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Book Review by Ida Nasatir
Albert Einstein by Emma Ehrlich
Levinger
February 24, 1950—Ida Nasatir book review—Albert
Einstein by Emma Ehrlich Levinger—Southwestern Jewish Press, page
3 : It is not often that one reads a book which
has appeal and interest for both child and adult. However, such a book is this
one called Albert Einstein. A walk down Mercer Street in Princeton, N.J.,
on a day when "a regular old New Jersey blizzard raged," so cold that
Chico, the wire haired terrier, could not go along, opens Mrs. Levinger's
descriptive chapter, introducing us to the world's greatest scientist, Albert
Einstein. The author succeeds in bringing vividly to life the simple,
absent-minded, kindly scientist, revered and beloved by all, from the little
school girl to the milkman, from chris, the Green proprietor of the diner, to
the German refugee and the sophisticated college students of Princeton.
Levinger's book is well written and effective. Throughout its nearly two hundred
pages—until the final chapter on the Atomic Bob—it maintains a high level of
interest. The author knows her audience well, having written for a generation of
children. She draws on a well of human interest stories first-hand from Dr.
Einstein's colleagues, his son, secretary, and biographers. She has called on
scientists to review and check those sections of her book which deal with the
Theory of Relativity and Physics. She succeeds in weaving in rather
skillfully, whenever possible, anecdotal material on Einstein. She treats quite
adequately Einstein's role as a Jew and as a Zionist. The book includes a
bibliography, some excellent photographs as well as an index. Albert Einstein
makes absorbing reading for the young, as well as the mature reader. For a
popular presentation of Einstein's life and work, this book should find its well
earned place on the family book shelf.