A Study Guide for Alan Lightman's "Einstein's Dreams"

Einstein's Dreams

Alan Lightman

1993

Introduction

Alan Lightman's Einstein's Dreams was first published in 1993 by Warner Books. Despite the fact that the book was Lightman's first work of fiction—he had only written nonfiction books on physics, astrophysics, and astronomy up until that point—the book was an instant critical and popular success, becoming an international bestseller. Set over the course of April 1905 to June 1905, the novel presents a fictional version of the physicist Albert Einstein as he forms his famed theory of relativity. Quite literally a book of Einstein's dreams, nearly every chapter depicts a world in which the laws of time operate under different conditions. Each of the physicist's dreams thus illustrates how humankind's various experiences of time affect their experiences of the world and also of one another. The book, then, is a meditation on the nature of time and of being human. At intervals throughout the book, Einstein is depicted in his waking life as he works towards perfecting the theory of relativity, which will bring him worldwide renown. Given its weighty topic, Einstein's Dreams is one of the few contemporary novels about science to be studied in high schools and colleges nationwide. The original edition of the novel remains in print, and a 2004 edition was released by Vintage Books.

Author Biography

Alan Lightman was born November 28, 1948, in Memphis, Tennessee. His father, Richard Lightman, owned a movie theater chain, and his mother, Jeanne Garretson Lightman, was a dance teacher who also volunteered as a Braille typist. Lightman's scientific talent was apparent early on, and as a young student, he entered (and won) several science fairs and competitions at state and national levels. Lightman attended White Station High School in Memphis, and though he continued his scientific studies, he also began writing poetry. He earned the state-level National Council of Teachers of English literary award for his efforts. Lightman graduated from high school in 1966, and then graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor of arts degree from Princeton University. In 1974, he received his Ph.D. in theoretical physics from the California Institute of Technology. Lightman went on to conduct his post-doctorate work in astrophysics at Cornell University from 1974 to 1976, publishing his poems in literary magazines at the same time. Lightman married the painter Jean Greenblatt in 1976, and the couple has two daughters, Elyse and Kara.

After working as assistant professor of astronomy at Harvard University from 1976 to 1979, Lightman became a lecturer in astronomy and physics there from 1979 to 1989. He also worked at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, as a staff astrophysicist from 1979 to 1989. During this time, Lightman published his first scientific textbooks, including Problem Book in Relativity and Gravitation (1975) and Revealing the Universe: Prediction and Proof in Astronomy (1982), which Lightman edited with James Cornell. By 1981, Lightman began writing essays about the more human aspects of science, most of which were published in a Science column from 1982 to 1986. These essays were also collected and published as Time Travel and Papa Joe's Pipe: Essays on the Human Side of Science (1984) and A Modern-Day Yankee in a Connecticut Court, and Other Essays on Science (1986). In 1989, Lightman joined the Massachusetts Institute