Einstein: His Life and Universe (Isaacson) - Discussion Questions

Discussion Questions
Use our LitLovers Book Club Resources; they can help with discussions for any book:

• How to Discuss a Book (helpful discussion tips)
• Generic Discussion Questions—Fiction and Nonfiction
• Read-Think-Talk (a guided reading chart)

Also consider these LitLovers talking points to help get a discussion started for Einstein:

1. What kind of mind conceives of thought experiments like wondering what it would be like to ride alongside a light beam? In other words, how would you describe the mind that was Einstein's—even in his youth? (Words like brilliant or genius don't count.)

2.Talk about Einstein as a young man, especially his treatment of his first wife, Mileva and his newborn daughter. What kind of a person was he?

3. Overall, how would you describe the outsized personality of Albert Einstein? Consider for instance his reaction to his parents, as well as his teachers at Zurich Polytechnic. What part does Einstein's rebelliousness play in his ability to formulate his scientific breakthroughs? To what degree does he mature or change over the years?

4. How well does Isaacson deal with the science in this book? Do you find the discussion of Einstein's s discoveries lucid or understandable? Does Isaacson help you grasp the concepts of relativity, or the famous equation E=MC2? Or do you still find them too dense to comprehend?

5. In what way did Einstein attempt to justify religious faith with his understanding of the universe. What did he mean when he said that God "would not play dice by allowing things to happen by chance"? Consider, as well, this statement: "I believe in Spinoza's God, who reveals himself in the lawful harmony of all that exists, but not in a God who concerns himself with the fate and doings of mankind."

6. Talk about Einstein's world view—the concepts that undergirded his geo-politics and philosophy toward life. Consider, for example, his stances on racial discrimination, Joseph McCarthy, the cold war, nuclear proliferation, and Nazism.

6. Consider Einstein's dismay regarding his role in creating the atomic bomb. especially his comment that "he would never have lifted a finger" to help the U.S. develop the bomb had he known that Germany could not successfully develop one.

7. What surprised you most about Albert Einstein as you read this book?

8. What particular passages struck you while reading the book: something insightful, controversial, or humorous— anything that strikes you.

(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)

top of page (summary)