Inspiring and life changing. Rarely can you say that a book is these things, but this book (and the associated lecture I already blogged about) could be considered both. Randy Pausch is a computer science professor at CMU who is terminally ill. This book accompanies the Last Lecture that has been an Internet phenomenon. I won't go into much detail here, instead telling you to watch the lecture that I have linked in a previous blog post, and if you find that inspirational, buy this book. 5 out of 5 donkeys!

HUGE! That's the first thing that comes to mind when you pick up the book Einstein: His Life and Universe. This 2+ pound monster has over 700 pages detailing the history and life of one of the greatest scientific minds in history. The book recounts the man from his youthful days as a German child through his death while residing in the United States. Einstein's adversity towards authority and the accepted norm lead him to imagine and create some of the most revolutionary physics theories of all time. From his personal life to his life philosophies, this portrait of Einstein gives insight into the details of a man that was so complex we can only hope to understand his basic models of thought.

I highly recommend this book for someone that has a month worth of free time to delve into the minute details of history. A high level understanding of physics is important but not mandatory to enjoying the text. "Einstein: His Life and Universe" receives 4/5 donkeys, only losing points due to the month plus it took me to digest it.