Einstein by Walter Isaacson

Isaacson doesn't grasp the physics well enough to punctuate the ebb and flow of Einstein's life with his insights. Major ebbs not discussed would be Germany's Hyperinflation and the Great Depression. The best econ in the book is:

The response was electrifying. Young girl ushers worked their way with difficulty through the crowded aisles, carrying long boxes. Bills of various denominations were rained into these receptacles. A prominent Jewess cried out ecstatically that she had eight sons who had been in the army and wanted to make some donation in proportion to their sacrifices. She held up her watch, a valuable imported timepiece, and slipped the rings from her hands. Others followed her example, and soon baskets and boxes filled with diamonds and other precious ornaments.

-- Chapter 13, The Wandering Zionist, Einstein in America, 1921

Finally, Isaacson's coverage of Einstein during the Red Scare portrays him as vacillating between willing and unwilling to join the fight against Sen. Mccarthy The Terrorist.

Instead of separating physics and life into distinct yet overlapping chapters, Isaacson would probably have fared better by keeping the book to a strict chronology.