Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
Basic Books (1988), Paperback, 336 pages
Description
It was home to Einstein in decline, the place where Kurt Göedel starved himself in paranoid delusion, and where J. Robert Oppenheimer rode out his political persecution in the Director's mansion. It is the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey; at one time or another, home to fourteen Nobel laureates, most of the great physicists and mathematicians of the modern era, and two of the most exciting developments in twentieth-century science--cellular automata and superstrings.Who Got Einstein's Office? tells for the first time the story of this secretive institution and of its fascinating personalities.
User reviews
LibraryThing member EricaKline
Good. How the Institute was founded, who worked there, and their discoveries.
LibraryThing member fpagan
Interesting and easy reading, although the writing is a tad smartassy at times.
LibraryThing member datrappert
A true classic. Funny, enlightening, and one of the best stories about smart people you will ever read.
LibraryThing member fred_mouse
The dated nature of the science in this book made for a fascinating snapshot of the time at which I was starting to pay attention to what was going on in the wider world of mathematics, and for that I greatly appreciated it.
The book recognises that its subjects are not perfect, and that at best it
The writing flows, the subject matter is interesting, the individuals range from infuriating to fascinating, and it was worth reading. I had originally intended to pass this one on after reading, but I think I'm going to keep it, because the discussion about what was going on with some of the researchers and their special topics at the time (Mandelbrot, Wolfram come to mind, but there was at least one other) I may well want to revisit.
The book recognises that its subjects are not perfect, and that at best it
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is scraping the surface of what it could be discussing. Each chapter foregrounds an individual from the Institute, which worked well to give a feel for how things were, without being entirely tedious. The writing flows, the subject matter is interesting, the individuals range from infuriating to fascinating, and it was worth reading. I had originally intended to pass this one on after reading, but I think I'm going to keep it, because the discussion about what was going on with some of the researchers and their special topics at the time (Mandelbrot, Wolfram come to mind, but there was at least one other) I may well want to revisit.
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Language
Physical description
336 p.; 9.1 inches
ISBN
0201122782 / 9780201122787
DDC/MDS
| 001.4 |