Product Description
General Relativity has passed all experimental and observational tests to model the motion of isolated bodies with strong gravitational fields, though the mathematical and numerical study of these motions is still in its infancy. It is believed that General Relativity models our cosmos, with a manifold of dimensions possibly greater than four and debatable topology opening a vast field of investigation for mathematicians and physicists alike.Remarkable conjectures have been proposed, many results have been obtained but many fundamental questions remain open. In this monograph, aimed at researchers in mathematics and physics, the author overviews the basic ideas in General Relativity, introduces the necessary mathematics and discusses some of the key open questions in the field. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Best Review of Constraints in General Relativity
Okay, this book has positive and negative aspects to it.

First the negative aspects. There are typos, which should be expected for such a huge book's first edition. Some are severe, others are not (e.g. when showing a rank-2 tensor is symmetric, it writes $X_{ab}=X_{ab}$ instead of $X_{ab}=X_{ba}$). These are the only negatives that come to mind.

The positives are that this is probably the most (if not *the*) authoritative reference on constraints in general relativity. It covers York's conformally formulated constraints, and Moncrief's contributions as well. This is done in a scholarly manner, so one can refer to the original sources, and in a self-contained cohesive manner (so you don't have to refer to the original sources). It is really quite beautifully written.

It may be a bit intimidating for the uninitiated working with constraints. I cannot help but apologize to the neophytes, I know no good introduction to the canonical formulation of gravity (except perhaps Poisson's book "The Relativist's Toolkit"). I cannot really deem this either a good or bad introduction, I was using the book as a reference.

There are exercises, however, so if the reader performs all the exercises...she will be far more astute when it comes to the computations and theory behind esoteric topics in general relativity.

But wait, there's more! This book covers black holes (in a rather mathematical way, so all of your favorite singularity theorems are here presented with proofs in a cohesive and beautifully well written manner).

My two cents is to refer to this book when working on canonical formulations of gravity; I am currently in a reading group on black hole thermodynamics, and this book is my first recommendation to other students in the group. ... Read more

Product Description
Einstein's general theory of relativity is perhaps the most important perspective to emerge in a century of astonishing progress in the field of physics.However, it is also a notoriously difficult subject for beginning students. This book describes general relativity in terms understandable to undergraduates in physics and astronomy. It discusses concepts and experimental results, and provides a succinct account of formalism.A brief review of special relativity is followed by a discussion of the equivalence principle and its implications.Other topics covered include concepts of curvature and the Schwarzschild metric, tests of the theory of relativity, black holes and their properties, gravitational radiation and methods for its detection, the impact of general relativity on cosmology, and the continuing search for a quantum theory of gravity.A set of worked examples, background appendices, and an annotated bibliography are also included. Written at a level accessible to nonspecialists, this book is especially strong on the experimental physics of relativity. ... Read more

Product Description
The aim of this groundbreaking new text is to bring general relativity into the undergraduate curriculum and make this fundamental theory accessible to all physics majors. Using a "physics first" approach to the subject, renowned relativist James B. Hartle provides a fluent and accessible introduction that uses a minimum of new mathematics and is illustrated with a wealth of exciting applications.The emphasis is on the exciting phenomena of gravitational physics and the growing connection between theory and observation. The Global Positioning System, black holes, X-ray sources, pulsars, quasars, gravitational waves, the Big Bang, and the large scale structure of the universe are used to illustrate the widespread role of how general relativity describes a wealth of everyday and exotic phenomena.For anyone interested in physics or general relativity. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (24)

theory
very good school text for beginning theory and mathematics that pertain to the forces of gravity

Excellent choice !!!
Excellent book ! It is not to hard and not to easy. It's just perfect for an «almost graduate» student. Sometime it's funny when you realize that you're calculating your proper-time in a wormhole... So if you're interested in near-science-fiction infinitely cool physics, then that's you're book !

Very clear explanation of such a difficult theory
I am learning by myself General Relativity. When I decided to buy a book in order to get more understanding of the theory I decided this book and, definitely, it was a good purchase. It has a unique pedagogical method, introducing mathematics in the right way along the entire book. I am not a physicist nor a mathematician and I had found most of the books about GR too complicated. Hartle's book is the right choice if you are a beginner with this great theory.

