Einstein's Dreams

Dreams of Time

Imagine a world where you know when the world will end. Would you spend the rest of your life reading poetry, making love and taking vacations to exotic locations? Would you work furiously until the last second, when the earth dissolves into raindrops or melts from the heat of the sun? So many questions, so many ideas to turn into dreams of what time could be, what it actually is and what it might be in your future. As we find ourselves falling into time over the years, time seems to be racing by faster. Imagine a world where time is different for everyone, or is this already true? Almost every chapter in this book is a dream or a thoughtful consideration. There are moments of sublime beauty and unexpected humor. Visual paradise jumps out from the pages as you read vivid descriptions of worlds where time changes as constantly as the hands on a clock. Alan Lightman presents a journey into worlds where your life could either repeat in endless cycles or you could live your entire life in a day. The concept of being able to live three lives or more at once sounds wonderful because imagine the goals you could accomplish. The moment of stunning clarity came to me on page seventy. "There is a place where times stands still. Raindrops hang motionless in air. Pendulums of clocks float mid-swing." Alan Lightman is an artist with words and paints breathlessly beautiful images. Time could be a flock of birds or a movie rewinding endlessly into eternity past. After reading Einstein's Dreams you may feel you have lived in a dream. I recognized a number of my own philosophies of life and was amazed by the way Alan Lightman weaves dream-like contemplations into revelations of the philosophy of life itself. The time you spend reading Einstein's Dreams will seem far too short. This book is 4 ½ x 6 ½ and I recommend the hardcover edition. The cover is beautiful with golden chocolate brown and black backgrounds. The clock is printed in a shiny black ink and is much more impressive t...