Physics Books

This book is exciting to read and technically detailed. It gives a history not only of those involved in the production of the actual bomb, but of the physics and discovery of the atom and its components. No text book from walker or lectures from feynman can compare in how engaging this book makes the science and history. Since I have nothing but approbation for this book, my only complaint is slightly manufactured so as to make this more of a review. I wish that the book went into more details towards the end including maps and diagrams of the enrichment facilities. He may include that with other book and certainly this was long already, but that lack of details towards the end made the reading and experience slighly rushed.

Great book if you are interested in the subject of science and nuclear physics. The book does a good job of explaining a lot of technical jargon in layman terms and tells a compelling story of the scientists involved. I read this book back in school and fell in love with the side stories and the footnotes in the making of the bomb. The later parts of the book are a bit of a drag and it is easy to get bored. A couple of friends who i recommended this book to did not like it as they felt it was too heavy and they were not really interested in science as much :).

A dazzling epic. A complete chronicle blending history, physics, chemistry and engineering in a manner accessible to anybody.

Myself not being a scientist there were parts of this book that were hard to understand theoretically speaking, but the historical story the book brings forth is hard not to understand. Between the people making blind discoveries to educated guesses to scientific brilliance it's all here. Leading up to the climatic climax. This book is long and could be hard to read at times but the important historical facts leave nothing to wonder. A fantastic account of the making of the atomic bomb from around the world to then center on two cities in Japan was a page turner through and through. A giant collection a names, dates and ego's that ethics aside did stop a war cold in it's tracts. A weapon with hopefully will never see the light of day again.

this is a fascinating read for people that enjoy science, technology, and the quirky, industrious, oftentimes brilliant people that can change history with their creations. the writing is superb. it is crafted in such a way that you feel like you've been with these people in los alamos and know what they went through. you understand the tension between the military and the irreverent scientists and you can't help but wonder at the clairvoyance of some of the important decisions that could have gone either way. a truly fun read if you like reading about extremely smart people. "american prometheus" about the life of j. robert oppenheimer would be a good sequel or prequel. it, too, is very well written and enjoyable if you like science biographies about brilliant, interesting people that have had a big impact on the world.

Mr. Thorne offers insight into an important world of science that only a person who has first hand experience could. While this book is a book about black holes, it is just as much a book about the science leading up to the ability of science to recognize and study them. It is very detailed with numerous "boxes" that include extra information. While it is not necessary to have an extensive science background in physics/astrophysics etc..., it would help. If one gives the book the patience that it takes, a world of information is available. It is not a quick read, but it is very interesting stuff no doubt.

I didn't understand a lot of this book. The physics was largely beyond me and I could not grasp the embedded diagrams that Kip Thorne used. These embedded diagrams attempt to represent three-dimensional space-time on a two-dimensional piece of paper. But I enjoyed reading the book nonetheless. One can look at science in two (or perhaps more) ways; the process and the results. I am interested in process, the building of one idea upon another. And Thorne does this particularly well. I am not a big fan of the results which is a good thing because I didn't really understand them, at least in this book. Thorne also included a lot of biographical information which I found very interesting. Thorne also admitted when he had made mistakes, which was refreshing; a nice human element. The most interesting parts of the book were when he compared the different styles of the various research teams. This is especially true when he compared first the American/British research style with the Russian research style and later in the book, the American, British, and French styles and their differing use of mathematics. Overall, this book was a good read, but by the end I was anxious to finish so that I could start reading Leon Lederman's new offering.

Kip S. Thorne explains Einstein's Theory of Relativity well. I have always been interested in time and space, and black holes, and anything that had to do with the universe and space. Thanks to this book my understanding of some theories has increased. I learned more about Enstein's quirks and devotion to the pursuit of scientific knowledge. A fascinating book.

You could consider this as a good place to continue if you have already read Stephen Hawkins' "A Short History of Time" and want to deepen your understanding of modern cosmology at an introductory level.

When Carl Sagan wanted to have his fictional herione from Contact travel in time, he turned to Kip Thorne.

This book is Thorne's attempt to more fully explain the science of time travel.

And in the process Thorne takes you to the prediction and discovery of black holes.

First seriously suggested by the theories of Albert Einstein, a black hole is a star that has grown so massive (at least three times the size of our sun) that it litterally can't sustain itself against its own weight. It assumes a gravitional force so powerful that not even light can escape its grasp.

Obviously, therefore, learning what resides beyond the visible dark exterior of a black hole has eluded science.

Yet that dark exterior has fueled speculations that black holes may enable nature (and possibly man) to perform seemingly magical feats.

