Customer Reviews
The single most original idea a human mind has every created - By: I. jarvie, 10 Mar 2008 
If you dont know why Einstein is famous this short book is the reason. In it he outline that time is not constant 1 year for me is not the same as 1 year for you (depending how many plane trips you've made) & time canin fact stop completely. I can here your mumblings of disbelief, just scientific mumbo jumbo?, How can you stop time?, how can you ever prove you can stop time?. What makes this work so impressive is the now 100 year old mountain of experimental observation & rigorous testing that have proven every theoretical predictionin this book exactly right. Why is E=mc^2 because if your were travelling at `c` the speed of light, you could cross the whole universein 0 seconds, 100 times if you like, still only take you 0 seconds. Therefore if your mass is travelling at the speed of light like the formula says you cant carry any more potential energy, your travelling at an infinite number of (mph). Don`t believe me reed the book.
A uniqe conversation with one of the greatest minds of mankind. - By: Antonios F. Arkas, 17 Aug 2007 This book is an excellent example of the fact that nobody can explain a theory better than it own creator. The main characteristic of Einstein's text is the clarity succeeded through brevity which renders this essay a terrific non technical introduction both for Special & General theories of Relativity. Some chapters dealing with the notions of space & time have a more philosophical approach but the rest of the book is pure physics. The usage of mathematical formulas is negligible & confined only to the Appendixes something that make it accessible to the layman. Even though the writer claims that this text is intended for the layman, it is a terrific source of knowledge & a fresh breeze of ideas even for physicist themselves who I believe must surely read it. Einstein's vivid style of writing comes from the fact that through his text it is as if he is directly talking to the reader. I dare to say that this small book which I've read multitude of times & each time with greater joy, contains the most crystal clear exposition of the ideas & needs that gave berth to the two theories which are unanimously considered to be as the jewels of human thought. If you don't have a deep knowledge of physics & you want to get an idea of what Relativity means then before you buy anything else, I recommend this book by heard.
He wasn't a genius at everything then? - By: Astro Novice, 02 Aug 2006 
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Looking for a clear, simple guide to relativity? Then read something else. I don't doubt the quality of this book if you're of the required intellect to understand it, but it is not a casual read & will disappoint the layman hoping to gain some insight directly from "the man". The maths is useless to the casual reader & further complicates an already unfathomable book
Either it does not translate into English well, or Mr E did not know how to comunicate with idiots like me :o(
Great for the young student of Physics - By: , 07 Jan 2003 Great for the young student of Physics
This is an excellent book, writtenin the “Master’s” own style & faithfully translated from the German by Robert Lawson. The translation dates to 1920 & new readers may find the English a little quaint, but for all that, it is a great effort at presentingin “plain speak”, the concepts of Relativity.
The book starts with a lucid explanation of the Train & Platform example of Galelian Relativity & then proceeds to highlight the incompatibility between the principle of relativity & the constancy of the speed of light. Without encumbering the reader with the Maths (foundin the appendices) the ideas of time dilation & 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 succeedin 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 studentin the sixth form/high school.
A rare, mid-ability book on a very difficult subject. - By: , 18 Jan 2002 
This book is excellent, as for for the first time on any book I've read on the subject, it has lots of mathematics, BUT NO ROCKET SCIENCE! As a result, its an excellent read for someone who's done say A-level maths at school. It is unique as most books I've looked at are either for the complete mathematical layman with very few equations, e.g. Einsteins Universe by Nigel Calder, or are the sort geared towards mekon-headed NASA engineers with IQ's of 200... The discussion on General relativity is very sparse, with only the basic ideas outlined, but the reasoning behind special relativity is beautifully described, & for the first time out of any book I've erad on the subject I feel that I have started to understand it. The book also has an appendix with mathematical 'work-throughs' as to how the equations came about, which is very nice but unfortunately a small number of steps are left out which is annoying. The book is brief, but will inspire you to dig out & read more on the subject from different authors. And lastly, let's be honest here, this book is VERY inexpensive so one can hardly grumble at it's brevity. My advice: if you didn't understand this book, just read & re-read the initial chapters on the Lorentz transformation, which is the basic idea behind it all, & the penny will finally drop!
