* * * 1/2

How does one write the "biography" of an equation? Sure, it's "born" whenever the person invents it, but equations can't exactly grow up, marry and die, at least not in the way living things can. David Bodanis's approach to biography is to first explain each part of the equation (E, =, m, c2) and the scientific developments that led to these elements being used in common scientific parlance, and then to trace the history of the whole equation, from when Einstein first developed it to how the universe will eventually end, in keeping with the principles of the equation.

This was a very satisfactory book. I learned a lot about some of the early French scientists, like Lavoisier, Emilie du Châtelet (who was great! people need to know about her) and Henri Poincaré, as well as some other unsung female scientists such as Cecilia Payne, whose sexist thesis advisor made me want to go back in time and smack him. There was even a WW2 commando raid! I love when those show up in unexpected places in my reading. In this case it was on a heavy water plant in Norway, which was part of the Germans' effort to build an atom bomb.

From a scientific standpoint, the most memorable chapters were the one where Bodanis explains in subatomic detail exactly how the bomb dropped on Hiroshima wrought its horrific damage, and the one where he explains how the universe will end. The latter is probably not the best thing to read right before bed, because it's kind of depressing.

So the question is, how much scientific background do you need to appreciate this book? Well, there is a certain amount of detail when he explains the physics behind the equation, but overall I'd say if you were fine with the physics/Big Bang part of Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything, this would be a good follow-up.

Quick Version:

This book is a well laid out explanation of each part of the equation, its history, and its role in our universe.

Long Version:

The genesis of David Bodanis’ book was an interview he read in which actress Cameron Diaz expressed the desire-serious or in jest-to know what E=mc² really meant. Bodanis realized that the truth is that very few people have even a rudimentary knowledge of the usefulness of the world’s most famous equation; this book is his attempt to rectify that.

The format chosen is an interesting one. Those who are true novices to physics-or lack interest in pursuing the equation beyond the basics-can read the front half of the book and walk away far more knowledgeable than they were when they picked it up. After a brief introduction to the time and place in which Einstein generated the paper which introduce the theory to the scientific world, Bodanis goes on to break down the equation and discuss each of its parts separately. What do they mean, and how do they interact with each other? The reader is then led on a quick trip through history with regards to how the scientific community used the theory-the race to be the first to build “The Bomb” during World War II. Finally, the author discusses the theory in our universe. Those not interested in a brain drain of a read would still likely read the Epilogue, which discusses what else Einstein did, and the interesting appendix, which gives closure regarding the other key participants.

Of particular interest with regards to the structure of the book are the notes. If you would like to know more details (and are not afraid of either the odd equation or in depth descriptions), Bodanis suggests that you read the notes, where he has taken things a bit further. It is here that I have a bone to pick. The format that was chosen was that of endnotes, as opposed to footnotes. When endnotes are used, there is absolutely no indication within the text that there is a back of the book furtherance of the topic-two members of our book club did not even realize they were there and thus missed the opportunity to add to their reading experience. For those readers that do choose to read the endnotes concurrent with the front half of the book, you are left constantly flipping between the text and the notes to see if you have reached the next note (they are listed by page number). This is extremely disruptive to the flow of a book which requires some level of concentration to read and annoyed me to no end. Footnotes within the text would have been grand. As a side note, a member of our group tried to read the e-reader version. Footnotes would have enabled her to flip from text to notes with ease. As it was, she quickly gave up on trying to maneuver between the two.

The final section, a guide to further reading, is one of the finest source guides I have ever seen. Books are divided into categories and are each given a paragraph of explanation designed to help the reader ascertain if they are a good fit for their reading list.

Bodanis tops off his two leveled read with one final feat-he has a website to which he directs the serious student for further, more in depth, study. Whether you are interested in a basic explanation of a complicated theory, have a fascination with physics and would like to know more, or would like to go beyond your high school physics knowledge, this book is likely to fit your need.

I like science books so was eager to read E=mc2. This brief book follows the evolution of the equation E=mc2 from the germ of an idea that began in Einstein’s mind to the construction of the Atomic Bomb. Later on in the book the equation is used to explain such things as the scientific creation of earth, where stardust comes from and then on to black holes.