Self studier reads a textbook on general relativity
I purchased "Gravity" as part of an effort to learn more about modern physics.I do not have the money or schedule to take courses at a university, so I have been purchasing books and reading them on my own time.I wanted something that would give a deep, rigorous understanding of the subject matter.So far, after a month and a half of regular reading, I have made through the first seven chapters.
So far, I am not dissapointed."Gravity" begins from where I left off (years ago, taking the physics courses mandatory for chemistry majors in a bachelors program) and builds precept upon precept to take the reader into the world of general relativity.The book uses language that is clear, and examples that help to further explain the concepts being taught in the course.For those of us who are not "mathheads", the mathematics needed to understand the material beyond basic calculus and algebra is taught within the text.This book is helping me to gain a better understanding of this area of physics.
I do have one "bone to pick", however, with the organization of the text.Like most textbooks, this one, usefully, has problems at the ends of the chapters.I like to work on a sampling of problems to solidify what I have learned.The problems are well written, and force you to think about the subject matter.However, none of the problems have answers in the back of the book!I understand that in a graded course, there is the temptation for some students to simply look up the answers, and not do the work.However, many textbooks have answers to selected problems.If this book had this, it would still leave many problems for assigned work for those taking a course, but allow self or independent studiers like me the opportunity to work some problems and see if we are on the right track in understanding the material.

Phenomenal
This is short and sweet:Absolutely a phenomenal and exciting book for learning this subject!!Have tried for a few years on my own to learn GR. Am a former physics major.Have read other mathematically detailed books and got rather lost in the symbology. This book's approach is clean and based largely on the Lagrainian (which I certainly have had to review).Results of curved space altering the metric are presented first and the physics they result in.Don't kid yourself.Despite the better approach, considerable mathematical sophistication and work is necessary to follow the author.The pursuit is well worth it!!Buy it if you want a new passion read.

... Read more

Product Description
Widely considered the greatest contribution to the philosophy of science, Einstein’s theory of relativity has often been viewed as comprehensible only to highly trained scientists. This book, however, contains the great physicist’s own explanation of both the special and the general theories, written for readers interested in the theory but not conversant with the mathematical apparatus of theoretical physics. Presenting the ideas in their simplest, most intelligible form, this three-part volume outlines the special theory, the general theory, and in a final part, offers considerations on the universe as whole.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

An augmented version of Einstein's book for a general audience
There are many versions of Einstein's book on relativity, written for a general audience.This book was written in 1916, in German and then translated into English.The book being reviewed here uses a 1920 edition, but it is far from being the newest one that Einstein wrote.The newest, the 15th edition, was written in 1952, and it is the most complete, as it contains several appendices that are not in earlier editions, as well as some corrections of errors that appeared in earlier editions.I have read both the 15th edition and this one, and if you want the best version of Einstein's text I would definitely get the 15th edition, as opposed to the one being reviewed here.However, the edition being reviewed here has been augmented with new material, and I think that this makes it a better choice than the 15th edition.

This book contains an interesting introduction by Roger Penrose, which provides some insights concerning Relativity Theory and the cosmological advances that have grown out of Einstein's General Theory of Relativity.The book contains lengthy commentaries by Robert Geroch that clarify many of Einstein's chapters.Finally, there is an essay by David Cassidy on the "Cultural Legacy of Relativity Theory".In my opinion these additions more than make up for the appendices that are provided in the more complete 15th edition of Einstein's book.

I liked this book and recommend it over the 15th edition, but I cannot give it 5 stars.I found Einstein's prose to be typical of 19th century scientific prose, that is to say somewhat tedious and less than clear.This is especially true of the latter half of the book, which is devoted to the General Theory.To make matters worse, it was originally written in German and may have lost some clarity in the translation.There is a final chapter on cosmology that, because of the rapid advances in this field, make this section largely only of historical interest.

I recommend this book if you really want to read Einstein, albeit in translation, but there are better choices if you want an introduction to Relativity Theory.If you want a better introductory treatment of Relativity, I highly recommend Martin Gardners "Relativity Simply Explained" and if you want an introductory treatment with a little more scientific detail (but still without any math) I recommend Richard Wolfson's "Simply Einstein - Relativity Demystified".

Something Important Is Missing.
This version does not have any diagrams, only refs to nonexistant GIF image files.
This is involved stuff here, a reader needs the illistrations.
Please explore the other versions even if they cost more.Without the formula images this is just about unreadable.

This is a HORRIBLE Kindle Version
This was my first bad experience with the Kindle.Had I picked this book up at a store, I would've flipped through the pages and realized that it was poorly formated.There are carriage returns at all the wrong places, it's nearly impossible to read.I wish I'd paid a few bucks more and gotten one of the other versions.

If you're a kindle owner - go elsewhere.

