Einstein for Beginners by Joseph Schwartz

Einstein For Beginners is a well illustrated nonfiction book about the childhood and inventions of Albert Einstein. It has a combination of light-hearted cartoons and more difficult reading on the theorems and equations created by Einstein. This causes the book to fluctuate between light and heavy reading, allowing a person searching for either type of text to enjoy it. A good half of the book is devoted to covering the struggles of Einstein’s family during his early life in Germany. The remaining portion discusses Albert’s quest for knowledge and portions of his career as a scientist before digressing to explain Einstein’s theory of relativity in detail. I had always wanted some background information about Einstein’s e=mc2 equation and this book gave me some of that knowledge. I did not understand most of the advanced mathematical material, but I caught the general gist of the explanation. Despite being a biographical novel, this book contained a central conflict because Einstein’s physical laws overthrew Isaac Newton’s. I would give this book three stars, I found it a pleasure to read and a great introduction to the career and discoveries of Albert Einstein, although it had a bit too much nonessential material. I recommend this book to anyone who is comfortable with some difficult reading and would like a quick, informational book.

Reviewed by Kirby, Grade 7