Really loved the artwork and this intricate retelling of Albert Einstein. Hope Ottaviani continues with the series of graphic novels on well-known individuals in history.

"Einstein" by Jim Ottaviani, with art by Jerel Dye, transcends the scientific icon to unveil the human intricacies of one of history's greatest minds. Beyond the equations and wild hair, Ottaviani and Dye present a beautifully illustrated journey into Einstein's life. The graphic novel captures the essence of the scientist's struggles, mistakes, and profound humanity with striking visuals that complement the narrative. As they peel back the layers of celebrity, Ottaviani and Dye provide readers with not just a biography, but a visual and emotional experience, making "Einstein" a captivating exploration enriched by its beautiful illustrations.

I did not know much about Albert Einstein before reading this book. I was able to get a copy through NetGalley. Thank you so much. I think that learning about his work and theories can be intimidating. By reading about them while being able to follow with images made this more accessible. It was easy to follow the timeline. The images added to the retelling of Einstein’s life. I look forward to reading more from Jim Ottiavani.

Beautiful illustrations and nice storyline.
Learning about Einstein’s life was really interesting and fascinating.
Thank you to the publisher for letting me read the advanced copy.

Book 91 of 200 ~ 2023

🌟🌟🌟🌟💫

You know you get quality graphic novels when it is published by First Second, and this did not disappoint.

You can tell how much effort went into the research without needing to see the long reference list.

What I particularly enjoyed was the various points of view so many had about Einstein, including his own. He always seems to be in his own world, and I kinda feel sorry for his first wife.

Rather bizarro that he married his cousin, but I guess things were different then?

It did take me a little longer to finish than my usual books, but it was worth every minute.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This was an interesting graphic novel. I love learning new things, and it was great fun. The pictures were great with a wonderful use of colours. It certainly made what could be complex science more fun and easier to understand. If you want to learn about Einstein life in a fun, unique way, then this book is for you. It's great for teen to adult
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A fascinating read as to be expected, and the art truly exceeded my expectations! Full review on socials.

"Einstein" , written by Jim Ottaviani is a graphic novel that attempts to provide an in depth biography of its titular subject. while explaining the nature and importance of his scientific and mathematical work. The book largely succeeds at its first objective, although its coverage of Einstein's life is uninspired, lacks depth and is generally uncritical of its subject. The book largely fails in its second objective which is mostly due to its reliance on narrative techniques to explain scientific concepts in stead of leveraging the power of the graphic novel format to properly illustrate them.

Thanks to NetCalley and the publisher, First Second Books, for providing me with a review copy in exchange for my honest review.

A deep, intricate retelling of Albert Einstein's life. At times quite dense, it took me quite a while to finish. The author uses a neat narrative trick, where people who are inside a scene, will give commentary about what is happening to the reader. Recommended.

This may be the first First Second book that I thought was just OK. It's a very detailed look into Einstein's life at 300 pages. The majority of it focuses on his advances in physics. They are certainly remarkable. They are also very dry and sometimes require repeat reading to understand. Depending on your interest level, they may go completely over your head. I was already familiar with most of them and have a background in science and engineering so I was OK. The book seems to be written for those in advanced sciences. The art was middling. I was constantly forgetting who anyone other than Einstein was. Everyone else had a sameness to them compounded by only the tiny little lettering below each figure to introduce each new person. Unfortunately this was just a chore to get through.

Thank you, Jim Ottaviani, First Second, and NetGalley for the digital copy. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

An interesting aspect of this graphic novel was how the author, much like the star of the book, Albert Einstein, used and manipulated time as a medium to reveal his life-story. Intertwining frequent breaking of the fourth wall with active narration by family and associates of Einstein directly to the audience, the author gives an insight into Einstein's life events, affairs, and relationships that shaped his thinking and eventually, the world at large.

The explanation of the physics of his papers is not sidelined or ignored, and is brought out through the dynamic and engaging illustrations of Jerel Dye. This is especially visible in the beautifully written interaction between Einstein and Isaac Newton. The art in this book has a depth that is representative of 19th century aesthetics. A sooty temperament permeates the panel, and the brown suits with black boots accentuate this further. The usage of different degrees of broken violins to depict how hot or cold Einstein were to a functioning idea was genius in and of itself.

The (<s>biography</s>) story of Einstein, as the author prefers it, is suited for the young and old, the tired and inspired and most importantly, a must-read for those who know Einstein merely through grapevine on modern forms of media. The book elegantly detangles the man from the legends that were imposed on him, such as being poor in mathematics or serving in a low-ranking position when coming up with epoch-making ideas in the form of the relativity theory and photoelectic effect. Einstein, in addition to occupying a respectable role in the patent office, was in constant touch with the historical greats such as Planck and Wein, providing him with the essential feedback and discussion he required to reach his goal and carve his path, despite hurdles.

The hardships Einstein was put through despite his annus mirabilis is humbling, and forces one to look at their circumstances (and excuses) more critically. The role of European antisemitism in the suppression of Einstein's career was rightfully not ignored. I can't imagine how infuriating it must have been to produce research that forms the basis of the 21st century at the youthful age of twenty-six, and needlessly be stifled due to the small mindedness of bureaucrats. The politics of the time, be it the criticism of his theory from a nationalistic and racial point of view, or the apocalyptic World War II, goes to show success without hurdles, trivial or not, is a concept that must be quickly disposed of.