Harder than it needs to be
This Dodo Press edition is riddled with annoying typos -- even in some equations and variable names. In addition the section numbers referred to in the text are only found in the table of contents, making navigation cumbersome.

A classic like this deserves better. Look for another edition.

Bah!
No, Einstein's Relativity IS amazingly brilliant and eloquent, I assure you of this. My review, although, is a buyer beware scenario. I ordered this exact copy of the text and the one that arrived had all sorts of horrendous typos. One? Two? No, more like...a ton. In an example of this, the 'aether' where the character 'ae' is a single one, somehow in the process of printing it, the character got repaced by a space and question mark! So when Einstein talks about the 'process by which the?ther happens...' or some such example, I translate it as 'bad' and not 'aether'.

By all means, buy Einstein's copy of Relativity, but please be cautious when ordering from this particular publisher. I'm unaware of whether or not this problem is widespread, but to those who get the one with the maddening typos riddled all over it, just bear through it and appreciate Einstein's eloquence and not the translator or publisher's, in my own personal opinion, bad spellchecking. ... Read more

Product Description
A modern self-contained introduction to key topics in advanced general relativity. The opening chapter reviews the subject, with strong emphasis on the geometric structures underlying the theory. The next chapter discusses 2-component spinor theory, its usefulness for describing zero-mass fields, its practical application via Newman-Penrose formalism, together with examples and applications. The subsequent chapter is an account of the asymptotic theory far from a strong gravitational source, describing the mathematical theory by which measurements of the far-field and gravitational radiation emanating from a source can be used to describe the source itself. The final chapter describes the natural characteristic initial value problem, first in general terms, and then with particular emphasis for relativity, concluding with its relation to Arnold's singularity theory. Exercises are included. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

The only book for advanced GR
Although it seems to be a general relativity book, this is actually an excellent book for learning advanced mathematics. The sections on differential geometry and spinor analysis rival any of the dedicated textbooks on these subjects. This is also the only book to give a clear and concise introduction to tetrads and the Newman-Penrose formalism of general relativity.

This book is a must for any serious physicist.

treasure trove of knowledge
It seems to me that there are far too many in number, and far too few in quality, books on on general relativity.

John Stewart, rather than waste time on the hordes of cute little cartoon models apt for a tourist ratherthan physicist, gets straight to the heart of the matter and presentsamazingly powerful results (on differential geometry/ Spinors/Asymptopia/Initial Value Problem). He doesn't skip any steps in his proofsand doesn't try to appeal to science fiction intuition.

As someone whohasn't encountered spinors before reading this book, I'm grateful for thehelpful appendi on the matter. Unfortuneately however I've found indifferent books the notation for spinors can vary wildly. The result isthat I must refigure out all the basic properties to understand thenotation. My complaint is that Stewart doesn't seem* (perhaps it's myignorance) to use the most common notation, but on the other hand, he alsoprovides the most easily used and referenced appendix.

In summary, ifreading most of that relativity tripe make you a tourist, Stewart makes youa citizen. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (17)

Ancient and Obsolete
The beauty of general relativity (GR) lies in the connection it provides between geometry and physics.Weinberg's algebraic approach completely obscures this connection.Instead Weinberg teaches how to crank through complex calculations without any insight or geometric intuition.It is a fairly good book when compared to Misner-Thorne-Wheeler (another ancient text).However, by modern standards, Weinberg's book leaves much to be desired.Having been published in 1972, the book lacks modern examples in cosmology and quantum gravity.It also lacks a proper introduction to differential geometry and makes no mention of topology or other mathematical ideas prevalent in current GR research.In the 35 years since its publication, it has been surpassed by many much better books.For an excellent introduction to GR, read Carroll's book.For a more rigorous study of GR read Wald's book.For an easy introduction to GR, read Schutz's book.

Unique,IdiosyncraticApproach
Flashback to 1979.I Purchased Weinberg's Gravitation book and
Misner,Thorne, Wheeler's Gravitation book, simultaneously. Back then it took four weeks to get hold of a book by mail. The waiting made it all the more special when the books finally arrived. I still have those same two worn copies. Still re-read each. Sure, they are different viewpoints of General Relativity.
But, how greatly they both enrich the world. Together, those two
books started a pedagogic revolution. Weinberg has no
equal,cherish this book. Cherish MTW, also.

A great book by a great physicist
This is the bestbook written on general relativity, and I have read or at least looked at nearly every one of them. It is better than Wald's book because Steven Weinberg is a better physicist than Robert Wald. The only people who will not be pleased with it are those mathematicians who are looking to physics for elegant mathematics and not for physical insight.

