The narrative teaches readers a great deal about the scientific research of Einstein and Curie; however, it also probes the tangled romantic lives of both scientists: we see the widowed Curie’s affair with a married French scientist, an affair exposing Curie to public scandal and eliciting from Einstein a spirited defense. A compelling portrait of two geniuses, remarkable for their conceptual daring and emotional complexity.
Orens’s approach to the lives and work of the attendees, through the story of this conference, is unusual and well conceived. His account revisits what is certainly one of the most exciting, turbulent periods in the history of science and better acquaints us with people who played significant roles in this drama ... In his treatment of Einstein, Orens discusses a claim that science historians have almost unanimously dismissed—that it was Einstein’s first wife, Mileva, who developed the theory of special relativity. In a book much concerned with lack of recognition for women, Orens’s careful assessment of her minor contribution is appropriate.
[Orens] spends dozens of pages on relatively peripheral matters ... Despite its bloat, The Soul of Genius is a rewarding read about a relationship that I suspect was more complex than extant documentation suggests.
Orens presents portraits of Einstein and Curie that will not replace a focused individual life but it’s a good read ... A painless introduction to two of the 20th century’s greatest geniuses.
Orens, a former executive at Solvay Chemical, over-promises and under-delivers in his debut, a look at the first Solvay Conference ... Orens fails to present evidence that the conference 'changed the course of science'. Instead, he offers biographical snippets of Curie, Einstein, and Solvay that provide little insight ... Readers interested in the history of physics or the lives of its luminaries will be better served elsewhere.
