Einstein's Universe

Rating:
Summary: OK....
Review: Although it's not the best scientific reference, this book is pretty good for someone just wondering about the science of the universe. It helps explain things in normal, everyday terms and not with long scientific formulas and theorums.

The bottom line: Even though the information in this book may be a little out-of-date, it is still a good read for most people.

Rating:
Summary: Relativity Made Easy!
Review: For a long time I've desired an understanding of relativity. Having just finished this book, I have achieved my goal -- without struggling with impossible equations. Thank you, Nigel Calder. (Albert Einstein is not a co-author of this book, by the way).

Due to the complex subject, this book isn't a particularly easy read. But the author keeps it very interesting and does as good a job as possible in translating the theories into understandable concepts. If you want a basic understanding of gravity, time, space, energy, and mass, and how they are all tied together via relativity, then this book is for you.

There is an incredible amount of information packed into the pages. The famous equation E=Mc2 has never meant anything to me, but after reading just the first 25 pages of this book, I was able to explain to my wife the meaning and significance of the equation and some of the thought processes that led Einstein to developing it! I feel so much smarter now!

There were only a few places where I thought the author could have done a better job explaining some concepts, and some illustrations here and there would have been very helpful. But if you are capable of understanding the Doppler effect, you are capable of understanding the major concepts of relativity.

Now I feel ready to tackle the basics of quantum theory!

Rating:
Summary: Relativity Made Easy!
Review: For a long time I've desired an understanding of relativity. Having just finished this book, I have achieved my goal -- without struggling with impossible equations. Thank you, Nigel Calder. (Albert Einstein is not a co-author of this book, by the way).

Due to the complex subject, this book isn't a particularly easy read. But the author keeps it very interesting and does as good a job as possible in translating the theories into understandable concepts. If you want a basic understanding of gravity, time, space, energy, and mass, and how they are all tied together via relativity, then this book is for you.

There is an incredible amount of information packed into the pages. The famous equation E=Mc2 has never meant anything to me, but after reading just the first 25 pages of this book, I was able to explain to my wife the meaning and significance of the equation and some of the thought processes that led Einstein to developing it! I feel so much smarter now!

There were only a few places where I thought the author could have done a better job explaining some concepts, and some illustrations here and there would have been very helpful. But if you are capable of understanding the Doppler effect, you are capable of understanding the major concepts of relativity.

Now I feel ready to tackle the basics of quantum theory!

Rating:
Summary: The Universe Made Simple? Fascinating!
Review: How does one go about taking our immense universe--with all its galaxies, quasars, neutron stars, etc.--and put it into words that a high school senior could understand? Not only that, but include all of Albert Einstein's mind boggling theories on the universe and still make it interesting to read?

Ladies and gentleman, I give you Einstein's Universe. A book written by Nigel Calder. Mr. Calder delves deep into the inner workings of two of the most complex things known to man, the universe and Einstein's brain. He does so with great confidence, writing in the first person, as if it were Einstein himself explaining his theories. This leads to a feeling of intimacy while reading about the creation of the universe and many other topics related to the giant realm we call home. Nigel Calder does a superb job of presenting the theories and the evidence, and then always proceeding to explain how it all fits together.

If you've got a hankerin' for something juicy sweet to read, and enjoy pondering the ways of the great big black thing way up there, I highly recommend Einstein's Universe. Enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: Very good, although a little old
Review: I found this book highly enjoyable and easy to read, especially considering the subject. Relativity is approached from several vantage points -- gravity, energy (E = mc squared), time shifts, and distance shortening. Of course, it all goes back to the same theory, so I liked having the multiple views presented to help me understand.

The biggest complaint I have about the book is that it's over 20 years old. This makes the last few chapters fairly useless since they are based on observations using 20-year-old telescopes. The first three-quarters of the book are still valid and insightful, which makes it worth reading. I bought this book in the Bargain section, so I'm not complaining..

Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put the book down! Fascinating!
Review: I read the 1979 version of this book, not the newest version. I've always thought that no one could explain relatively better than Issac Asimov, but finally someone has. With almost no math, Calder explains how gravity and speed affect time, space, and other characteristics of our universe. Superb!

Rating:
Summary: You CAN understand Einstein!
Review: It is this book that made me switch my major halfway through college. It is a lucid, fascinating journey into a world most people mistakenly think that they cannot understand. I have read many books on the subject and none deliver such a thorough, qualitative understanding of Einstein's work.

Rating:
Summary: Descriptive and Energetic
Review: Mr. Calder has done an outstanding job writing a book about relativity that non-physicists can read and enjoy. Mr. Calder writes with such clarity, such tangible descriptions, and such succinct summaries of the theory that the reader can begin to incorporate the implications of the theory into one's own worldview.

For instance, the author devotes much time and energy describing the possibilities of the universe being either open or closed (essentially, will the universe expand indefinitely, or will it eventually contract). By the time Mr. Calder begins to describe the metaphysical implications of these possibilities, the conscientious reader is already prepared to explore them on his own.

This ability to communicate science with such clarity as to allow a lay reader, whom I certainly am in physics, to be able to consider the implications of science, is a great complement to the author. Unfortunately, I am a hostage to much of what I read in science, so often having to rely on the author to describe the science as well as its implications.

In addition to summarizing and communicating extremely difficult material very well, Mr. Calder also writes with a great deal of energy and excitement. The author clearly shares his excitement about the subject matter to the reader.

This is an excellent read for anyone interested in the history of science and its implications.

Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put the book down! Fascinating!
Review: While the subject of Einstein's Relativity is one that one can marvel over for hours, Calder's simplification lacked the elements to inspire one who does not have a passion for physics. His chapters that offered analogies and antecdotes fascinate me, drawing me into his complex reasoning and leaving me dumbfounded by the wonders of the universe. Yet more often, Calder simply was translating a difficult theoretical papaer into one with more common words, leaving the reader to get bored, becoming lost in a sea of scientific jargon and ideas that cannot be well visually conceptualized without the aid that Calder did not provide. For those with more of a passion for physics, you might enjoy the book more.