A virtue of this book is that so far as I can see Weinberg has thought through general relativity for himself, and he has worked through all of the derivations himself - certainly the ones that I have checked - rather than quoting others.
This is not always the case for books in physics. Weinberg is careful, and I have yet to find an error in the book.

Old book that is hostile to the spirt of G.R.
There was a time when this book was probably very authoritative and useful (though I can't see myself preferring it over Hawking and Ellis, even then).Put it out of your mind: that time is gone.There are a slew of much better, much more modern books out there.Furthermore, this book is written from a perspective that attempts to filter a huge chunk of the geometry out of G.R., sullying a lot of the beauty of Einstein's central idea.If you are interested in cosmology, you can do a lot better looking at Hawking and Ellis, or one of the more recent books that will, due to their newness, emphasize the numerous advances in cosmology since the 70s.If you are interested in Relativity, PLEASE look at Schutze (beginner) or at Wald (graduate).Don't waste time and energy on this book.

That being said, there are some interesting advanced topics here, and a few things that I haven't seen elsewhere.This can be a useful reference for a researching relativist.

Elegantly and concisely written
I used this book in a class taught by its author. That makes it hard to disentangle the experience of taking the class from the book itself. However, I found this far more readable that Misner, Thorne, & Wheeler's ponderous tome. As enjoyable as I found Taylor & Wheeler's Spacetime Physics (written in a similar style), MTW is leaden in contrast to Weinberg's text. I had no problem with the notation: the rules for manipulating indices are quite straightforward and easy to apply. Furthermore, this is the notation used in a variety of other applications of tensors, from electrodynamics to mechanics (stress and moment of inertia tensors), so get used to it. As other reviewers have observed, one cannot help but think that MTW could have been edited down considerably; Weinberg's book is much tighter. ... Read more

Product Description
This collection was designed for optimal navigation on Kindle and other electronic devices. All books included in this collection feature a hyperlinked table of contents and footnotes. The collection is complimented by an author biography.

Table of Contents:

Customer Reviews (1)

The worlds greatest mind
Works of Albert Einstein: On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies, Relativity: The Special and General Theory, Sidelights on Relativity, Dialog about Objections ... & more. Published by MobileReference (mobi)

For the dedicated reader, for whom learning is a mission, and who has learned his high school Math and Physics, this is an excellent ebook. It gives the dedicated and prepared reader the chance to interact with one of the greatest minds of all time. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

unique and fundemental viewpoint
As a student of physics, I'm always plagued by the presentation of any modern physics. Questions of "where does this come from" or "what does this mean" are never answered and rather students are expected to simply work calculations until those questions fade away, answered (or rather unanswered) by a new familiarity with just how to do calculations. It is as if understanding the theory was only a means to an end.

Anyway, this book went a long way for presenting the material in a way that satisfies those questions. Even if the answer is just "it seems somewhat plausible to define something that way based on what we observe experimentally", the book actually gets down to it and says that and defines it -- rather than just assuming that you knew it was obvious to describe particles using a mass density function, for example.

Also, the book actually covers not just GR, but also electrodynamics (the foundational way) and also matter models. It's worth it just for the chapter on matter.

Outstanding math/physics text
I took the course on which this book is based from Mr. Sachs at UC Berkeley when the book was in the form of printed handouts.
This book is aimed at readers with a fairly advanced level of mathematical background - differentiable manifolds and some basic riemannian geometry (e.g Warner "Differential Manifolds"). This background is assumed and a prospective reader without this knowledge would be well advised to use the Hawking and Ellis book The Large Scale Structure of Space-Time (Cambridge Monographs on Mathematical Physics) as a companion volume.
Penrose's Techniques of Differential Topology in Relativity (CBMS-NSF Regional Conference Series in Applied Mathematics) (CBMS-NSF Regional Conference Series in Applied Mathematics) is also a good companion volume.

As the title says....
It is too bad this book is out of print, as it is nicely written and addresses a mathematically sophisticated reader with a solid background in differential geometry. It is written by two very competent mathematicians, and still could be read as background for more modern developments in general relativity, particularly singularity theorems and as mathematical preparation to the current research in quantization of gravity. It could serve as a textbook in a class the mathematical foundations of general relativity at the graduate level. ... Read more

Product Description

This four-volume work represents the most comprehensive documentation and study of the creation of general relativity; one of the fundamental physical theories of the 20th century. It contains the direct facsimile, transcript and explanation of and comments on the Einstein Zurich Notebook as written in 1912. The research by Einstein herein forms a pivotal part of his creation of the theory of General Relativity (1915) from Special Relativity (1905) and Newton's law of gravitation. Additional sources from Einstein and others who from the late 19th to the early 20th century contributed to this monumental development sources are presented here in translation for the first time. The volumes offer detailed commentaries and analyses of these sources that are based on a close reading of these documents supplemented by interpretations by the leading historians of relativity. All in all, the facets of this work, based on more than a decade of research, combine to constitute one of the most in-depth studies of a scientific revolution ever written.

