Title : Relativity: The Special and the General Theory
Author: Albert Einstein
Editor : Hanoch Gutfreund
Pages : 312
ISBN : 9780691166339
Price : $26.95
After completing
the final version of his general theory of relativity in November 1915, Albert
Einstein wrote a book about relativity for a popular audience. The book remains one of the most lucid explanations of
the special and general theories ever written. In the early 1920s alone, it was
translated into ten languages, and fifteen editions in the original German appeared
over the course of Einstein’s lifetime.
Einstein is best
known for his work on the theory of Relativity, gaining him the title of
‘Father of Modern Physics’. He also received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics,
and his work is attributed as an inspiration for the quantum theory within the
field of physics. His hundreds of papers and books
are highly original and intelligent, making him one of the most famous and
respected intellectual minds of the twentieth century.
This new edition
of Einstein’s celebrated book features an authoritative English translation of
the text along with an introduction and a reading companion that examines the evolution of Einstein’s thinking and casts
his ideas in a broader present-day context. A special chapter explores the
history of and the stories behind the early foreign-language editions in light
of the reception of relativity in different countries.
Einstein was interested in explaining the theory of Relativity to people who were not especially well-versed in higher mathematical concepts and theoretical physics. His intention was “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.”
In the paper on ‘Relativity: The Special and General Theory’, Einstein lays out two contradictory principles: a principle of relativity and a principle of light. Einstein proposed that, rather than discarding these two principles for being conflicting, the rules of time and space should be completely revamped and rethought in order to find a way to make these two principles work in harmony.
This edition also includes a survey of the introductions from those editions, covers from selected early editions, a letter from Walther Rathenau to Einstein discussing the book, and a revealing sample from Einstein’s handwritten manuscript. Published on the 100th anniversary of general relativity, this edition of Einstein’s famous book places the work in historical and intellectual context while providing invaluable insight into one of the greatest scientific minds of all time.
The book can be read from: https://www.marxists.org
Review Courtesy: http://press.princeton.edu
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