The Essential Einstein: Scientific Writings, and The Essential Einstein: Public Writings – eds. Diana Kormos Buchwald and Tilman Sauer, Princeton University Press, Sept/Nov 2025

The Essential Einstein: Scientific Writings presents Einstein’s most important physics papers, spanning his groundbreaking contributions to statistical mechanics, quantum theory, and relativity as well as his ambitious yet ultimately unrealized attempts at a general unified field theory. This incisive collection contains works that profoundly influenced the trajectory of modern science. Each piece serves not only as a reflection of his intellectual rigor and creativity but also as a cornerstone of contemporary scientific thought.

The Essential Einstein: Public Writings presents a rich selection of Einstein’s humanistic writings drawn from a diverse array of materials he sanctioned for publication during his lifetime. Distinct from previous collections, this incisive book presents previously excerpted works in their entirety, including key articles, lectures, and speeches. These writings delve into significant topics such as philosophy, religion, and art, but also specific important and often contentious issues in education, politics, disarmament, pacifism, international cooperation, the atomic bomb, and Zionism. Among these works, readers will find the brilliant “Notes for an Autobiography” alongside selected popular science articles, which offer a profound understanding of Einstein’s ethical and political worldview.

The Essential Einstein is a two-volume compendium offering general readers and specialists alike a comprehensive resource on the pivotal writings of Albert Einstein. Organized chronologically by leading authorities on Einstein and his work, this collection illuminates the evolution of Einstein’s scientific and humanistic ideas throughout his life. Each selection is accompanied by explanatory notes that detail the work’s background and significance.