Relativity

Rating:
Summary: Great for the young student of Physics
Review: Great for the young student of Physics!

This is an excellent book, written in the "Master's" own style and faithfully translated from the German by Robert Lawson. The translation dates to 1920 and new readers may find the English a little quaint, but for all that, it is a great effort at presenting in "plain speak", the concepts of Relativity.

The book starts with a lucid explanation of the Train and Platform example of Galelian Relativity and then proceeds to highlight the incompatibility between the principle of relativity and the constancy of the speed of light. Without encumbering the reader with the Maths (found in the appendices) the ideas of time dilation and length contraction are discussed. The General Theory is developed via a fine example: that of an observer on a rotating disk.

This is a good complement to the overtly scientific/mathmatical books on the subject. Unfortunately,, despite its many qualities, just like many of the alternatives of this genre, Einstein's book does not fully succeed in explaining the complex concepts to the lay reader. Rather, this is a nice little book that will be suitable for a good calibre Maths/Physics student in the sixth form/high school.

Rating:
Summary: Not Just science
Review: I won't lie to you, the theory of relativity is not simple. The special relativty is easily understood, yet it is a topic covered in university as an speciality in majors more involved with physics, and general relativity is coverd in masters. Both topics can be quite esoteric, and the mathematical explanation for the relativistic deformation of the time-space due to speed uses Fourier's transforms, so most people will have to just have faith in what Einstein is trying to explain. However, he does simplify the subject enough, so anyone with a basis of physics could grasp some of the most important ideas behind his theory.

Furthermore, this book is important in the fact that by proving that relativity was a real fact in physics, the shape of the world in the twentieth century took a great change. I believe that without Einstein's work, the nihilism porfethized by Nietzsche, toghether with the despotic regimes that the will of power would create guided by deviations of the "übermensch" might not have com in such strenght as it did.

Rating:
Summary: Requires a Mature Reader
Review: I've used this book with my high school students - very slow going. You can definitely understand the issues involved in relativity, even as a layman, from reading this book, but THIS IS NOT AN EASY READ! A mature, dedicated reader will get through this book. I'm proud of my high school students for struggling through this book, but readers at that age mostly do not have the intensity to really appreciate it.

Rating:
Summary: Almost perfect
Review: In his effort to create a "simple explanation [of relativity] that anyone can understand" Einstein comes close to perfection.

His language is clear and lucid, and the thought problems he suggests in order to prompt his reader into understanding the faults of classical theory vs. the extraordinary coherence and power of the theory of relativity are downright fun. But make no mistake--this book is not easy.

The concepts behind relativity are difficult to understand and require some patience on the part of the reader. At times, this difficulty is exasperated by Einstein's desire to keep his explanations succinct.

I would start with Einstein's "The Evolution of Physics" in order to get a feeling for the general concepts behind relativity and behind physics in general before attacking this excellent but challenging book.

That having been said, I LOVED every minute I spent reading this book and happily recommend it to anyone interested in twisting their brain around some wild problems with wilder solutions.

Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: How better to learn and appreciate Einsteins theory's of relativity than from his own words. I read this book senior year of Highschool and found it quite engaging. There are some mathmatical prerequisites for understanding everything, but nothing that should keep anyone from understanding. These were the theories that changed the view of the universe and should be known by a wider base of people.

Rating:
Summary: Einstein, to humble for his own good.
Review: This book is very interesting glimpse of where einstein was coming from. this is a book that is still interesting if you understand relativity, because einsein gives a very thorough look at the circumstances surrounding the development of the theory. Including a delineation of the specific problems with newtonian mechanics which neccesitated development of the special and general theories of relativity, which I have never found in any other book on the subject.

He also does a wonderful job of explaining why the special theory was insufficient, and the steps with which he developed the general theory of relativity.

This book is a look at the most wildly hyped theory of the twentieth century, and explains it so that almost anyone should be able to understand it and also undestand why Einstein once said he spent the vast majority of his life trying to understand quantum mechanics, and not relativity.

Rating:
Summary: What I think
Review: I do not have this Edition , I have Princenton's Edition , but this is the most spectacular book I have ever read.

ps' The first time took to me 3 and 1/2 years, to read it.

Rating:
Summary: Relativity for the layman? Explained by its creator.
Review: In Relativity, Einstein trys to bring his theory of relativity to the masses. When the special and general theorys of relativity were concieved of by Einstein, they revolutionized our perception of space and time. This revolution was so complete that many of the most significant physicists of the time believed that it was nonsense. When Einstein won the Nobel prize for his work on the photoelectric effect, his certificate unequivocally stated that the award was NOT given for his theory of relativity. For much of his life, even Einstein was unwilling to accept some of the predictions of his own work such as black holes.

This is all very good, interesting science and history which should be read and understood by everyone. The problem is, though, that Einstein was not a particularly good writer. Einstein is too brilliant for his own good and it shows through frequently in this attempt to stoop to our level. His explanations are usually hard to follow and unintuitive(and I study physics even!). This book exists on an uncomfortable middle ground between rigor and easy reading.

If you would like to read this book simply because of its (and its author's) historical significance then I couldn't discourage that. If you know little physics and want to try to understand relativity, however, read Kip Thorne's Black Holes and Time Warps or the first few chapters of Brian Greene's The Elegant Universe.

Rating:
Summary: You know this book is brilliant.
Review: I want to know who exactly rated this book below 5 stars. I want to know how on earth one could come to the conclusion that this book is anything other than pure excellence. But this goes without saying. Or so I thought. Don't take my advice. Ask yourself--"Do I think a book by Albert Einstein on his world-changing theory will be brilliant?" And I think you know the answer.

Rating:
Summary: Use in parallel with some other book
Review: In this book, Einstein appears to be explaining things to those people who have a hard-time digesting the ideas of relativity. I do not consider it to be a means to learn relativity. However, it can very well be used in parallel with some other book -- you read some other book, and if you find it hard to agree to the ideas mentioned, revert to this book. In my opinion, that is also what Einstein would have had in mind when he wrote that book.

If you are serious about relavity, read his original papers. They are not as difficult as they say they are. In fact, since Einstein mentions everything in full detail, he sounds much more convincing and clearer than all those authors who hide intricate details of the subject.