Summary

New York Times bestseller

In poetic vignettes, Einstein’s Dreams explores the connections between science and art, the process of creativity, and ultimately the fragility of human existence.

A modern classic, Einstein’s Dreams is a fictional collage of stories dreamed by Albert Einstein in 1905, when he worked in a patent office in Switzerland. As the defiant but sensitive young genius is creating his theory of relativity, a new conception of time, he imagines many possible worlds. In one, time is circular, and people are fated to repeat their triumphs and failures over and over. In another, there is a place where time stands still, visited by lovers and parents clinging to their children. In another, time is a nightingale, sometimes trapped by a bell jar.

Translated into thirty languages, Einstein’s Dreams has inspired playwrights, dancers, musicians, and painters all over the world. In poetic vignettes it explores the connections between science and art, the process of creativity, and ultimately the fragility of human existence.

Editorial Reviews

“It is at once intellectually provocative and touching and comic and so very beautifully written.” —Salman Rushdie, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“Impressionistic…the writing, beautifully simple, conveys better than most texts the strangeness of Einstein’s ideas.” —Time

“[An] excellent first novel.” —Times Literary Supplement (London)

“Flawless, meditative, and brilliant…A work of hypnotic perception, fluent intelligence, and consummate skill.” —Booklist (starred review)

“Few endeavors are more beguiling than a grossly improbable conceit realized with subtlety and wit. Science writer Lightman seems to have mastered this principle: his slender but substantial fictional debut is a daring re-creation of Einstein’s dreams during May and June 1905…Lightman’s speculative prose poem warrants comparison to Calvino’s masterful Invisible Cities.” —Publishers Weekly

“Lightman offers provocative and elegantly wrought speculations on the nature of time.” —Library Journal

“A magical, metaphysical realm…Captivating, enchanting, delightful.” —New York Times

“Lightman is an artist who paints with the notion of time.” —Los Angeles Times

“Enchanting.” —Washington Post Book World

“A wonderfully odd, clever, mystical book of meditations on time, poetically spare and delightfully fresh.” —Chicago Tribune

“Mr. Lightman successfully has combined his talents to create an imaginative work that explores the motivations of a great scientist.” —Dallas Morning News

“Endlessly fascinating. A beguiling inquiry into the not-at-all theoretical, utterly time-tangled, tragic and sublime nature of human life.” —Boston Globe

“A brilliant novel of time in its marvelous flight…gorgeous in its writing, spellbinding and profound in its effects.” —Chicago Sun-Times

“A beautiful work of fiction that explores the nature of creativity…takes you as close as you’re likely to get to Einstein’s inner world…Lightman is a wonderful writer.” —Minneapolis Star Tribune

Reviews

You're reviewing: Einstein’s Dreams

How do you rate this product? *

	1 1 star	2 2 star	3 3 star	4 4 star	5 5 star
Quality
Price
Value

*Nickname
*Summary of Your Review
*Let us know your thoughts

Be the first to review this product

Author Bio: Alan Lightman

Alan Lightman is the author of several novels, including Einstein’s Dreams, a New York Times and international bestseller, and The Diagnosis, a finalist for the 2000 National Book Award. He is also the author of several collections of essays and numerous books on science. His work has appeared in the Atlantic, Granta, the New Yorker, the New York Review of Books, and Nature, among many other publications. A theoretical physicist as well as a writer, he has served on the faculties of Harvard and MIT, where he was the first person to receive a dual faculty appointment in science and the humanities.

Titles by Author

See All

Details

Format:	Retail CD	Format:	MP3 CD
Available Formats :	Retail CD, MP3 CD
Category:	Fiction/Literary
Publisher:	Blackstone Publishing	Publisher:	Blackstone Publishing
CDs:	2	CDs:	1
Runtime:	2.53
ISBN:	9781504624428	ISBN:	9781504624411
Audience:	Adult
Language:	English

Einstein’s Dreams

Summary

Summary

Editorial Reviews

Editorial Reviews

Reviews