Einstein’s Dreams.
LIGHTMAN, Alan.
Einstein’s Dreams.
“Suppose time is a circle, bending back on itself. The world repeats itself, precisely, endlessly”: First Edition of Einstein's Dreams; Inscribed by Alan Lightman
New York: Pantheon Books, 1993.
$600.00
In Stock
Item Number: 151488
First edition of this fictional, philosophical novel where a young Albert Einstein imagines 35 different, fantastical worlds, each with a unique perception of time. Duodecimo, original publisher’s half-cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the title page, “For Ruth with good wishes Alan Lightman February 1998.” Near fine in a near fine dust jacket with bumping and light toning to the textblock. Jacket design by Marjorie Anderson. Jacket photograph by Maria Ferrari.
Einstein’s Dreams (1992) by Alan Lightman is a philosophical novel that imagines a young Albert Einstein in 1905 conceiving a series of fantastical worlds, each governed by a different conception of time. Structured as a sequence of lyrical dream vignettes interwoven with scenes from Einstein’s life in a Swiss patent office, the book explores how variations in time shape human experience, memory, and meaning. Through these speculative visions—ranging from circular and frozen time to fragmented or reversed temporal realities—Lightman reflects on creativity, relativity, and the emotional dimensions of scientific thought. The novel became an international bestseller and received widespread critical acclaim, earning a place on reading lists in both literature and science education for its innovative blending of physics and philosophy.