As mentioned at the outset, one of the most interesting of these feats is time travel and the reason is because the great gravitional power of a black hole litterally allows it to warp the space around it. For us it would be a little like standing on one end of a water bed when someone places an anvil on the other end. Owing to the great weight of the anvil, the bed is contorted and owing to its contortions we find ourselves falling toward the anvil.

Assuming a sufficiently heavy anvil we could see both ends of the water bed being connected.

One obvious challenge would to be travel a black hole without becoming a part of it.

Another not so obvious challenge is the fact wormhole creation at best is an exotic affair not occuring above quantum distances. In this way, any people wishing to use one would have to go an extreme wieght loss program!

Because of its thoroughness, Thorne gives an extended discussion of the characters involved in the story he's telling. For example, Thorne explains that physicists use both flat and curved universe models to understand black hole behavior. Additionally, even though predicted by his theories, Einstein actually disputed the existence of black holes. As a result, the Soviet Union and not the US was the first country to really encourage serious discussion of them. However, once predicted and then once found, black holes became a unique entree into the laws of physics and with it the mind of God himself.

For those who read or saw Contact and enjoyed it, this will be an excellent account of the fact behind the fiction.

To me Feynman is right up there with Albert Einstein. I love is fearlessness and is desire to see the truth. The Buddha and Feynman are probably enjoying a good laugh. I recommend his other book " What do you care what other people think".

This is the shortest book about quantum electrodynamics I've ever read, but it is still full of profound revelations (for instance, electrical charge is really nothing more than the square root of the probability that an electron will couple to a photon, etc)...

Feynman makes it easy for the curious amateur to understand. This book is accessible and mind-blowing. Everyone should read it. And there is little if any math so don't be intimidated.

Feynman picks the thing that is simplest in the quantum world, a single particle, and explains it using no math. Instead of equations, the quantum theory in this book consists entirely of pictures. But this is not a popularization in the usual sense. This is not gossip about science. This actually is quantum theory in a very simple case. For anyone who wants to know how the universe is put together, this is an astonishing mind opener.

In the Introduction to the 'Strange Theory of Light and Matter' Feynman tells us that what he likes to talk about is the "part of physics that is known, rather than a part that is unknown." And he goes on to give us a thumbnail sketch, a "physicist's history of physics," which shows how physicist's, in their quest to describe the world, continually reduce a group of seemingly unrelated phenomenon to a single phenomenon. So heat and sound were found, thanks to Newton, to be reducible to laws of motion, while electricity, magnetism and light were reducible to Maxwell's electromagnetic wave. In this way physicist's explain the world.

Here one is almost tempted to say that they proceed much as religion and ideology do. Religion has from the beginning of recorded history been taking phenomenon and feelings, like storms and suffering or aging and despair, and molding them into an internally coherent explanation of all that is and was and will be. They do this by separating the relevant from the incidental, then uncovering the essential by excluding the accidental. They simplify. In similar ways ideologues like the communists take what at one time were discreet incidents and disparate facts (for instance, the poverty of the third world and imperialism) and weave them into a grand general explanation. Is science merely the latest avatar of religion? - Or perhaps it is an ideology without tears?

Not so fast! Feynman goes on to show us that attempts to explain the atomic world foundered on the laws of motion. He shows us that the rescue of those shipwrecked on the shoals of classical theory involved the invention of a new, counter-intuitive theory, Quantum Mechanics. He then goes on, while discussing a small portion of that theory, to give us the (deliberately) hilarious and 'absurd' example of how physicists predict how many photons, out of a given number, will be reflected back from a surface. 'Draw little arrows on a piece of paper' and watch the clock, he tells us. And with no explanation as to why this procedure works! Of course, for physics, what matters is that it does work. Physicists have been forced "away from making absolute predictions to merely calculating the probability of an event." But where is the essential, the eternal, the necessary?

Perhaps this is what Feynman is driving at. Science describes, it doesn't explain why. We should all wonder at that. The great 'philosophical' questions that drive theology and political ideology are beyond the purview of physics. Science doesn't create worlds; nor does it 'interpret' or change them, it simply describes what it finds. (It is technology that changes the world.) Freud saw fit to end one of his books by saying that 'our science is no illusion, but it would be an illusion to believe you can find elsewhere what it does not offer.' But how much truer this is of physics! One is then perhaps not surprised to come away from this little book wondering exactly what the status of philosophy, psychoanalysis, politics and religion would be in a genuinely scientific world.