One drawback to the scope here is that the book unintentionally reads like a series of articles. Covering this much scientific ground is hard to get right in a 200 page book. So some of the threads felt like teasers leaving me with wanting to know more.

One sizable portion of the book was especially interesting. Perhaps one of the best reads that I have found describing the Nazi efforts to build the A-bomb and the Allied attempts to disrupt it. The book detailed the efforts of Heisenberg and the story of the British and Norwegian’s successive attempts to blow up the Nazi’s heavy water supplies.

In another case I thought the vignette of Hoyle’s use of E=mc2 to derive the origins of star dust from supernovas was excellent.

Where this book suffers is that the author is not a great storyteller and there are very few quotes in the book.

There is also no math on the book beyond the profound equation itself which was disappointing. In fact I learned in my relativistic physics class more than 20 years ago that E=mc2 is not technically the correct equation. Rather it is a shortened equation. Of course the gist is valid but it would have been nice to see a little more consideration here given to the origins of the equation.

I give this book 3.5 stars, rounding up to 4 stars because the subject matter is interesting and the book is pretty short.

For better books that cover the history of the A-bomb, although lengthy, I would recommend two that each won Pulitzer prizes. The first being Kai Bird’s American Prometheus: The Tragedy and Triumph of J. Robert Oppenheimer and Rhodes book on The Making of the Atomic Bomb.

To be honest, this book was good, but not as I expected, that it would be awesome; as I was longing to lay my hands on this books for nearly an year until I found this in my usual bookstore.
And this is truly an amazing biography of the Equation, of which Dr.Einstein would have had only a moderate knowledge.
This book is a collection of stories of different thinkers, from the medieval period to the detonations of nuclear bombs, and how they happened to do it, from our history books. Many of which I had much more insight than what's in the book. This book contains a far little and juvenile scientific approach, which 'might' annoy certain people with a profound knowledge in Physics. But it also gave me many amazing details of certain discoveries.

This book is well written and the information is presented in an easily understandable manner. It felt like a kindly uncle was explaining physics to his not so bright nephew. I enjoyed it a great deal and felt I achieved a better understanding of the complex equation.

A customer at work:

"This title is so stupid, who knows that this would even mean, 'e equals mc two. How the hell am I supposed to know what this book is even about?"

Bodanis, David. E=MC2: A Biography of the World's Most Famous Equation (2000)
Vivid, readable and compelling

This is science history framed as a biography about Albert Einstein's famous equation, and an especially good read. Bodanis begins with Einstein in the Bern Patent Office in 1905, and then goes back in time to examine each of the elements in Einstein's equation in turn, starting with energy, followed by the equals sign, then mass, and then the speed of light (where I learned that the "c" is for "celeritas," from the Latin for "swiftness" and not for centimeters--silly me, I always thought "c" represented the speed of light in centimeters!) and finally, squared.

There are a number of stories woven into the narrative beginning with the story of Michael Faraday, who demonstrated the link between electricity and magnetism, and his mentor Humphrey Davy who tried to steal the priority from him. Other stories include that of Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier whose fanatical insistence on exacting measurements led the world to the realization of the conservation of energy, a man who received his thanks by being beheaded during the French Revolution. And there is that of Ole Roemer, who with the help of Jupiter's satellite Io, was able to calculate the speed of light (despite denials from an embarrassed Jean-Dominique Cassini, who believed that light propagated instantaneously). There is the tale of Emilie du Chatelet, beloved of Voltaire, who persuaded everyone that Leibniz was right, that energy equals mass times velocity squared, not simply mass times velocity as Newton had it. Bodanis recalls how she became with child at age forty and feared for her life because the "Doctors of the time had no awareness that they should wash their hands or instruments." She gave birth but died of an infection a week later.

The biography reaches its climax in the Manhattan Project. Bodanis gives a short but compelling story about how J. Robert Oppenheimer guided the US project to success, and a corresponding story about how the German effort under the direction of Werner Heisenberg failed. Along the way we get glimpses of other scientists involved in nuclear energy and radioactivity, including Ernest Rutherford, Enrico Fermi, James Chadwick, Lise Meitner, Otto Hahn, Arthur Stanley Eddington and others. Fred Hoyle makes an appearance as does Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar. Bodanis paints some of the scientists in a most unflattering light, especially Hahn and Heisenberg, while glorifying others, notably Meitner, Chandra and Fermi. His sketch of Oppenheimer is balanced and vivid.

