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    Maverick Genius: The Pioneering Odyssey of Freeman Dyson
    Unavailable
    Maverick Genius: The Pioneering Odyssey of Freeman Dyson
    Unavailable
    Maverick Genius: The Pioneering Odyssey of Freeman Dyson
    Ebook512 pages7 hours

    Maverick Genius: The Pioneering Odyssey of Freeman Dyson

    By Phillip F. Schewe

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    The biography of one of most inventive, courageous, and brilliant thinkers of our time, who worked for the Pentagon and NASA, helped write the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, and assisted Stanley Kubrick with 2001: A Space Odyssey.

    Scientist. Innovator. Rebel.

    For decades, Freeman Dyson has been regarded as one of the world's most important thinkers. The Atlantic wrote, "In the range of his genius, Freeman Dyson is heir to Einstein – a visionary who has reshaped thinking in fields from math to astrophysics to medicine, and who has conceived nuclear-propelled spaceships designed to transport human colonists to distance planets." Salon.com says that, "what sets Dyson apart among an elite group of scientists is the conscience and compassion he brings to his work." Now, in this first complete biography of Dyson, author Phillip F. Schewe examines the life of a man whose accomplishments have shaped our world in many ways.

    From quantum physics to national defense, from space to biotechnology, Dyson's work has cemented his position as a man whose influence goes far beyond the field of theoretical physics. It even won him the million dollar Templeton prize for his writing about science and religion. Recently, Dyson has made headlines for his controversial views on global warming, and he continues to make waves in the science community to this day.
    A colleague of Albert Einstein at Princeton and friends with leading thinkers including Robert Oppenheimer, George F. Kennan, and Richard Feynman, Freeman Dyson is a larger-than-life figure. Many of his colleagues, including Nobelists Steven Weinberg and Frank Wilczek, as well as his wives and his children, Esther and George Dyson, have been interviewed for this book.

    Maverick Genius,     Schewe's definitive biography, paints a compelling and vibrant portrait of a man who has been both praised for his genius and criticized for his unorthodox views.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Publishers
    Release dateFeb 26, 2013
    ISBN9781250021014
    Unavailable
    Maverick Genius: The Pioneering Odyssey of Freeman Dyson
    Author

    Phillip F. Schewe

    PHILLIP F. SCHEWE works at the Joint Quantum Institute at the University of Maryland, where he is director of communication.  He has a PhD in physics but has spent most of his career as a writer, chiefly as an explainer and popularizer of science.  In addition, he has written numerous plays, which have been performed in New York, Washington, DC, and elsewhere.  His book The Grid, a history of the impact of electricity on society, was called by NPR one of the top science books of the year for 2007.  He lives in Takoma Park, Maryland.

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    Reviews for Maverick Genius

    3.5/5

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    • 2/5
      A slightly disappointing book about Freeman Dyson. The book was written without the participation of Dyson, but with assistance of others from the family.The author seems to struggle a little in understanding or presenting the essence of the work Dyson did in physics - it's not easy, but if you decide to write a bio of a scientist who made his name in quantum physics, then you need to be able to deal with the content!The author also has a an annoying habit of repeating information - a little like a low-budget TV documentary that offers recapitulations after every ad break.Dyson comes across as an interesting character, prone to contrariness, and tilting toward eccentricity with age.
    • 4/5
      This is a well written book for a narrow audience. I think the reader must have some knowledge of and interest in sciences and science issues. During his long career Mr.s Dyson has dabbled in many different areas of science although Physics is his specialty.. He has almost always rejected the majority view in the scientific community - like on global warming which he sees some benefit to it happening. Although the book tells the story of his background and family life the main thrust here is to focus on his wide variety of accomplishment and almost satisfaction at being a renegade to the scientific establishment.
    • 4/5
      As is usual, I received this book via a GoodReads giveaway. Despite the kind consideration of paying nothing for the book my candid opinions follow below.To begin, a few key points. The first of which is to point out that this book has very little to do with science, or indeed anything especially technical. It is first and foremost a biography. Anyone wishing to learn about Dyson's achievements at a technical level will find themselves wholly disappointed. Further, the book is organized as a simple chronology of events and while it touches on some of Dyson's interactions with the more technical crowd which surrounded him throughout his lifetime, it doesn't go into them in any satisfactory depth.After this book it is clear to any reader that Dyson is the ultimate polymath. Excelling at any number of disciplines he's pretty much what I would aim for myself, broad and wise pursuit of all available knowledge. One can find no more auspicious target than that.Despite the incisive perception of the subject, the author does tend to drag in his presentation. The events of Dyson's life are laid out on display but as a more technical reader I found myself tapping my foot a bit in the metaphorical sense. It took a long time to convey what I wanted to know. Readers with a more personal or biographical bent are sure to be pleased where I was impatient.In summary, Dyson is clearly a miracle of his age. This biography, however, leaves the most interested parties, the nerds and geeks of the world, a bit disappointed. To those who simply wish to know about the man, all satisfaction is guaranteed. To those who want the back story on the specific technical innovations, prepare for disappointment.