Leonardo reviewer Nan Conklin stated that the work is "not simply a book explaining Einstein's scientific work, but a mixture of history, politics and science."[1] According to Science for the People reviewer Paul Thagard, "Einstein's work is related," in this book, "to the rise of electrical industries and the later development of the atomic bomb."[2]
"Almost half the book," according to Nan Conklin, writing in Leonardo, "is devoted to recounting Einstein's early life and the influences on him."[1] "Its discussion of the political environment in which Einstein's discoveries were made is," according to McDonald, "informative."[3]
"The drawing and the words have a distinctly comic-book flavor," according to Conklin, but it is "only when the authors set out to explain Einstein's theories that the use of the peculiar mode of presentation seems justified."[1] McDonald says that "the presentation of the discoveries themselves is little short of inspired,"[3] while Thagard too commends the authors as "highly inventive in using amusing illustrations and humorous asides to lead the beginners through difficult concepts."[2]
While Conklin speculates that the publishers may have included a volume on Einstein in this series due to his belief in "the establishment of a socialist economy, accompanied by an educational system which would be oriented toward social goals,"[1] and McDonald confirms that the authors "go out of their way to emphasize [...] Einstein's socialism," Thagard is critical of the failure to "develop the social connections in a substantial way," and concludes that the volume does not provide a "basis for discussion of the role of science in society."[2]
References
^ abcdConklin, Nan (January 1983). "Einstein for Beginners by Joseph Schwartz and Michael McGuinness (review)". Leonardo. 16 (1): 63. doi:10.2307/1575052. JSTOR1575052.
