energy, then mass, then the role E=mc^2 had in creating the atomic bomb or the beginnings of the earth etc.

While the detour into atomic bomb creation was pretty long winded, I loved the ‘biographic’ approach to an equation and thought the science explanations to be mostly comprehensive.

Definitely recommend!

Five years ago I would have thought it strange to be reading the biographies of numbers and equations. But then I read the biography of Zero, and now, here is the biography of the famous equation E=mc2.

You wouldn’t think there would be much to the biography of an equation. But the author gives the details of how the individual terms came to be defined and recognized, and when and by whom, including the concept of squaring numbers and why the speed of light needs to be squared for this equation. Then he goes into how Albert Einstein came to put the various terms together to describe the conversion of mass into energy.

In the case of this equation, there is a further history as well, as it became instrumental in the creation of the atom bomb. So we are treated to the incremental discoveries that led from E=mc2 being just a nice theoretical equation on paper or on a blackboard somewhere to the creation of the atomic bomb. This includes the lesser known story of the Germans’ attempt to create a bomb during World War II and how that was finally sabotaged amid great danger and loss of life. I always had the impression that it had turned out that the German effort had never gotten as far as the Allies feared it had when they were working on their own bomb, but it seems it was a closer call than we thought.

There is an interesting follow-up on many of the people involved in the story of the equation and what happened to them after they played their part in defining the various terms or building the bomb or whatever.

One thing I found surprising was that among the scientists involved in various areas of discovery related to the equation there were at least four women involved to a greater or lesser degree. Except for Marie Curie, whose involvement was fairly peripheral and accidental, I had never heard of any of them before. Emilie du Châtelet had a castle that she made into a research center and money and title, so she was a respected researcher in scientific circles in her day, but her contributions were gradually forgotten over the years. The real surprise was that the women scientists whose work was most shamefully appropriated by others were the ones working in the twentieth century.

I found this book on Scribd.

An accessible explanation of the scientific history that led to this equation. Some of the analogies didn't quite hit the mark for me but that didn't detract from my enjoyment. The challenge is to get non-scientific people to read these books to develop of better appreciation of science. May there be more books like this.

A very well constructed story. Turned out to be of less scientific insight than I had hoped but was full of delightful historical factoids. Full review to follow.

This book includes the history behind the theory proposed by Albert Einstein in his miracle year, 1905. The different transcripts and citations help us to draw a conclusion that E=mc^2 came into existence due to thorough contributions from Einstein's predecessors. It was a team work spread over a period of two and half centuries. Sir Isaac Newton was the first one to initiate research in the domain, which was later carried forward by the Faradays and the Rutherfords. Albert Einstein was instrumental not only in proposing a strong logic behind E=mc^2, but was also the pioneer of Quantum Physics. David Bodanis puts forth the ideas behind each of the symbols; E, =, m, c, and square in this book. A very different kind of biography which lays emphasis on derivation of an equation. Of course, t h e y s a i d i r o n a g a i e n is the most interesting part of the book. An excellent Science manuscript which evolves by itself chapter by chapter to give rise to the most powerful equation ever discovered by mankind. E=mc^2 is indeed a revelation in itself. David Bodanis deserves a high five for this compilation.

Not at all what I expected, it was even better than I hoped. This is a fascinating romp through the people who made discoveries prior to Einstein that allowed him to come up with the Theory of Relativity. This was my favorite kind of book (like Da Vinci Code/Angels and Demons), the kind that keeps me scribbling down names and topics that I want to explore further. It read like an action/adventure novel and left me searching for more on du Chatelet, Voltaire (of all people!), and Lavoisier. Not being a biography reader, that this propelled me to biography is quite remarkable. He made it interesting to me and gave their lives a greater context. Bravo!

A very entertaining read. The book is about some of the people and discoveries that made it possible for Einstein to come up with his famous equation. Then it discusses some of the ramifications of his famous formula. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

In popular culture, Einstein’s name is synonymous with the word genius. His famous equation of E=mc2 is likewise equally known but admittedly little understood other than in a very fundamental sense. This book offers a chance for the layman to grasp the components of this famous theorem of Albert’s in a very novel and thoroughly entertaining manner.

Each component of this equation is broken down into individual histories, starting with an explanation of the concepts behind the symbol E, representing “energy,” this is then explored throughout its first origins to the latter day expansions upon the idea with short brief bios on the people behind each leap of understanding. Subsequently, each symbol is likewise explored in exacting detail.

In this way the reader could possibly arrive at a clearer understanding of this brilliantly deceptive short equation. Then again, maybe not, as it is often said that the more we know, the less we really understand, especially so when it comes to the field of science. Regardless, the journey of discovery here is amazingly entertaining, as well as surprisingly funny at times, all of which makes this an absolute must read for anyone with an interest in science from the universities to streets.