Bodanis has the gift of making everything interesting, especially the personalities, but also the science itself. His description of the atomic bombs that were dropped on the Japanese cities and how they worked makes for compelling reading. In the Chapter "America's Turn" I learned that not everybody in the Allied Command agreed with Truman's decision to use the bomb: "Even Eisenhower, who'd had no qualms about killing thousands of opponents when it was necessary to safeguard his troops, was strongly hostile to it..." (p. 161).

Some of the most interesting writing is in the footnotes, beginning on page 237. Here I found a most elegant digression on the Uncertainty Principle (pp. 273-74). And on page 280, Bodanis makes a vivid distinction between the naked properties of U238 (fifty pounds together are warm to the touch) and U235 (fifty pounds together leave a crater). And on page 275 he recalls the use of female slaves by the Germans during WWII: "...the I. G. Farben combine purchased 150 women from the Oswiecim [Auschwitz:] concentration camp, after complaining about a price of 200 marks (then $80.00) each, and killed all of them in experiments with a soporific drug."

A number of black and white prints complement and enhance the text; an appendix, "Follow-up of Other Key Participants" shines more light on the scientists; and there is a useful 18-page "Guide to Further Reading" following the notes This is an highly informative excursion into the history of science made truly delectable by a gifted writer.

Memories, it has been said, are what we all have. Especially, the old. The young also have hopes and dreams. In E=MC2, David Bodanis looks back hard at the lives of some of the greatest scientists to ever live. From the moments of their reckless youths, through the tragic and painful years of world war II, to the solitary decades after. Yes, it could be said that they lived their lives, if not to the full, at least almost to the brim. What more could we the living ask from them? Rare is the person whose life overflows. These scientists, from Einstein, Meitner, Fermi, Voltaire, Du Chatelet and Chandra have lived, travelled, and discovered greater things.

These people had very strong minds. Before this book, I had heard a lot about them from university challenge, a BBC quiz show. I never imagined that I would ever be interested in their childhood and life. Reading about their lives gave me a very pleasant feeling. I learned how they determined to fight the misconceptions of their time. They aimed and challenged those things that the society had accepted as facts.

I'm not too clued up on WWII but this book touches on how close it came to a different result.

I like the way the book was written as a biography of the equation rather than Einstein. But I would have preferred the notes at the end of the book to have been footnotes, couldn't get through them all.

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 new and additive take on one of the universe's most fundamental models.

This book is one part fun, two parts science, and three parts history. The author takes a very unique approach by dissecting the equation to its fundamental parts (incl. notation) and constructs a biography of its genesis through exploring the innovators responsible for each breakthrough that enabled the breakthrough by Einstein: E=mc^2

My favorite chapters were the last two, which (rather quickly) bring past to present and then paint the highlights of the equation's future.

I still need to read the extensive notes section. Looking forward to some engaging rhetoric around that topic.

Jos tämä kirja olisi loppunut sivulle 230/379, olisin antanut sille neljä tähteä epäröimättä. Idea oli loistava, kertoakin yhtälön elämäkerta lähtien esivanhemmista (E, =, m, c ja 2), nuoruudesta, kukoistuksesta jne.Lisäksi teoksessa oli mielestäni erittäin hyvin osattu selittää ko. yhtälön merkitys tällaiselle maallikollekin, jolla on vertailupohjana kuitenkin melko paljon alan popularisoituja teoksia. Oivalsin jotain uutta.

Kirjan ongelmana on kuitenkin rakenne. Ensin epilogi "Mitä Einstein myöhemmin teki", vaikkei tämän pitänyt olla hänen elämäkertansa. Se nyt olisi vielä jotenkuten menetellyt. Mutta sitten: "Miten kertomuksen muiden henkilöiden kävi". Ja 80 "Lisätietoja", eli käytännössä alaviitteitä, joita nyt oli mahdotonta mielekkäästi yhdistää aikaisemmin lukemaansa. Ja 20 sivua edelleen luvuittain kohdistuvia "Kirjasuosituksia", sama ongelma kuin edellä. Ja viisi sivua "Kiitoksia".

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