Modesty, humor, compassion, and wisdom are the traits most evident in these personal papers, most of them never before published, from the Einstein archives. The illustrious physicist wrote as thoughtfully to an Ohio fifth-grader, distressed by her discovery that scientists classify humans as animals, as to a Colorado banker, who asked whether he believed in a personal God. Witty rhymes, and exchange about fine music with Queen Elizabeth of Belgium, and expressions of his devotion to Zionism are but some of the highlights found in this rare, warm enriching book.
Not only Einstein's modesty and humor but also his compassion, sensitivity, and wisdom emerge in this collection of quotations, most of them hitherto unpublished, take us beyond the superficial images of the stereotyped scientist or of the caricatured legend and bring us closer to the actual man.