He decided to take his mathematics into physics, and became the most rigorous and versatile theorist around.He forged a close friendship with Einstein in wartime Berlin, and quickly grasped the essence of relativity theory. But Born's greatest contribution came when he took up the ideas of his prot? Heisenberg and developed the first full formulation of the quantum behaviour of electrons. Born quickly moved to what became the dominant view, abhorred by Einstein, that the maths described events which could only be understood in terms of probabilities, not definite outcomes.He had to wait until 1954 for a Nobel Prize. Much of that time was spent in the UK, as a refugee from the Nazis.This book is an effort to do him full justice. Greenspan has tracked her man through many archives, and interviewed relatives. She tells the life story clearly, and Born's struggle to come to terms with Germany is gripping enough. A major weakness, though, is that she writes about the science as if the reader already knew what was at issue.
The result makes it easy to warm to Born the man, but hard to grasp his real achievement.. This is one of those books whose title sounds like a joke, like The New Labour Guide to Plain Speaking or The Anne Robinson Book of Wit and Wisdom. Except that this volume isn't an oxymoronic joke or even a moronic one, and its advice is given in complete seriousness. To be fair, the authors aren't really recommending that you take your annual fortnight in the sun under one of the flyovers on the A4 or the central reservation of the M66, thank goodness.
No, they're about finding us all smaller, more human scale, nicer and cheaper alternatives to the motorway services. True, you may have to make a little detour in order to find these pubs, museums and hotels, but, if you're in no hurry then they ought to be worth the effort (and what on earth would you be doing on a congested British motorway if you are in a rush?)The best way to judge this guide is to check its descriptions of some establishment that you yourself are familiar with. In my case I found surprisingly few, and that is to my shame. For example, I was unaware of the existence of the Batemans Brewery at Winfleet, only 0.7 miles off the A52 south west of Skegness (a favourite resort of mine). Next time I'm in the vicinity I'll drop by and try to "ring the bull" as the authors of the Good Guide to Motorway Breaks recommend. I promise I'll let you know what it's like, if I survive my injuries..