While Einstein was living and fighting on his terms, the fate of Mileva Marić was regretfully highly tied-up to Einstein to blossom independently. Despite being an accomplished and trained physicist in her own right, it is disheartening to see her potential squandered at the behest of the patriarchal culture and a half-interested husband. Mileva is a stand-in for the scores of women who were navigating a completely different set of waves, having to dance at a tune set by somebody else. The author did a fantastic job in having Mileva tell her own story to the audience, criticising Einstein for his lack of care, arrogance and wandering eye.

While the breaking of the fourth wall was an excellent device to provide explanations, context and predictions, it was used a little too much, which takes the reader away from the present tense to bobbing around in time while making (disruptive) mental notes.

The speech bubbles in some panels weren't clear at first glance as to whether the character was speaking to the reader or not. This, of course, was quickly taken care of, but a slightly different speech bubble would have helped in eliminating the aforementioned double-takes.

Conclusion

The story of the science is as important as the science itself. The back and forth between Niels Bohr and Einstein was emblematic in this respect. With several artistic panels to gawk at and a fantastic story to be in awe of, this is an entertaining first course to budding scientists and those who find biographies difficult to get through. While spanning a large area of Einstein's life, it is not self-contained, due to the existence of unresolved controversies from the status of Einstein's first child to Mileva Marić's co-authorship of his papers.

I am personally looking forward to picking up Walter Isaacson and Abraham Pais' biographies of Einstein, respectively, and Thirty Years That Shook Physics by George Gamow, of the many sources cited by the author.

There is something powerfully emotional about the way the author concludes his books, like the peace and satisfaction realised after concluding an arduous but rewarding journey. He did it with Feynman, he does the same with Einstein.

Thank you Netgalley for letting me read and review this book. Einstein is a graphic novel about the life of Einstein. It is a deep look into from where he was born, to his troubles in school, to his love of math and science, to his wife and kid, and just an intimate look at his life.

I enjoyed this graphic novel overall, but I think it was too long. I lost interest a few times and put it down for a while. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to know more about Einstein.

In this uniquely designed graphic biography titled "Einstein," Jim Ottaviani and Jerel Dye peal off the external veneer of Einstein’s illustrious celebrity to paint an intimate, intricately complex portrait of the world’s most famous scientist, one of history's greatest minds, remembered in every century by his world-changing equation, E = mc². However, who he really was always remained a hidden mystery, even to his closest friends. This is the inspiring story of a brilliant scientist, a humanist who couldn't connect with people, a reluctant revolutionary who lived with a single dream, the human brain behind some of the last century's greatest discoveries. Einstein’s brilliance was imaginative, intuitive, complex and confounding. Readers will find this captivating book very interesting to read, an excellent chance to analyse the man himself as he really was, an enigmatic genius.

This graphic story of the famous scientists life is thick with science. The point of view is very interesting, people in Einstein's life from intimates to an ice cream store owner speak to the reading audience directly every now and again. What I did not know before was what a womanizer Professor E was.

I had a hard time putting this graphic novel down. We see the life of this man get told, and nothing is left out. This man was not perfect and they were okay with that. Yet as this graphic novel comes to a close science was forever changed.

There's a lot of information about Einstein out there, but it's mostly about his scientific achievements. We know about relativity, we know about calculus, we know that he did poorly in school (not exactly true), but we don't really know much about him as a person. This book fills in some of those blanks. He was a person, driven mostly by scientific curiosity, who had gifts and flaws like anyone else. This book--which does a pretty decent job at explaining the scientific theories for laymen-- explores Einstein as a person and not just a genius.

This was a really well written graphic novel and the art was beautiful. I'm just not sure that I was the right audience for it. I am not really a science person and a lot of the explanations of Einstein's work was very difficult to understand. It felt very text book. I enjoyed the parts about Einstein's life though. I do think this is a good book for some people. Just not for me.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in return for my honest feedback.

This was fine. If you're into Einstein's theories and science then check this out. If you are interested in his life, maybe skip this one. It's heavy on the science and it honestly gets repetitive and boring after 200 pages.

A truly interesting biographical take on the life of Einstein. The imagery of the story keeps the reader involved and highlights the life of an icon; without painting him through rose-tinted glasses. Perfect for STEM enthusiasts or those who want to learn more about his life.

Instantly recognizable and world famous, most of what we know about Einstein is on the level of caricature. So it is fitting that cartoons are used to flesh out the man, his place in history and the astonishing complexity of his theories. Ottaviani has made a specialty in profiling revolutionary scientists whose controversial discoveries transformed our understanding - using speech bubbles, asides, flashbacks and foreshadowing to tell the complicated history of who, how and why. Those who know a little about Einstein will find the familiar stories fleshed out: his late acquisition of language, difficulty finding a teaching position and the letter to F.D.R. that launched the Manhattan Project. Here too are extensive insights into his personal relationships, family, marriages, affairs, politics and his all important conversations with a whose-who of the most important physicists, astronomers and mathematicians of the 20th century. Engaging cartoon style drawings, varied panel design and size, and sophisticated colors, complement the conversational text. Those who understand the import of Einstein’s theories and thought experiments will be fascinated to see them visually represented and placed in context. Those with less of a grasp on the science are given a chance to glimpse what all the fuss is about, and to acquire a glimmer of understanding of conceptual physics. While not for the casual comic book reader, Einstein will be welcomed by those interested in the great man and the theory of relativity, as well as by high school physics teachers hoping to open up a world of revolutionary thought to a new generation.
Thanks to Netgalley and First Second for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.