Product Description

Suitable for a one-semester course in general relativity for senior undergraduates or beginning graduate students, this text clarifies the mathematical aspects of Einstein's theory of relativity without sacrificing physical understanding.

The text begins with an exposition of those aspects of tensor calculus and differential geometry needed for a proper treatment of the subject. The discussion then turns to the spacetime of general relativity and to geodesic motion. A brief consideration of the field equations is followed by a discussion of physics in the vicinity of massive objects, including an elementary treatment of black holes and rotating objects. The main text concludes with introductory chapters on gravitational radiation and cosmology.

This new third edition has been updated to take account of fresh observational evidence and experiments. It includes new sections on the Kerr solution (in Chapter 4) and cosmological speeds of recession (in Chapter 6). A more mathematical treatment of tensors and manifolds, included in the 1st edition, but omitted in the 2nd edition, has been restored in an appendix. Also included are two additional appendixes – "Special Relativity Review" and "The Chinese Connection" - and outline solutions to all exercises and problems, making it especially suitable for private study.

Customer Reviews (12)

exellent introduction
This textbook provides an excellent introduction to a topic that is extremely easy to get bogged down in. I took a one semester course that used this text as an undergraduate, during which I thought the book was merely decent, but then when I took a gradute course that used Carroll's Spacetime and Geometry is when I really came to appreciate the preparation this book gave me (not that Carroll's book is bad, I just wouldn't recommend it for a first reading). Not to mention the book is pretty cheap as far as physics texts go.

Poor choice of textbook
I chose this book as the text for an undergraduate mathematics seminar, thinking that the students
would like something very elementary. Unfortunately, the book's presentation isn't simply pedestrian---
it is completely muddled. Many elementary points are presented via circular arguments which simply left the students baffled and confused. It is a real pity to see an elegant subject like general relativity butchered
so thoroughly. In retrospect, it would have been far better to first have them read Rindler's ESSENTIAL
RELATIVITY,and then give them selected excerpts from the elementary track of GRAVITATION by Misner, Thorne, and Wheeler.

I couldn't use it.
This book has everything I found to be correct in a text book but when I tried to teach with it I found it to have a lot of mathematics and not much of physical ideas.
Landau's Classical Field Theory book is much better but it is for advanced level, so I still didn't find a proper book.
Now I will try Schutz one.

A great first book on general relativity
I like this book because it has the best elementary introduction to the mathematics of general relativity.It starts out with simple multivariable calculus and geometric notions about vectors.It then explains the ideas of the natural basis and the dual basis, first in a plane and then on a manifold, with very helpful figures.With too many other books it is possible in a first exposure to completely miss the point of these ideas, which really are pretty simple when you come right down to it.It is true that the physical motivation and meaning of general relativity are not treated in that much depth, but these can be picked up from other sources.In my view it is the mathematics that is the most intimidating thing about general relativity -- the physical ideas are exhilirating and natural by comparison!

Great for independant study
As a person who did postgrad physics and maths over 5 years ago and has been out of the field for way too long, I found that this was a great introduction to GR, a subject I never got to do at university.It introduces the maths (tensors, manifolds and geodesics) in the earlier chapters and relies heavily on them in the introduction to GR.

The book has great solutions, or at least very helpful hints, to the problems that are given throughout the book.Though at times I was stuck with some, it generally it required me to only look at the first step of the solution to be able to solve the problem.

This book is a quantitative approach, while "A First Course in General Relativity" (Schutz) is a more qualitative approach.I personally perfer the quantitative approach, and found this book better than Schutz.If you're looking for a more verbose and wordy book, go for Schutz, while if you're going for a mathematical approach (includes the derivation of the Schwarzchild's solution and the rise of black holes coming from Schwarzchild's solution) then this book is more for you. ... Read more

Product Description

Based on a course given at Oxford over many years, this book is a short and concise exposition of the central ideas of general relativity. Although the original audience was made up of mathematics students, the focus is on the chain of reasoning that leads to the relativistic theory from the analysis of distance and time measurements in the presence of gravity, rather than on the underlying mathematical structure. The geometric ideas - which are central to the understanding of the nature of gravity - are introduced in parallel with the development of the theory, the emphasis being on laying bare how one is led to pseudo-Riemannian geometry through a natural process of reconciliation of special relativity with the equivalence principle. At centre stage are the "local inertial coordinates" set up by an observer in free fall, in which special relativity is valid over short times and distances.

