General Relativity from A to B (Paperback)

by Robert Geroch (Author) "The notion of an event is the basic building block of the theory..." (more)
Key Phrases: apparent elapsed time, apparent spatial distance, matter causes curvature, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
"This beautiful little book is certainly suitable for anyone who has had an introductory course in physics and even for some who have not."--Joshua N. Goldberg, Physics Today

"An imaginative and convincing new presentation of Einstein's theory of general relativity. . . . The treatment is masterful, continual emphasis being placed on careful discussion and motivation, with the aim of showing how physicists think and develop their ideas."--Choice

About the Author

Robert Geroch is professor in the departments of physics and mathematics, the Enrico Fermi Institute, and the College at the University of Chicago. He is the author of Mathematical Physics.

Product Details

• Paperback: 233 pages
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press (March 15, 1981)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0226288641
• ISBN-13: 978-0226288642
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #182,486 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Grand First Step. Well, maybe a quarter step.., April 14, 2003

By	Kersi Von Zerububbel "Kersi" (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This still ranks as one of my favorite relativity books. There is virtually no math to speak of. Yet, the author in a very descriptive way, will take you from Aristotelian view to the Galilean view and finally to the relativistic paradigm. Concepts such as events, event horizons, interval etc. are explained quite beautifully. The idea of the interval and the physics and geometry of the same is shown in a most interesting way.

The chapters are organized very well and the writing is very good. To follow the text a certain degree of concentration is required because the diagrams need to be checked as one proceeds.

This text is quite suitable for junior high and high school students not to mention college graduates who wish to know something beyond the cursory in relativity theory.

I happened to come across this book at a used bookstore in 1979. Very few of my friends were even aware of this book. It was one of those sleepers so much so that a while back this volume had gone out of publication. However, now it's back, thank God. If you want a non-technical but quite thorough peek into Special Relativity get this book. If you are one of those who would prefer a tad more math and a less wordy introduction go with James A. Smith's An Introduction To Special Relativity, published by Dover.

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Delightfully Enlightening., July 6, 1999

By	[e-mail] "cosimo16" (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

For anyone who wishes to gain a deep and true understanding the meaning of General Relativity's space-time, this a book to read. And that this understanding is gained with mathematics no more sophisticated than high school geometry and algebra tells you that the author is not only a master, but also a superb expositor, of this subject. A highschooler having a passion for Physics to a Graduate Student struggling to "internalize" the meaning of her complex equations will be delightfully enlightened reading this book.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very simple introduction, October 21, 2001

By	Muzaffer Muctehitzade "hacibey" (Boston, Ma USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is not a college book on relativity. it is written for curious mind who wants to know something about the relativity and author gives a very layman introduction to it.It starts with space-time concept of Aristotelian, Galilean view and than slowly enters into relativistic view. A lot of space has been delegated to definition and explanation of the concept of Iterval and than jumps into physical meaning of the concepts. It is only as the author says from A to B and no more.