But of course there will never be, given human irrationality, an entirely scientific human culture. This book is a superb introduction to quantum electrodynamics. It's 'experimentalism' and agnosticism towards grand philosophical explanations I found very congenial and convincing. Feynman is an engaging personality and this is an entertaining book. While one doesn't need a degree in physics and math to understand him a lay competence and interest in math and physics is certainly necessary. For those of us still living in a Newtonian world, a dwindling number to be sure, this book will have several surprising moments. But that really is part of the show!

The Feynman Lectures on Physics is a classic that must belong to everyone's library. This edition is very well designed, but the paint in the cover keep getting off into my hands. The cover of my Volume I is already totally ruined. You don't buy a book if you do not intent to read it. Disappointing.

Not much to say. I bought this set for my boyfriend for x-mas and he loves it!

Caltech had unbelieveable foresight in knowing how good Feynman would appear to future generations. The teaching techniques are still unbeatable. Worth spending six months reading these.

My background: An engineer with an aspiration to learn more physics.

It has been over 3 years since my last college physics class, and having heard from friends and reading online about these lectures, I finally bought them here instead of spending twice as much at the local bookstore. I own a copy of Serwey's physics book, and the difference between the two is remarkable.

I can read Feynman's book with excitement. He writes or lectures in a way that keeps me engaged with what he has to say, and he also provides excellent examples of interesting cases. For instance, in his treatment of gravitation, he numerically calculates the trajectory of the earth given an initial velocity and position. I knew it was possible to do such a thing, but the fact that he provided a table of numbers and just went ahead with the calculation without skipping the detail brought me great enthusiasm. I don't even remember my astrodynamics book covering the simple calculations of such things from the fundamental principles in such detail.

Aside from the nitty gritty, his reading is enjoyable. I pass out when reading Serwey's book, simply because it isn't written in a very enthusiastic and engaging way.

However, Feynman's lectures are good for refreshing your understanding, not doing problems. I imagine that someone with a copy of Feynman's lectures for the understanding and Serwey's problems and examples for the nitty gritty, who works the problems, will understand physics well enough to continue studying more in-depth subjects on their own. That says a lot about both volumes.

Feynman doesn't just teach physics in these books: he teaches you to think like a physicist should. One complaint I've heard is that there's not enough math in them. "Too many words." (Kinda reminds you of Armadeus.) There are plenty of books that have the math. These books offer insight -- something that is very hard to come by in formal physics education.

The introductory material in Volume 1 is highly quotable. You can get your money's worth right there.

When I started Volume 2, I'd had undergraduate electricity and magnetism and found it dry and boring. After Volume 2, I was so pumped, I wanted to teach the subject.

I read Volume 3 when I was starting graduate quantum mechanics. My first final was oral, two-on-one. The professor had a second prof sit in with him to quiz each student. They opened with a few questions on the uncertainty principle. I started rattling off some of the insights I'd gotten from Volume 3. These guys must not have read it, because they were blown away. They'd ask a question and I'd answer and then follow with a hook to keep them coming back. I spent an hour of the two-hour exam on the uncertainty principle! Talk about getting off on the right foot with a new prof!

These books have been an inspiration to me for the last 40 years. Whether you're a student or a Ph.D. -- and especially if you teach at any level -- you must not be without them. They will improve your understanding of physics, and they'll equip you to better communicate it.

I realize that I've sounded a little over-the-top in this review. If I said less, I'd be understating my honest opinion.

Tim Naff, Ph.D.

i am a healthcare provider. For me this book offered a link between the spiritual and physical worlds. it demystifies meditation making it more "accessible" to everyone.

This is a great book for anyone interested in learning about meditation or beginning meditating. I've meditated off and on for a while, but never consistently. This book gives a lot of helpful advice on how to get around these and other obstacles to practice. One of the best points he makes is to not make it a chore, and that small periods of practice frequently is a good way to start.

The writing is very clear and easily accessible to those unfamiliar with meditation in general also. It's a good blend of basic science and eastern philosophy.

This is one of two books I highly recommend for anyone interested in basic Buddhist principles communicated in a Western way. His kindness and sense of humor come through the pages. I don't know of a single person who has not found this book an pleasant reminder of why we are here in the first place.

I listened to The Joy of Living as an audiobook, and have re-listened to it several times. The links that the authors made with neuroscience and to everyday life put the ancient Buddhist wisdom of Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche in the context our modern world in a way that I found immensely understandable, profound, and, yes, joyful! I am deeply grateful to Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche and Eric Swanson for providing these great teachings, and sharing their insights as they relate to current science and life. The skillful narration also contributes to the integrity of the work. - It felt as though the authors were speaking directly through Jason Scott Campbell. I know I will listen to it many more times.