In more practical terms, the book is a sequel to the author's Special Relativity in the same series, with some overlap in the treatment of tensors. The basic theory is presented using techniques, such as phase-plane analysis, that will already be familiar to mathematics undergraduates, and numerous problems, of varying levels of difficulty, are provided to test understanding. The latter chapters include the theoretical background to contemporary observational tests - in particular the detection of gravitational waves and the verification of the Lens-Thirring precession - and some introductory cosmology, to tempt the reader to further study.

While primarily designed as an introduction for final-year undergraduates and first-year postgraduates in mathematics, the book is also accessible to physicists who would like to see a more mathematical approach to the ideas.

Customer Reviews (1)

A GR intro that is clear, concise, up-to-date and mathematically impeccable
I really like N. M. J. Woodhouse's two books on relativity: General Relativity (Springer Undergraduate Mathematics Series)and Special Relativity (Springer Undergraduate Mathematics Series) (Volume 0). They're both short, well organized, exceptionally clear and mathematically impeccable.Woodhouse is a very gifted writer: he knows how to get to the point!

Be forewarned though: they're written for senior math majors and so not suitable for anyone whose math skills are sub-par.But if your math skills are honed, both books are really a pleasure to read, especially compared to the mathematically inadequate, long-winded and sometimes downright confusing expositions of many other books.

Even though the book is short and mathematically oriented, it does not shirk the physics motivations, as you can see via the Look Inside this Book function.Woodhouse manages to cover the basic or essential aspects of many key topics in just 178 pp. For example, Einstein's Equation is introduced and discussed in chapter 6 (pp. 89 - 94); the curvature tensor is discussed on pp. 96-98 and Killing Vectors on pp. 102-104. Other chapters deal with Spherical Symmetry, Orbits in Schwarzschild Space-time, Black Holes, Rotating Bodies, Gravitational Waves, Redshift.

Fast pace, yes; but he makes every word, definition, equation and theorem count!Anyone, like me, who has been frustrated by the many introductory general relativity books that are either confusing -- mathematically or otherwise -- or else just too detailed (I love GR but am not gonna become a physicist :), should find this new (2007) introductory book a "breath of fresh air".

[If your special relativity isn't up to par, I also recommend his book Special Relativity (Springer Undergraduate Mathematics Series) (Volume 0)as a "prequel".]



... Read more

Product Description
Modern physics rests on two fundamental building blocks: general relativity and quantum theory. General relativity is a geometric interpretation of gravity while quantum theory governs the microscopic behaviour of matter. Since matter is described by quantum theory which in turn couples to geometry, we need a quantum theory of gravity. In order to construct quantum gravity one must reformulate quantum theory on a background independent way. Modern Canonical Quantum General Relativity provides a complete treatise of the canonical quantisation of general relativity. The focus is on detailing the conceptual and mathematical framework, on describing physical applications and on summarising the status of this programme in its most popular incarnation, called loop quantum gravity. Mathematical concepts and their relevance to physics are provided within this book, which therefore can be read by graduate students with basic knowledge of quantum field theory or general relativity. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Not for beginners
This is an excellent technical account of the loop quantum gravity program and the current state of progress in reaching the program's goals.
However, as Theimann suggests, those starting to study the subject would be well advised to begin with Carlo Rovelli's book. ... Read more

Product Description
Exposition of fourth dimension, concepts of relativity as Flatland characters continue adventures. Popular, easily followed yet accurate, profound. Topics include curved space time as a higher dimension, special relativity and shape of space-time. Accessible to layman but also of interest to specialist. 141 illustrations.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (22)

geometry, relativity and the fourth dimemsion
too abstract. Didn't touch on relativity until the 4th chapter and had trouble following the book til then.

Well Written Introduction to the Fourth Dimension
A great mathematical read! Fascinating diagrams. Begins with accessible concepts for all who love geometry. Gets into spacetime later in the book. Considers some philosophical/spiritual elements too, but mostly geared toward math and physics. A classic read. Highly recommend!

Good intro to related topics to Special Relativity
I found this work to be quite readable and something I can introduce to people with less math background.However, reading the book raises more questions than answers in my mind regarding the history of mathematics.For example, non-Euclidean geometry has been around for a long time and is the basis for ancient systems of navigation.

