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Summary: Theory of Relativity for everyone
Review: If you want to understand the basic concepts of the Theory of Relativity, this book is the BEST ONE to start with. Even if you have already studied the topic and you THINK you understand it, I STILL RECOMMEND that you read Spacetime Physics. Chances are that your knowledge will be much better organized or at least you will find it more easy to explain it to others.The authors' approach clearly shows that they have extensive experience in teaching and they know which concepts usually cause most difficulty for students. These hard-to-grasp points are explained through creative analogies and parables. The most relevant experiments are explained clearly. The authors manage to achieve clarity without compromising accuracy. Keep in mind, however, that while Spacetime Physics is a great place to start, it only covers the basics, so you will need other books for a decent knowledge on the topic. It will definitely not be enough to survive a serious course on the Theory of Relativity.
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Summary: WORST BOOK EVER!
Review: oooohh, look, little talking bird tells you about special relativity. how enlightening! it is ful of filthy LIES! oooooohh, we're too clever to use standard terms. lets make up new words. momenergy, sounds good! now lets lie some more!! lets tilt a meter stick. lets write a stupid book for stupid-heads. end of review ps i was being sarcastic
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Summary: Not the Idiot's Guide to Relativity
Review: Reading some of the reviews below, I'm reminded of a cartoon showing Moses parting the Red Sea. One Israelite is grumbling to another, "It's a bit damp in there, isn't it ...." I know the folksy style of this book can be off-putting to some. But if anyone thinks that the *content* is dumbed down, it can only mean they haven't scratched below the surface and discovered the extraordinary wealth of examples, insightful applications and programmed exercises. Taylor and Wheeler (John Wheeler, one of the outstanding theoreticians of our time) are attempting to acculturate students (ouch) to the counter-intuitive world of special relativity, set in the context of general relativity. That takes more than a collection of formulas given in a handout at the start of the semester. You don't need heavy math, but you do need much thoughtful pedagogy. They succeed brilliantly and, contrary to some opinions, do so without glossing over anything of importance. The only aspect of basic relativity not touched on is the covariant formulation of the electromagnetic field equations (I defy anyone to do that without a couple of years' calculus). In short, the book is far from trivial. It is accessible to any numerate high-school graduate able and willing to think. I can't imagine how it could have been done better. P.S. Complimentary copies should be sent to Latour, Irigaray et Cie, Paris.
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Summary: Don't buy it, unless you must
Review: Spacetime Physics 2nd edition
The primary culprit is the course lecturer who specified this to be a course book for Relativity and Gravitation in the University of Washington (Seattle), but you have to blame the authors too, they should know better then to publish such rubbish.
It is a book which (I suppose) was meant to teach Relativity to idiots, whose Math. level is pre-calculus, it fails miserably.
Be warned - if you read this book then all your previous knowledge about relativity (and possibly your sanity) are at risk. Here is an example (page 31). They define a "free float" frame and substitute it for "inertial frame" in all subsequent pages, including the wording of the principles of relativity (page 55). This is a crime, the clueless student will learn a term which no other scientist in the world is using, and how is that a good idea? This is pure conceit on the parts of the authors.
There are many ways to annoy your reader, this book has more than most, including the "thinking man" who puts up hard questions and a smart Raven (black bird?) which gives answers, but then this is a book for idiots. There are also 2-3 pages long exercises, most of which include actual study material.
Half or more of the equations are in word form: (proper time)^2 = (stretch factor)^2- (speed)^2 X (lab time)^2
The course, which started with ~ 70 students, has only 8 left and not one of us is using the book as a study book, I'm keeping it to the end of term only because the course lecturer specifies the exercises from it.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful Presentation
Review: Students who wish to understand underlying CONCEPTS of relativity couldn't find a friendlier or more modern geometrical introduction than this book. It doesn't overwhelm and obscure the subject with too much mathematical abstraction. I very much enjoyed using this book in a class at MIT, taught by one of the authors (Taylor). Another good beginner's book is by Anthony French, although it is not in the "geometric" style. A totally non-mathematical, yet deeply enlightening book is "Relativity Visualized" bt Lewis Carrol Epstein... very highly recommended. If one doesn't love physics, then none of these books will be enjoyed. A higher level of mathematical exposition can be found in Schutz's book on General Relativity. Also, Schwarz & Schwarz's "Special Relativity" is a wonderful book which speeds fairly quickly into more advanced aspects of special relativity (and its mathematics), but this would not be a good book for first introduction for the typical student. There are many others, but these are my favorites!
