Inside Relativity Paperback – 21 March 1991

There are hundreds of books that claim to simplify the theory of relativity for the general public. "Inside Relativity" is among the few that actually achieve this goal without loosing the beauty of Einstein's theories. The strength of the book comes from the structure as well as its cogent language. Many others fail to set the context for Einstein's entrance into the scientific scene but Mook & Vargish do this quite masterfully. There are many valuable references sprinkled throughout the book. I did consult few of them before finishing the book and that may have biased my opinion. This book should be on your bookshlef even if you think you know what Relativity is all about.

I am reading this book as part of the required/recommended reading for Einstein's Relativity and the Quantum Revolution: Modern Physics for Non-Scientists course by The Teaching Company. I find that this book is easy to follow, the examples and illustrations are quite good. It also does well serving mathematics "on the side", if you want it. It has helped my understanding of classical physics concepts and will help me with modern physics as I continue reading, I'm sure.P.S. If you're taking this Teaching Company course, I would suggest reading all the required and recommended material to get the most out of the course.

I recently read a handful of books on relativity, and I rank them as follows:Highly recommended introductory works: *  Relativity Simply Explained  by Martin Gardner -- best introductory book. *  The Elegant Universe  (chapters 2 & 3) by Brian Greene -- extremely lucid, but not as in-depth as Gardner's book -- possibly the best if you want a shorter introduction. *  Einstein  by Walter Isaacson, chapter 6 (special relativity) & chapter 9 (general relativity) -- not just a great biography, also a very lucid explanation of Einstein's ideas. *  The Fabric of the Cosmos  (chapters 2 & 3) by Brian Greene -- a discussion of general relativity & the nature of spacetime.Further reading: *  Inside Relativity  by Mook & Vargish -- discussed below *  Relativity Visualized  by Lewis Carroll Epstein -- a good additional book to read, if you want to delve more into truly understanding how it works. Not recommended as an introduction. * Relativity: A Very Short Introduction by Russell Stannard -- might be a good introduction, but not as lucid as some of the books above. * Relativity by Albert Einstein -- not recommended. It's great if you want to see how Einstein explained it, but it is generally not a good introduction. Cumbersome, difficult, and boring.Overall, Inside Relativity is a very thorough introduction to relativity. However, I don't find it to be as engaging as Gardner's Relativity Simply Explained.Although I don't think it's the best introductory work, this book does several things better than any of the other books above:1) Great introduction to classical physics, explaining the heliocentric worldview and Newtonian physics to help the reader truly comprehend the revolutionary nature of Einstein's discoveries.2) Great section describing (along with numerous figures) what objects moving near the speed of light would actually *look like* -- not how we would measure them, but how our eyes would see them.3) In-depth appendices on Minkowski diagrams, tachyons, and Maxwell's equations of electromagnetism. I found the appendix on Maxwell's equations particularly helpful in understanding how his equations suggested that the speed of light is absolute, as well as a good description and picture of how a light wave works.Anyone interested in truly understanding relativity will likely want to read several books, in order to view it from multiple frames of reference.Enjoy your studies of this fascinating subject!cheers:) Relativity Simply ExplainedThe Elegant UniverseEinsteinThe Fabric of the CosmosInside RelativityRelativity Visualized

Textbook I had to order for my daughter, so I can't rate it.

Let's face it even Einstein had trouble understanding Einstein. So it takes real effort to understand Special and General Relativity theories. It also takes a great explanation. Alas, there are very few. I have literally read probably fifty or so books professing to explain Relativity. This book is hands down the best. The authors have done a masterful job in prose and simple graphics to illuminate this astounding theory. The most revolutionary theory ever produced by the human mind. Alan in Miami.