Similarly, for those who have studied the history of astrology (and its initimate relationship in the ancient world to navigation and agriculture), a great number of things (for example, the divisions of the houses) are all based on spherical geometry and many go back nearly two thousand years.For anyone who has ever known that the earth was a sphere, many of these problems were largely taken for granted.The only real problem with disproving Euclid's 5th postulate has been defining parallel lines on a sphere.I am not entirely sure that Rucker answers this in looking at the flattened sphere because the sphere could be rotated to make any two lines parallel.

Otherwise, I think this is a decent beginner book relating to the subjects in question.It is a useful work and I would generally highly recommend it as an introduction.

Instructive, and interesting
I found the book to be both educational, in that I learned great deal about geomtery and the history of diemsions from this book, as well as being fun to read. Both interesting and intellectually stimulating--I find this combination rare. I recommend ths book to anyone interested in the field.

With few exceptions, it is a readable, stepwise explanation of how the universe is structured
To understand relativity, it is necessary to understand geometry, specifically how a straight line can be curved. For nearly everyone, any attempt to understand four-dimensional space begins with understanding how a three-dimensional creature would appear to a two-dimensional one. One of the earliest and still the greatest of all introductions to going up a dimension is "Flatland" by Edwin A. Abbott. Quite naturally and sensibly, Rucker starts with Abbott's rendition of the properties of Flatland.
Rucker then moves on to the idea of curved space, where the shortest distance between two points is a "straight line", which is curved by the properties of the space. The space that we occupy is curved by the presence of matter, as Einstein claimed in his relativity theories. Furthermore, movement causes shrinkage in the direction of the movement and the slowing of time, which causes time to become just another dimension of space. As counterintuitive as this may appear, Einstein's relativity theory has been verified over and over again to a large number of significant figures.
One of the best things about this book is that Rucker has included problems at the end of each chapter. These problems reinforce the concepts of the chapter; it is unfortunate that no solutions were included.
In this book, Rucker steps the reader through all of the background material necessary to understand relativity and four-dimensional space. With few exceptions, the accounts are understandable to anyone with an understanding of college algebra.
... Read more

Product Description
In 1905, Albert Einstein offered a revolutionary theory--special relativity--to explain some of the most troubling problems in current physics concerning electromagnetism and motion. Soon afterwards, Hermann Minkowski recast special relativity essentially as a new geometric structure for spacetime. These ideas are the subject of the first part of the book. The second part develops the main implications of Einstein's general relativity as a theory of gravity rooted in the differential geometry of surfaces. The author explores the way an individual observer views the world and how a pair of observers collaborate to gain objective knowledge of the world. To encompass both the general and special theory, he uses the geometry of spacetime as the unifying theme of the book. To read it, one needs only a first course in linear algebra and multivariable calculus and familiarity with the physical applications of calculus. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

Excellent and will never find better !
This book is a terasure in its own right !
everything is explained using diagrams, figures with simplicity and rigor.
you will never feel you got lost anywhere. Although the introduction to tensors is limited, the application of Fermi coordinates is great although I would have expected to see the actual derivation of vacuum equations as einstein first wrote it .
The proofs are excellent. The application, though limited but clearly exposed.

A great intermediate level book.
We all get an initial taste of relativity in Freshman/Sophomore physics. But where to go next can be a problem.If you like the math accompanying your physics a bit more rigorous than "hand waving", this is a great book.I tried Schutz's book but didn't find the math self contained or rigorous, while trying to jump into Wald's graduate level text on General relativity was way too much to soon.This book strikes a good balance between the physics and the math. Nice coverage of the Lorentz transformation and the invariance of Maxwell's equations under it. Minkowski space time and "hyperbolic" geometry (nice review of hyperbolic functions in analogy with trigonometric functions). And a self contained introduction to differential geometry (as applied to general relativity).I'm finding this great for self study.

Great for learning how to actually use the math behind GR
This book is great for teaching the math behind GR using excellent examples from Math and Physics problems (for another great problem solver see also Schaum's Outline of Tensor Calculus, but this has less Physics). It is a bit long winded, spending alot of time on SR and in some place just over the top (for Physicists!), but once through it there should be no problem going to the more advanced texts which deal with more of the uses of GR. At the same level I would also recommend Schutz's First Course in GR, however, Callahan's book goes through and explains the use of the math better, whereas Schutz's is better for uses in GR, surprisingly this is the strength of Callahan's book: you can't really do the Physics properly unless you can do the math! After this it's on to more Physics orientated books like Carroll's excellent Introduction to GR, as a stepping stone to MTW's Gravitation and Wald's GR.

