The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein, Volume 1: The Early Years, 1879-1902 (Original texts)

Volume 1 presents important new material on the young Einstein. Over half the documents made available here were discovered by the editors, including a significant group of over fifty letters that Einstein exchanged with Mileva Maric, his fellow student and future wife. These letters, together with other previously unpublished documents, provide an entirely new view of Einstein's youth. The documents in the volume also foreshadow the emergence of his extraordinary creative power. In them is manifested his intense commitment to scientific work and his interest in certain themes that proved to be central to his thinking during the next decade. We can follow, for example, the beginnings of his preoccupation with the electrodynamics of moving bodies that was to lead to the development of this special theory of relativity. For the first time it can be seen how closely he followed such contemporary developments in physics as Planck's work on radiation theory and Drude's work on the electron theory of metals. In addition to all of Einstein's known correspondence and other writings from this period, the volume includes the relevant portions of all third-party letters and other contemporary documents that provide additional information about his secondary schooling at the Aargau Cantonal School; his four years at the Swiss Federal Plytechnical School, or the ETH; and his search for a job after graduation. Included in the volume are those sections of an unpublished biography by Einstein's sister, Maja Winteler-Einstein, which deal with his early years; his extensive notes on a physics course he took at the ETH; and previously unpublished photographs of the young Einstein and his teachers and friends. Documents in Volume 1 portray Einstein's experiences during the two stressful years after his graduation from the ETH in Zurich. Denied a position as an Assistant at the ETH, he lived a hand-to-mouth existence while he looked for a post at other universities; then he attempted to find a secondary-school post, and finally sought a nonacademic job. Tension with his parents over his plans to marry Mileva Maric is evident throughout this period. With the help of a friend, he finally found work at the Swiss Patent Office, the haven where he would spend the next seven years. Freed from his financial worries, he entered on one of the most productive periods of his life, as the next volume, Writings (1901-1910), will document. A monumental collection of all the documents, letters, and writings of Einstein--both scientific and personal. "The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein is one of the most ambitious publishing ventures ever undertaken in the documentation of the history of science. Selected from among more than 40,000 documents contained in the personal collection of Albert Einstein (1879-1955), and 15,000 Einstein and Einstein-related documents discovered by the editors since the beginning of the Einstein Project, The Collected Papers will provide the first complete picture of a massive written legacy that ranges from Einstein's first work on the special and general theories of relativity and the origins of quantum theory, to expressions of his profound concern with civil liberties, education, Zionism, pacifism, and disarmament. The series will contain over 14,000 documents and will fill twenty-five volumes. Sponsored by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Princeton University Press, the Einstein project was located at and supported by Boston University from 1986 to 2000. Currently located at and supported by The California Institute of Technology, the project will continue to make available a monumental collection of primary material. The Albert Einstein Archives are located at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. After Volume 1, the papers divide into two series, with the documents in each volume presented in chronological order. One series, the Writings, will include such items as Einstein's published and unpublished articles, lecture and research notebooks, book reviews, patent applications, and available accounts of his lectures, speeches, interviews, and other oral statements. The other series, the Correspondence, will include a wide selection of letters written by and to Einstein, as well as significant documents about him by third parties. The Correspondence volumes will also contain calendars of Einstein's life for the years covered. The two series will be extensively cross-referenced. Every document in The Collected Papers will appear in the language in which it was written, while the introduction, headnotes, footnotes, and other scholarly apparatus will be in English. Upon release of each volume, Princeton University Press will also publish an English translation of previously untranslated non-English documents" -- Publisher's website v. 1. The early years, 1879-1902 / John Stachel, editor v. 2. The Swiss years, writings, 1900-1909 v. 3. The Swiss years, writings, 1909-1911 v. 4. The Swiss years, writings, 1912-1914 v. 5. The Swiss years, correspondence, 1902-1914 v. 6. The Berlin years, writings, 1914-1917 v. 7. The Berlin years, writings, 1918-1921 v. 8. The Berlin years, correspondence, 1914-1918 (2 v.). pt. A. 1914-1917. pt. B. 1918 Presents Einstein's writings from the final period of his work in Switzerland. This volume documents Einstein's search for a relativistic theory of gravitation, a search that ended in Berlin in the fall of 1915 with the completion of the general theory of relativity. Presents material on the young Einstein. In addition to Einstein's known correspondence and other writings from this period, this volume includes the relevant portions of third-party letters and other contemporary documents that provide additional information.