Here, we learn that a great many mathematicians and scientists were essentially borderline lunatics and their stories are about as intriguing as reading about the inhabitants of an overrun insane asylum. However, aside from this more sensational aspect, the book is genuinely fascinating even when not detailing the crazies and is written in a very accessible manner.

Sir Isaac Newton is attributed to have once said that we are nothing more than “dwarfs standing on the shoulders of giants.” The dominant interpretation of this metaphor is that he was essentially belittling the accomplishments of his day, including his own, in comparison to those that went before him. Basically, we all build upon the successes and failures of other peoples work and owe them a debt of gratitude. This book pays tribute to some of these individuals, many of which are little known by the general public due to Einstein’s enormous shadow.

However, rather than a glorified “Great Men” version of history, this books tends to show that more often than not, a great many of the most important discoveries were actually done by mere hobbyist with a serious streak of curiosity or otherwise completely uneducated laymen whose field of study could not have been more outside of the specific field of study of science.

I find this encouraging, as well as very telling in another way. First of all, those giants that Newton referred to were sometimes very small and humble in their day to day life and were no different than you and I. They were simple everyday people, whose only real claim to fame was that they dared to ask why and tried to answer a question that aroused their interests. This is what I find encouraging, if not actually inspiring in this book, for if more of us did our own thinking in the same way without differing to people supposedly more knowledgeable than us then just maybe even more discoveries can be made in a variety of fields, not just in science.

Lastly, what I get out of this book is that sometimes when you look too hard at a problem by studying it from every conceivable angle the answer only gets farther away. We sometimes just need to relax and take a simple bath like Archimedes was made to by his wife in the oft told famous story in order to think of less important things. Then, the answer may miraculously come of its own accord in the process.

Furthermore, not to oversimplify a truth that I’m straining to arrive at here, but sometimes an education hinders the thought process into complete blindness to the heart of the matter one is seeking. Figuratively, it sometimes may take a curious janitor looking over the shoulder of the great man who is slaving away tirelessly over a particular problem to find the solution that is staring him right in the face. A simple illustration showing very clearly that one should always respect everyone’s viewpoint and opinion regardless of their background or profession. It is quite conceivable that they may actually have something to teach you no matter what you think you may know already.

This was an increadibly engaging, abosorbing, and fully readable book for so esoteric a subject.

The author broke down each element of the equation devoting a chapter to E (and how scientists found that energy is energy, is energy regardless of the form it takes - and also the wave rather than linear concept thereof) a chapter to = (yes the equals sign), a chapter to m basically getting into the laws of conservation of matter, a chapter to c (the constant of the speed of light - put it in terms that were easily understood) and then a chapter to ^2 which really fascinated me inasmuch as it got into the whys and wherefors of the earlier equation of f=mv^2, and how it was Voltaire's lover that found that the ^2 mattered when Newton had created f=mv . . . and it was a really simple study that revealed it. (Dropping balls into clay and measuring how far they sank).

The book then went on to describe the reception of Einstein's paper in which he proposed the theory of relativity, and then got into the most chilling and practical application thereof - in 1939 - 34 years after he originally wrote it -- with atomic weapons. I found it interesting, I learned a lot more than the cursory "the Americans and the Germans were in a race to harness the power of nuclear fission and weaponize it and the Americans won working through something called the Manhattan project" -- it got into some of the personalities behind that and some of the Allied sabotage of the German efforts without which the Americans probably would not have won.

There was a great appendix which gave postscripts on most of the people introduced in the book and a thorough reading list at the end. Really, a very enjoyable book for a subject that has the potential to be incredibly dense.

I've seen a review say there were factual errors, and that I can't address - but it's not written to be a text book. It's written for the lay reader. Were I to want to learn more, there's a giant list of suggested reading at the end. Some of which I'm probably going to hit. But for an overview, it was WONDERFUL.

Looking at other reviews of this book it's apparent that it allowed many of its readers to finally understand the famous equation. Apparently I'm either too stupid or too inquisitive, but my experience was quite different.

In my opinion this is mostly a history book, just like one could expect from its subtitle "A Biography of the World's Most Famous Equation". It provides comprehensive historical background, spiced up with a lot of little known facts about people, whose work eventually contributed to the formulation of the special relativity theory. It also broadly discusses the consequences of this development, with particular attention given to the race between the Nazis and the US to create the first nuclear bomb.

However, when it comes to the actual equation, the book only skims the surface and mostly wanders around vague borders between physics, cosmology and philosophy. It does not offer any math beyond this deceptively simple equation nor does it explain how the equation relates to the formulas describing the relationship between energy, mass and velocity we learned at school.

The book is a well written biography, and if you are interested in the history of science you will probably enjoy it. However, how anyone could learn any physics from this book remains beyond my comprehension.