Relativity: The Special and General Theory (Dover Books on Physics)

This is a review for the Three Rivers Press 1995 paperback printing: This is the original 1920 version of Einstein's semi-popularized write-up of the special and general theories of relativity, with additional commentary and considerations in the appendices. There is no single work that has sustained my interest and fascinated me for so long as this work, the primary reason for my career path in physics. The mathematics are generally simple enough that, in principle, someone with a knowledge of algebra will be able to understand the vast majority of the mathematics. In the event that things get complicated with the math, the text is quite lucid and well written. I say all of this having first read the book when I was in middle school. It's not an easy text for any newcomer, but, I am confident, it can be understood by most competent individuals willing to make a couple of passes through, and it is likely to be especially accessible for those who know something of Einstein's work. Overall, I think this is a text that everyone should give a try, at some point, being one of the greatest human intellectual achievements in history, the ideas matching and, in the opinions of some, surpassing the creative human achievements in other forums; and I personally think a science-literate society that properly values science should be acquainted, even if only in passing, with Einstein's most heralded ideas. As far as this edition, it's not bad. It's the one I purchased when I was in middle school. There are a few things to know. One the positive side, it has a couple of essays not contained in the other editions I have of the selfsame book. The two essays this one contains that others do not (they are included in this edition's appendices) are: "The Structure of Space According to the General Theory of Relativity" and "Relativity and the Problem of Space." On the downside, there isn't even so much as a biographical sketch. The typeset isn't the best, either. This edition is particularly longer in page number (and in paper thickness) than any other edition I have. If you are looking for one with a good introduction, I highly recommend the Barnes and Noble edition, which features an introduction by Amit Hagar. The edition I would avoid, because it has no introduction and is missing the aforementioned essays, is the "Great Minds Series" edition. (Note: All of these editions mentioned are the same and authorized translator, Robert W. Lawson.)

A special description of the basis and the meaning of the Theory. It really is elegant in its simplicity. Einstein's explanation of the basis and origin of Special Relativity is especially intuitive and easy to follow, even with just a background of high school geometry. It is also quiet surprising to find that the derivation of E = m c^2 comes from the necessity of the speed of light being constant for all reference frames in relative motion. The General Theory, however, really can't be understood apart from non-Euclidean geometry, so the explanation of it it's much harder to follow. It is still worth the read, though, to see Einstein's explanation of how the effect of gravity is indistinguishable from the effect of steady acceleration, and how this leads to the conclusion that space curves in the presence of mass. It will also surprise many, as it did me, of how much emphasis Einstein puts on the equivalence of time and space in the structure of the universe, compared to how little time he spends on the equivalent of energy and matter. All in all a great read.

My daughter had to get this for school. Otherwise, we would not have purchased this. Nice little book and best price is on Amazon. Great shipping. Easy to read and understand for my 17 year old, but it was assigned reading for one of her classes. This helps explain a more complex theory so laymen can grasp the concept. So here is the reality, for those who need to read the book because it is assigned (and mind you, if you are NOT going to be touching on this subject again unless you have to take another class to get some prerequisites done) and you are not going into this field of study, then this is for you. After this class, she most likely will NOT be picking up this book to read for leisure. It is just not her thing. ;-) Like I said, it was assigned reading for her senior high school class. Making it an "assigned reading" for a public school class should also tell you this has a decent grasp on the subject matter anyways to say the least.

Good book.

This book provides and introduction to both Special and General Relativity without excessive use of math. While the reader does need a good collage level math background to get the most out of this book, the book does not focus on the math. The book has three parts: 1) In the first section using logical arguments Einstein takes the reader from Newtonian mechanics to Special Relativity. 2) In the second section Einstein takes the reader to the next step: General Relativity. I don't think this section went into enough dept. 3)The last section explores the greater impact of Relativity on our understanding of the universe. 4) There are a set of appendices that provide interesting details. In my opinion this book is great start for someone who wants to get a basic understanding of Relativity. However the material is not at all complete or rigorous. Therefore anyone with serious interest in this topic should first read this, then proceed to more in-depth material. Many advanced texts are available however the reader must first obtain the proper math background. On the whole this is a great book. I would have rated it 4 had it been written by a lesser man, nevertheless out of respect for this great man it deserves 5 stars. Highly recommended.

Caveat: I’ve noticed that Amazon book reviews seem not to be tied to a specific edition of a book; rather, the same reviews will often appear for every edition of a particular title. My complaints about this book apply only to the specific edition I got from Amazon, not to Einstein’s text in general. The edition I have lacks any publication information apart from the fact that it was printed in San Bernardino, CA, on 15 July 2014. Other than that, there is nothing anywhere in the book that identifies the publisher. The ISBN is 9781619491502, and a quick Google search reveals that the publisher is “Empire Books,” though the publisher’s name appears nowhere on or in the book itself (and frankly, I don’t blame them for not wanting to take credit for this mess). Nonetheless, it is the edition with a drawing of Einstein’s face on the cover, with the title above the drawing and the subtitle and author’s name below it. Einstein’s monograph on the theory of relativity is simply brilliant, of course, and I wouldn’t presume to critique his work. But “Empire Books,” or whatever fly-by-night publisher was responsible for this particular edition of the book, was inexcusably negligent. The edition that I got from Amazon is simply riddled with typographical and formatting errors, which in some places are so bad that they make it difficult to follow the text. I know nothing about who is behind “Empire Books,” but I strongly suspect that some clever young entrepreneur with access to a printing press thought that an easy way to make a quick buck would be to print and sell new editions of books that were in the public domain. I have no problem with this business model in principle — I might even consider doing it myself if I owned a printing press. My complaint is with the poor quality control. If you’re going to go into the publishing business, in my opinion, you have an obligation to your customers to make sure that the books you print are properly formatted and have been proofread at least well enough to catch glaring mistakes. You can’t just download a text file from Project Gutenberg or some similar site and print it out as is, never even bothering to check it for errors. I certainly wouldn’t recommend this edition of Einstein’s excellent book to anyone. Find one from a more reliable publisher.

I like science and this book is hard too understand but still fun to read

Well-written presentation by the author and translator in bite-sized chunks of information, developing the theories in logical steps. Some understanding of algebra is needed to follow the arguments, but concepts sequentially build on each other. Supporting appendices help explain material essential to the book for those needing additional background. Some language is dated and uses formats and expressions no longer in use, but can be understood through careful reading. Some terms might require a dictionary for those not having prior physics experience, but this is not a major limitation. Given how broadly these theories are now used, this short book is a worthwhile time investment for any serious adult or high school student. It would be a great book to read and discuss with others for its meaning and implications.

This book is a ripoff. Someone printed some pdf, but it doesn't even contain the images. Instead, it contained the file names (!) of the images.

A relatividade mudou todos os conceitos sobre o universo, e continua válida, proporcionando viagens espaciais

Es un clásico. Observo que en esta edición solo hay cuatro apéndices, cuando en otras hay cinco. (Quinto apéndice "La relatividad y el problema del espacio")

Like no other, Albert Einstein celebrates simplicity combined with imagination and precise, scientific knowledge and methodology to explain the breathtaking, harmonious structure that the universe is based on. WHAT A REVOLUTIONARY, MINDBOGGLING BOOK. THANK YOU!

Ho avuto la sensazione di aver capito perfettamente la teoria della relatività, ma appena ho terminato il libro mi sono accorto che era solo l'effetto illusorio dell'impressionante lucidità di Einstein nell'esporre concetti a lui evidentemente chiarissimi. Mente superiore.