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Summary: I find it rather pointless
Review: the body of the book, the writing style, the explanations, etc. are all good - like so many people so thoroughly put it; but for me at least, this book has no point first of all, it's about 300 pages long - and how much material is "really" covered? not much more than the material in a SINGLE chapter in most algebra or calculus based physics books - the book that I study from - Physics for Scientists and Engineers by Serway - talks about most of the things in this 300 page book; the book is just not time-effective and do we really need 300 pages on special relativity - gosh, it's used in SO MANY FIELDS; unless you are a physics major / researcher / big fan, why read this book? physics major and researchers probably won't be satified with just this book anyway - like the caltech guy said, it's too easy that leaves the "big fan" group - well, they can read another book that gives them the results of the special and general relativity, skipping all the math and by the way, I think all attempts to make special relativity intuitive is futile; if it's so intuitive, it would have been inveted long before 1905; how does the author try to make it intuitive? by feeding you 300 pages; I suppose if you spend enough time on anything, it gets intuitive! yeah, do multi-variable calculus everyday and a year later, it's intuitive too! I take it as a fact for myself that sepcial relativity is not intuitive and not needed it most fields; all we need is an AWARENESS of the theory and its RESULTS; and that's why I think the author's approach and hence book is pointless
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Summary: Ideas First
Review: This book is a courageous attemp to make special relativity more intuitive, easier and .. well fun. As such it could have been written only by two first class scientific minds and masters of physics like Taylor & Wheeler. The thing is... great scientist tend to have a distorted sense of what is fun and, more important, what is easy...Some points in the book could have been explained in a clearer and less wordy way. I find the author's obsession with trying to explain everything geometrically a bit disturbing. But don't get me wrong, this text is a great accomplishment as it manages to give a clear, effective introduction to one of the most puzzling areas of physics, without burdening you with heavy math and tons of formulas. And what is most important, it makes you understand that in physics what is important is .. IDEAS.. not terse expositions, formulas, mathematical rigor.. as important as they are as aid to express ideas and obtain results.
Definetely a recommended read for anyone with a serious interest in special relativity. Only, don't let this be your only book on the subject.
Rating: 
Summary: Good for Some/Not for Others
Review: This book was required for my first-year physics course. I got the same information from two fifteen page packets handed out in the beginning of the course. This text is good for a general audience, but the more serious readers should just head to Wald's text.
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Summary: This book truly explains special relativity.
Review: This is a college text to teach special relativity at an introductory level. It has been worked and reworked. The topic is drilled and redrilled in an accessible and complete manner. If you're frustrated by the flip summaries, and really want to understand topics like the twin paradox, this is the book! The math is presented but is not the language of the book. The coverage includes ALL of the areas where special relativity applies, many in exercises and special "boxes". You can go as far as you like. You will never again wonder what special relativity means, or doubt the consequences of the theory!
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Summary: a good introduction, for those who need it
Review: This is a fun book to read, and a good introduction to the topic of special relativity. Those who are looking for a laid back, amusing introduction would love this book. Those posters who are giving it 1-2 stars, I have one question - why did you buy the book? Looking at all the negative posts, they have one thing in common, they were all made by people with some exposure to the topic of special relativity (ie, university physics students). Why one earth would someone studying relativity in university purchase a basic book like this? There are text books written on a more advanced level for people like this - and they should know this. If I'm an advanced expert user of Excel, why would I buy "Excel for Dummies" and complain that it was too basic? (unless I was hoping to impress people with how smart I am). The title says it all "Introduction to Special Relativity", yes its big, its dumb at times, but its also fun and definitely worth getting
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