The Other Einstein by Marie Benedict
This is the story of Einstein's first wife, Mileva Maric, and a systematic undoing of seeing Einstein as a scientific hero. Some of the book is fact, but there is a lot to the story that is speculation from the author. It makes for a compelling read and it's quite interesting to research after, and figure out what was actually true.
Maric and Einstein, both physics students, met in college in Switzerland. Einstein wooed her even though she meant to focus on her studies as she and her father had worked hard and sacrificed to make her one of the few women attending college in Europe. Einstein was a difficult student, forgoing class to work on his own theories, and did not earn good recommendations from his professors. Thus, it was difficult for him to find a job upon graduation.
Meanwhile, Maric was a bit behind him in graduating and still in school. Einstein convinced her to go to Lake Como with him for a week where they could have a pre-marriage honeymoon. Somehow, they were both surprised when she ended up pregnant. It was difficult for her to attend classes with her morning sickness. Einstein didn't have work and wouldn't marry her immediately, so she went home to live with her parents in Serbia and try to head off some of the shame of the situation. This meant she failed out of school and never graduated with a diploma.
According to the book, Einstein never met his daughter. He worked in a Swiss patent office and expected his wife to be there to take care of him, without his daughter present. She stayed with Maric's parents. One day, Maric received word that her daughter had scarlet fever, so she rushed home, against Einstein's wishes, to be with her. Unfortunately, her daughter died.
Maric went back to Switzerland a broken woman. Einstein seemed to be emotionally absent about the matter. Through her grief, Maric had new understanding of the world that led to the theory of relativity. She and Einstein worked on a paper about it and Einstein published it solely under his name. Maric was incensed.
The couple ended up with two sons. Maric did her best to put aside her feelings and make a good home for her boys, but Einstein made it increasingly difficult, especially when she discovered his affairs, and he took credit for another one of her ideas. Eventually, things got so bad, Einstein wrote her a list of demands if their marriage was to continue (this is actually true!). This is when Maric took her sons and left. Einstein had notoriety worldwide as a scientist, and went on to marry the cousin he was having an affair with.
General consensus: An intriguing look at a life with one of the world's most celebrated scientists. Maybe he doesn't deserve the adoration we award him so freely?
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