Customer Reviews

Einstein's Universe: Gravity at Work and Play

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An Old Man's Toy

I just read the book: " Einstein's Universe" which is the retitle of "An Old Man's Toy". Both titles are available at Amazon.com. I am taking the trouble to write a brief account of why I find this book to be a masterpiece. I've been reading books on Physics as a hobby. My background is that I have a Masters Degree in Math.
I've read about ten maybe it is more like 20 books trying to understand Einsteins Equivalence Principle. This principle as he grasped it was according to Einsteins the "happiest thought of his life". I read such statements as Acceleration and Gravity produce the same effect and therefore are equivalent. Again such as the inertaial acceleration in F = ma and gravitational acceleration in F=G m M/ r^2 which is GM/r^2 =g produces inertial acceleration = gravitational acceleration and so they cancel being in different directions up and down so to speak. There were others. The problem is trying to get a picure of the process. Since Newtons force was pushed back for curved space it became a little confusing. After reading Dr Zee's book I had my picture. The key to what I'm writing is picture. I asked him a question by email to which I had already decided on the answer and what he gave me is exactly the picture I had formed from reading his book. It is really good. I purchased his other books immediately: "Fearful Symmetry" and "The Unity of Forces". Both available at Amazon.com.

"Einstein's universe ......" is a wonderful explanation of the current theory of gravity and a very enjoyable read.
If you would like to learn the basic concepts behind general relativity, then there is no better place to start

This book is amazing. It trully captivated me and made me more interested in physics and universe. Its both easy to read and educational. Fantastic combo!

I've read several physics books as a hobby. This book is by far the best I've ever read. Not only does the author write in a simple, captivating and well-ordered manner, but the content he crams in there is beyond any other introductory to intermediate physics book. Fascinating.

In my search to better understand gravity and the universe I was excited to find "Einstein's Universe" via Amazon.com. This is such a great book! Loved it. Professor Zee is a fantastic writer. If you're intrigued by physics, cosmology, spacetime or simply wish to discover the truth about the "fundamental forces of nature," then I highly recommend this book.

The author is a professor at UC Santa Barbara (apparently Ed Witten was once his teaching assistant at Princeton) and writes with authority and conviction yet explains quite clearly the limitation of our knowledge and the basis of such limitation (pg 206-207). Indeed, in the last chapter (pg 231), he bluntly quips, "Do we understand gravity? Not really."

He talks in plain language the concepts of gravity as a force (in the Prologue); as curvature of space-time and the equivalence principle (pg 1-31), as the exchange of gravitons (pg 42-44), and as a manifestation of superstrings (pg 212-218). Essentially no mathematical calculation is involved, but mathematical concepts are expounded.

The prominence of gravity in shaping our universe and reality is explained in reasonable depth (eg. Ch 8 and 10). Without gravity and without its specific features we just will not exist and ponder upon its mystery. The sense of awe is profuse within the prose and is very inspiring.