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Summary: Want to know more about the general theory of relativity?
Review: This is a very interesting book. Time is required to make some sense of the issues in the book, but if you're reading this review you're probably interested enough in making time. Time, time and more time. I would have liked it if there was more mathematics in the explanations. If you are not mathematically minded this is a good read.
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Summary: A Superb Introduction !
Review: This is a superb introduction to Special Relativity, which this writer, who is certainly no genius, was able to work through at age 18 (not without effort). The material on General Relativity (GR) is no harder, but much less detailed, so that one cannot hope to get a realistic idea of what GR is really about from this book alone. In fact, one needs considerable preparation in Physics and Math to even begin to understand the nature of GR. Unfortunately, the quality of American education has deteriorated enormously over the past three decades, so that even the typical senior Physics major at all but a dozen or so American universities can no longer be expected to cope with this book. This book is a serious introduction and not meant for the present American high school graduate with A's in English but typically eighth-grade reading skills, and whose Math skills consist only of a few faint memories. Nor does the American university, which has responded to the lowering of standards in the high schools by continually lowering its own standards, prepare the student for books like this. Customers who whine that this book shows that Einstein couldn't write English betray not only their own very low reading level and poor preparation (the book requires nothing more than non-AP high-school Math and Physics), but also their foolishness in believing that Einstein, rather than a native speaker of English, prepared the translation into English. For the dedicated reader, for whom learning is a mission, and who has learned his high school Math and Physics, this is an excellent book. It gives the dedicated and prepared reader the chance to interact with one of the greatest minds of all time. Einstein himself believed that any high-school student would be able to read this book with understanding, a belief was shown to be wrong even in 1917. (A reporter in Berlin asked Einstein's niece, then a high-school student if she had read and understood the book. "Oh yes," she replied happily, "everything but the part about coordinate systems!") That this book has endured so long (more than eight decades) in popularity is a testament to the genius of its author and his ability to explain Physics clearly. This is a book which richly repays the effort taken to read it.
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Summary: This book totally explains Special and General Relativaty
Review: The book written by Albert Einstein himself totally explains The Special and General Theory of Relativaty. It is entertaining to the physist with a phd., the student of physisc and the common reader.
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Summary: Einstein the ten of genius
Review: Einstein's theory of relativity is still about the only advanced science theory that I am able to fully understand. His book is the Bible of Relativity, unfortunately like the Bible it is a bit difficult to understand because he is not very fluent in English and although correct he uses words which we modern English speaking people are not familiar with. He is so long and drawn out that one often loses concentration and forgets the start of a topic before getting to the end. This is why I took off one star. If I were to rate Einsteins genius as a ten, then Hawking and others would be a one!
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Summary: Relativity-A work of inspired genious.
Review: At the turn of this century, a group of the greatest physisicists in the world; led the Noble commission onto a greater understanding of the World-As-It Is. They were led, so it seems, by one man of inspired genious.One genious and a hoard of great thinkers.If you want to learn Relativity..learn it from Dr. Einstein. He is still the only man who understands it and can consistently re-evaluate it's importance. I feel that as a contemporery work, that has been re-issued that this book can reassemble the times we are living in,Now and at the same time; clarify a great many issues, which should be explained to those who lack the education. In order to foward the meaning of the times.I had great success with this book and I think he can do it. One of the most enjoyable Scientific works-ever written.
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Summary: Great for the person with a Phd. in physics
Review: A great book for a person already well edjucated on the topic. The vocabulary alone will make a less edjucated reader have a dictonary beside them through the course of the book.
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Summary: too difficult !
Review: This book is a failure. Einstein was a great scientist but a bad writer. The book is difficult, boring, and opaque to the unscientific layman.For three years I've been trying to get a book to teach me the two theories of relativity (General and Special) and I'm always disappointed: There must be a scientist out there who knows how to write ! Or maybe not.
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Summary: Fantastic high quality audio edutainment ...
Review: I would like to take a minute to thank Audio Scholar for abridging Relativity to audio. I thoroughly enjoyed the abridged audio novel and was very happy that I could share it with my 18 month old son who gets to listen to it to as one of his bedtime stories. I would like to encourage Audio Scholar to produce more of these types of edutainment audio programs on tape or CD. I love listening to scientific books on my way to work and also love to share them with my 18 month old son as his bedtime stories. Actually I initially started buying them for my son and then got hooked on them myself. Now we both get to enjoy high quality educational entertainment! In addition the high level of clear announciation in the Audio Scholar work is fantastic, it really helps my son to learn new words, concepts and the organization of the english language. More than he would ever obtain in normal everyday speech. I do not have time in my busy daily schedule to read very much, but do I have five hours a day to listen and learn. If you make it I will support it. Arnold D Veness
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Summary: mastermind at work
Review: The reviewer of April 13 from Moscow, Idaho says this is not the book to read unless you already understand the theory. Maybe fair enough. It was written when Einstein had achieved youthful fame, though, not in his dotage, if he had such a thing. It may be a little more difficult for the translation, but not much. Contrary to some reviewers, it is not that easy to follow, and if it seems like an easy read, you probably haven't understood it. There are many books written since where it is probably easier to learn about special relativity, to say nothing of the basic ideas of general relativity. But once you have started to get the hang of things, this book is a masterpiece of exposition! It allows one to follow Einstein's actual thought process in arriving at these theories -- pretty much by a process of pure thought -- more or less in the steps he probably took himself. There is not a word in the exposition that was not carefully thought out. So, learn the theory somewhere else and then read this book -- you'll understand the theory better for reading Einstein's book -- or read this book first, keep going back to it 'til it starts to make sense, and maybe consult some other, more "user-friendly" textbook at the same time. Einstein claims his book allows a lay reader with only high school math to understand relativity. To which a friend of mine replied "Yeah, if you have an IQ of 800". To which I say, have patience, keep thinking about it and going back to it.
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Summary: try using your eyes a little harder
Review: yes you can get a bannana milkshake in this damn country so stop complaining and go and find your nearest pizza hut.
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