The Secret Lives of Scientists

On a Beam of Light: a Story of Albert Einstein, by Jennifer Berre, illustrated by Vladimir Radunsky.  Chronicle, 2013, 50 pages.  Age/interest level: 6-9

Despite the title, this is not a story of Einstein; it’s the story, from birth and toddlerhood and unremarkable school career to revolutionizing the study of physics.  Though a late talker, he was an early thinker; here’s how the author describes his discovery of the compass: Albert was so amazed his body trembled.  Suddenly he knew there were mysteries in the world, hidden and silent, unknown and unseen.  He wanted, more than anything, to understand those mysteries.”  This treatment of his life focuses on his gift of thinking around, under, and through a subject, breaking down its necessary components and understanding it in new ways.  His breakthrough on relativity began with a boyhood fantasy of riding his bicycle “on a beam of light”—but could anything ravel as fast as light?  Travel fast enough, and time itself would stop, or at least slow down . . .

It’s no small feat to communicate the gist of his discoveries and personality quirks, but both author and illustrator jump the shark in their reverence for the man, like many other contemporary biographers.  He did push science to new frontiers, but he wasn’t the only one.  The author wants to encourage children to follow in his footsteps, suggesting that any of us (under the age of ten or so) could be the next Albert. 

Albert Einstein and Relativity for Kids: His Life and Ideas with 21 Activities, by Jerome Pohlen.  2012, Chicago Review Press, 144 pages, including appendices.  Age/interest level: 9-13

“Science” does not occur in a vacuum; it’s the product of human minds and ambitions tossed into a whirlwind of human activity.  The Chicago Review “For Kids” series (other titles address Galileo and Darwin) acknowledges this, so right along with the genius’ accomplishments and thoughts, we get a running history of his life and times.  The book begins with a timeline and an explanation of “thought experiments”—important, because the reader will be doing some of those.  Throughout the narrative Einstein’s breakthroughs are explained by encouraging the reader to follow in his footsteps—or mind-steps.  The photoelectric effect, special and general relativity, and the principle of equivalence (gravity = acceleration) are as clear for this age group as they can possibly be, and adults who are fuzzy on these concepts might gain some understand also.  The activities are all easy to do with adult help and can be tasty too—observe the expansion of space with marshmallow Peeps and a microwave!

The narrative doesn’t shy away from Einstein’s personal tangles, like his divorce from his first wife—but doesn’t go into excruciating detail either.  For a short while the scientist came under scrutiny of Joseph McCarthy’s Senate committee on unamerican activities, and the reader is treated to the standard view of McCarthyism as a “witch hunt for suspected Communists in government, entertainment, and education.”  There actually were subversives in these institutions, but readers are not told so.  On the positive side, we get Einstein’s famous quote about God not playing dice with the universe in its actual context: a staged debate with Nils Bohr on quantum mechanics.  (Bohr’s reply: “Don’t tell God what He can do!”)

Though I like this contextual and hands-on approach very much, I have a problem with the formatting.  The softcover books printed with a landscape rather than portrait orientation, and at this size (8 ½ x 11) they’re hard to read unless lying flat on a table.  The floppy cover doesn’t support the pages when held in two hands. 

Isaac Newton and Physics for Kids: His Life and Ideas with 21 Activities, by Kerrie Logan Hollihan.  Chicago Review Press, 2009, 131 pages including appendices.  Age/interest level: 8-13.

If Einstein broke the physics mold in the early 20^th century, Newton created the mold.  He set the study of physics on a secure mathematical foundation that held firm for 200 years, and still works, at least for our solar system.  His theory of universal gravitation was only part of it: in a little less than two years, he roughed out the mechanical and mathematical aspects of the whole gravitational system, completed the field work for his theory of optics and light, and invented differential calculus (even though, over in Europe, Gottfried Leibnitz was coming up with the rules of calculus on his own at the same time).  It was an exciting age and an exciting life, though most of the thrills of Newton’s life occurred inside his own head.  An intensely private and secretive man, he didn’t get around to sharing his breakthroughs until two decades later, and that was because other scientists, notably Edmund Halley of comet fame, pushed him to do it.

All these aspects of Newton’s life are covered—again, in context—including a full and fair treatment of his intense study of alchemy and his rejection of the doctrine of the Trinity (though the author is not too clear on what that doctrine is, describing it as the belief that “three entities—God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit—are one and the same.”  One, but not the same, though admittedly it’s a difficult doctrine to understand).  She’s correct that Newton’s study of alchemy, which consumed the better part of his years as a professor at Cambridge, was driven by “a quest to open the mind of God”; though unorthodox, his belief was sincere, and Hollihan is respectful.  But there’s no reason to include the speculation of a handful of contemporary historians that Newton might have had a couple of homosexual relationships.  

The “21 Activities” focus on principles and discoveries that are not quite as difficult to understand as relativity, and include projects like making a “waste book,” demonstrating the inverse square law and laws of motion, and finding latitude with a homemade sextant.  I have the same complaint about the formatting, but despite a few factual quibbles, this is a good introduction to a very significant life. 

For more on Einstein and one practical application of his work, see our review of Bomb.