Having come from much personal trauma, anxiety, panic, depression, and physical ailments, but also being of a skeptical scientific mind, I began searching philosophy for something that would answer pressing issues in my life. Being depressed about the state of my health, my past and my life in general, I picked up the book without much expectation, almost sure that I would be disappointed. I was very wrong. Instead, this book, in a brilliantly simple way, changed my life profoundly, by giving me the root answers to my problems and the tools to manage these issues. Learning about the author's own anxiety was uplifting to me as I identified. I'm not fully recovered, but I am much more advanced than I have ever been. This book put me on that path.

Update 08/08: I actually read the book in autumn 2007, writing my review in 04/08. I plan on reading the book again sometime soon to "redigest" all the information and teachings, and then posting an additional appended review. I do want to say that this is still my #1 book I recommend to others who are struggling with some kind of issue that results in a lack of happiness. In the past, I've gotten nothing from the fluffy feel-good new-agey self-help books as I am very scientific-oriented. Yongey Mingyur's text is definitely not fluffy. It's concise and mature, speaking to you as an intelligent person. I look forward to reading again and sharing more detailed thoughts.

As a physicist I rely on this book a great deal. It is written in an accessible informal style without sacrificing rigor. Many ideas are motivated and first developed using cute example systems, before the more general result is stated. Strogatz's deep familiarity with applications within physics, chemistry and biology is a real plus. Most of all, the book is fun to read and the author conveys a sense of enthusiasm for the subject.

Nonlinear dynamics and chaos is an excellent introductory book. It explains this complex looking subject in very simple and intuitive fashion. I recommend this book anyone who are interested in chaos/nonlinear dynamics. It even doubles as a fun book!

This book provides an exceptional introduction to nonlinear dynamics. Math books are often trapped in equating rigor with formalisms and in compromising intuition to generalities. Strogatz book provides an exemplary guideline how both intuition and rigor may be served to transform a difficult topic into fun reading and highly applicable set of ideas. Here are the key elements of what you will find in this book.

A. The book builds up intuitive understanding of the key ideas of the field
from simple one dimensional dynamics to complex multi-dimensional behaviors.
B. Each chapter contains fascinating applications -- from fireflies synchronization and josephson junction to population dynamics and chaotic laser behaviors-- which are
fun to read and useful if you need to apply dynamics to solve research problems.
C. There are ample exercises and solutions to render this ideal book for self-learners. It provides a relatively broad coverage of the key ideas of the field, without taxing the reader with far corners of little interest.

I think this is one of the best books for understanding the Phase Spaces and Bifurcations. It is really easy to follow and understand, even for people without background on nonlinear subjects. Yet, it is not the right book for engineers to read and start to solve their own detailed problems. People who seeks for a book to get into the subject or who wants to have a nice reference; BUY THIS BOOK. By the way, its price is reasonable.

I bought this book as a textbook for a class, and I have to say that it is a surprisingly readable math book. The class only used the first few chapters, but I find myself flipping through the rest of the book and trying to understand more advanced material. This is a good book for a scientist who needs to learn linear and nonlinear dynamics but is a little intimidated.

Keep in mind, this is a math book, and no writer can turn math into something it isn't. Still, the writer gives lots of relevant examples (especially in the problems--the only complaint I have is that the solutions in the back don't give any explanation, and these solutions are a bit sparse), and milks as much storytelling out of the subject matter as is possible. I thoroughly recommend it--it brings out the closet math geek in everyone!

Excellent book. Well written. Clear. Thoughtful.
Plenty of examples. I would highly recommend it!

There are many other reviews that discuss (and applaud) the merits of Kuipers' treatment of the subject, and I agree with them. Rather than add a "me too", I wanted to treat some of the features of this book that make it approachable.

This book is not written for the layman, you do need a fair grounding in matrix methods, complex variables, and rotations. If you remember the basics you should be fine because Kuipers reminds you of special theorems and properties as they are used. Notation is kept simple and unconfusing.

Of particular note, he uses the margins in a novel way. Most math texts number their equations and refer to them often. The reader spends a lot of time flipping back and forth. Kuipers frequently puts referenced equations, needed properties, and other information in the margins where they are needed. This minimizes the usual back and forth and enables a marginally sophisticated reader to actually read and learn something new in bed.

