“[…] to give an exact insight into the theory of Relativity to those readers who, from a general scientific and philosophical point of view, are interested in the theory, but who are not conversant with the mathematical apparatus of theoretical physics. […] May the book bring some one a few happy hours of suggestive thought!” Preface by A. Einstein translated into English
About the book
Albert Einstein himself originally wrote the book in German in 1879. This book version was translated into English by Robert W. Lawson and was introduced by Nigel Calder in 2006. The book includes all basic concepts of the special and general theory of relativity, from the very basic one to the very abstract one.
The book can be divided into two parts: The Special Theory of Relativity and The General Theory of Relativity. Firstly, The Special Theory of Relativity talks about how an inertial frame of reference moving through space-time sees the event relative to another frame of reference. Why should we conclude that the speed of light is constant in all inertial frames of reference? What is time? Why should it not be absolute but relative? How can twins have a different age? These questions were answered in the first part of the book.
Secondly, The General Theory of Relativity extends the theory to non-inertial frames of reference. What is gravity? How can the earth rotate around the Sun? Why standing in the ascending elevator is the same as standing still on the ground? How can light be bent around a black hole? How does mass curve space-time? These questions are related to very abstract and genius concepts. The answers are also in the book waiting for you to appreciate them!
Recommendation
I highly recommend this book to all junior physicists who are starting to learn the special theory of relativity. Although the book was written with few equations, readers must have some intuitions in physics to truly understand the concepts. However, casual readers can also understand the concepts without having such knowledge because the topics are well-ordered and start from the basics. After reading the book, you will think of the world differently from before. You will see that a guy falling from the third floor is not accelerating, but you are (why?). Nevertheless, I think the book was not well translated into English. Many sentences are too long, so it is hard to capture the key concepts. Even though I am a physics lover, I still had a hard time understanding the book. If possible, I suggest you read the original book written by Albert Einstein.
