Albert Einstein as I see it was one of the greatest humanitarians that ever lived. His brilliance and simplicity of thought shines through on many of his complex theories. You come away saying "Why didn't I think of that? It is so simple!" Einstein's humor is dazzling to match and rounds out my perception of this wonderful unique human being. I enjoyed this book.

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This book (first published in 1934) contains brief writings of physicist Albert Einstein (1879 to 1955), one of the most creative intellects of the twentieth century. It contains articles (speeches, letters, statements, etc.) from early in his career.

This book gives a personal portrait of the man behind the scientific legend.

The book itself is divided into four parts:

(1) The world as I see it (about 30 articles). This is my favorite part.
(2) Politics and pacifism (almost 20 articles). Einstein was a pacifist (one who opposes the use of force under any circumstances).
(3) Germany (3 articles). Einstein was born in Ulm, Wurttemberg, Germany. (He later emigrated to the United States in late 1932.)
(4) The Jews (just over 10 articles). Einstein was Jewish.

Finally, if this book is so good, then why did I give it the rating I did? Two reasons.

First, there is a much more comprehensive book that also has gathered Einstein's writings. It is called "Ideas and Opinions" (first published in 1954 and sold by Amazon). It contains almost all the articles (it excludes seven) contained in "The World as I See It." As well, it contains selected articles from other publications (most notably the books "Out of my Later Years" and "Mein Weltbild.")

As well, the book "Ideas and Opinions" has a fifth part called `Contributions to Science' (which contains almost 20 articles). Here, Einstein discusses topics such as relativity, theoretical physics, science, and gravitation. He even gives tributes to such people as Isaac Newton and Copernicus.

Second, this book's price. It costs $9.20 and you get 65 articles. But the hardcopy version of "Ideas and Opinions" costs about $6.00 and you get 120 articles (almost double the amount)!! (Note that all prices quoted are as of May 2006.)

In conclusion, instead of this book, I recommend the more comprehensive and cheaper book called "Ideas and Opinions." In my opinion, this recommended book is the definitive collection if Albert Einstein's popular writings!!!

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