“I am deeply moved by the offer from our State of Israel, and at once saddened and ashamed that I cannot accept it. All my life I have dealt with objective matters, hence I lack both the natural aptitude and the experience to deal properly with people and to exercise official functions.

So wrote Albert Einstein in response to the offer to become president of Israel in 1952 at the age of 73. By then, Einstein had become as much a personality as a scientist, as the documents and photos in this book reveal. Selected from his personal papers, many of which have not been published before, the material provides a fascinating insight into Einstein – both the man and the myth.

We get to see a personal letter written by Erwin Schrödinger in 1925 showing the influence that Einstein had on his development of wave mechanics, and a message from Max Planck urging the re-establishment of ties between German and other European physicists after the First World War. Letters showing Einstein’s crucial role in the development of nuclear weapons – and his strong anti-nuclear sentiments after 1945 – are also included.

But it’s not all serious stuff. There is a letter from a six year old instructing Einstein to get his hair cut, and a bizarre request from “The Shoe Club” for Einstein’s right shoe.

The book is also superbly designed, with most of the correspondence reproduced in facsimile form, and with many charming photos of Einstein at work and at home.