One of the best.
This is one of the best introduction to General Relativity. It is the most accessible introduction to differential geometry. Naturally you have to know calculus, linear algebra, and the basics of special relativity. I bought many books on the subject, and this one belengs to the set I suggest for self-learning.

Disappointing
I've only read the first third in detail, but so far this book is frankly disappointing. The treatment is lightweight and padded out with verbiage, some of it oddly off-key. What math or physics student at this level needs (for example) an elementary account of the properties of hyperbolic functions? Spacetime diagrams are drawn with the time axis horizontal, which is something I've never seen in any other relativity text. Okay, it's a minor point, but I found this and similar nonstandard usages a constant irritant. More seriously, the development of relativistic momentum and covariance in chap.3 is quite incoherent, and the definition of 4-velocity is WRONG (at least, by everyone else's standards - it isn't even a 4-vector). There are plenty of exercises, which is good, but no solutions at all - not even outlines - which is not so good.

The book takes over three hundred pages to get to general relativity (where there seems to be no mention of the equivalence principle!), and I doubt if it's worth the effort. You would do better to work through Foster & Nightingale's 'Short Course in General Relativity', which is a first-rate and accessible introduction if you have a little background in special relativity. And it's two-thirds the price.

Conclusion: There may be a good book waiting to be written on these lines, but I'm sorry to say this isn't it. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone as a first course in relativity. ... Read more

Product Description
The theory of relativity, explained by the greatest mind of the 20th century. Albert Einstein discusses the special and general theories of relativity, and the core concepts of modern cosmology, including time dilation, the spacetime continuum, and the energy-mass relationship, in simple non-mathematical terms. ... Read more

Product Description
Thoroughly revised and updated, this self-contained textbook provides a pedagogical introduction to relativity. It covers the most important features of special as well as general relativity, and considers more difficult topics, such as charged pole-dipole particles, Petrov classification, groups of motions, gravitational lenses, exact solutions and the structure of infinity. The necessary mathematical tools are provided, most derivations are complete, and exercises are included where appropriate. The bibliography lists the original papers and also directs the reader to useful monographs and review papers. Previous Edition Hb(1990): 0-521-37066-3 Previous Edition Pb(1990): 0-521-37941-5 ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Good general purpose book on GTR
I bought this because my copy of Misner Thorne & Wheeler was in a box 1400 miles away, and i wanted to toy around with some ideas in GTR.I needed a good text on GTR, not a watered-down no-math pop-level book, not a specialized research monograph omitting the basics, nota math formulas reference with no more content than an average cheat sheet, but something for those who already are familiar with GTR but lacking any of the usual academic works in their personal library. This book served my purpose perfectly.It comes with some bonuses - a better explanation of Petrov classification than i had seen anywhere else, more on electromagnetics and stress-energy tensors than i was shopping for, and conveniently sized to carry easily about town along with other stuff, something i can't say for the classic MT&W.

I imagine this would be an okay book for someone who doesn't knowGTR but has already studied special relativity and is comfortable with senior undergraduate level physics.GTR is by nature a mind-bending subject, and a total newbie may want to get a taste of the main ideas elsewhere.MT&W, in contrast, is full of illustrations, exercises, and other goodies that make it an excellent choice for GTR beginners.Wald's book on General Relativity is another good choice, but my copy of this too is 1400 miles away...

Good features of this book are that it does not loose the physics behind a forest of math, and that it touches on many important areas - gravitational waves, the Kerr metric, tensor maths, cosmology.None in too much depth - but enough to understand the key concepts and see how different areas of general relativity are related.The bibliography seems shortish but appears sufficient for further pursuits.Some areas not covered include alternatives to GTR, string theory, quantization of GTR. Spinors are mentionedbriefly; if one is interested in this important topic, Penrose & Rindler should be your destination.

There is no mention of the weak or strong energy conditions in the index.Perhaps these are mentioned somewhere, but the reader wanting to study this vital topic is better off with the book by Wald.

One area that could stand improvement are the exercises.There are exercised, but it would be nice to have more.A student relying on this book alone might end up feeling underexercised, wanting to pump more mental iron elsewhere.More numerical/quantitative exercises to give a feel for how much, how strong are special relativistic and GTR effects in everday and astrophysical applications, would be especially beneficial to this book's usefulness in an undergraduate course context.When used as a reference text, though, such exercises are not important; given my purpose, i am not disappointed. ... Read more