Book is more or less what all the glowing 4 and 5 stars say it is. I would like to add a 1859 quote from William Rowan Hamilton about his Quaternions in a note to Peter Guthrie Tait (professor and friend of James Maxwell):

"Could anything be simpler or more satisfactory? Don't you feel, as well as think, that we are on a right track, and shall be thanked hereafter. Never mind when."

This is an excellent book, it's right up there with Gilbert Strang's Linear Algebra texts.
Want to understand quaternions and rotational matrices, well this is the book for you. Starts with the basics, coordinated transformations and such, and moves at a reasonable pace into quaternions. Others at work, looking at this book felt that they understood the text. Interestingly these were software engineers that never really gotten basic college calculus. Never could understand why many software people are so light on math. Different part of the brain I guess. Author vs. engineer.

Quaternions are not as intuitive as 3x3 matrices however this book give a strong understanding of quaternions so that the reader can let go of the 3x3 matrix and successfully, in my case at least, change over to only using quaternions. This has proven useful in my simulations for, and firmware code for, satellite attitude determination and control. In the version I have of this book, there are some mistakes that hopefully will be corrected, but the mistakes are obvious and easy to overlook. I hate quaternions but they are powerful tools in solving real world problems. This book made quaternions interesting and bearable. If you already have a really good understanding of quaternions, this book might help, but it has a long introduction into quaternions so you might want to review the book using the online outline to see if it actually covers more than what you might already know.

This is a good book. I don't agree with all it says but that is ok it still has a lot of thought provoking information

This book is a great resource for any astronomy lover who wants to know more about the background and history of astronomy. It has lots of information on historical people in astronomy as well as great stories about their discoveries. Great book, must have for history of astronomy.

Excellent chronology of physics from Aristotle to the present. I will use it as a reference. Excellent index and other aids to finding what you want in physics and other sciences.

An Excellent exposition of the history of astronomy and astrophysics. Mr. Ferris writes with a lucidity and thouroughness not often found in books on this fascinating subject.

What a story! And yes, I said story because the author has taken subjects most of us take for granted (the size of the heavens, the age of the Earth, the intricacies of the atom) and turned these into a wonderful almost joyous tale of intellectual achievement. I am still stunned at the depth of scholarship, the vast research and the almost magical manner in which Ferris manages to make what appears to be an arcane dry topic into an intriguing saga.

Ok, I admit it. I love science books written for the educated layman - from "The Singularity is Near " to "Wonderful Life" to the philosophical tomes of Pagels and Hardison. But this is more than science - it is also a history of who we are and our physical, mental and dare I say it, spiritual evolution. In this sense it reminds one of "The Discoverers" by Boorstin with its chronological structure, emphasis upon individual genius and captivating storyline. Beginning with the ancients, we see how our ideas fashion our intellectual quests. The overwhelming success of Western culture depended on our ability to break with age-old traditions, to absorb ideas from the outside and most importantly, to challenge the traditional religious beliefs. Very few cultures have been able to accomplish this and their lack of scientific prowess is evidence.

The individual tales could occupy a volume themselves - mind-boggling examples of thought that are so rare we have trouble believing them. Not only are Darwin (Evolution challenged the prevailing age of the Earth) and Newton (the greatest human who ever lived?) are found but all the unknown heroes of the ages are given their due. The author has an uncanny way of simplifying tremendously dense concepts into language for the layman. This was never truer than his discussion on the weird world of quantum physics with its seemingly magical and nonsensical qualities. I would say that this should be required reading for all high school graduates except that a vast number would be bewildered by the concepts presented, unaware that science has a history of more than video games and cars. My grade - A+++

Schumm does a brilliant job of explaining the conceptual underpinnings of the standard model of particle physics. He accomplishes this feat using only words and a few illustrations, making the book fully accessible to non-specialists. Even so, he does not "dumb down" the material as do most other books intended for a general audience. Instead, Schumm is able to convey the essence of complex mathematical and physical ideas without resorting to a heavy technical apparatus. The result is not light reading, but an up-to-date discourse on "natural philosophy".

Although I am not a physicist by training, I strongly suspect that this book would be useful even to aspiring professional physicists seeking a first introduction to what modern particle physics has accomplished.

"Deep" is an existence proof that it is possible to effectively communicate the conceptual essence of an extremely technical subject, the Standard Model of Particle Physics, without resorting to cutesy strained metaphors or wild-eyed speculation. Deep presents a remarkable overview of the framework and principle tools of particle physics that will serve not only to inform the non-specialist but to give the student who is about to embark on a physics curriculum a real sense of one of the more fascinating areas of physics.

This author is a master teacher. So often such books are filled with oversimplifications, mystifying metaphors, and ridiculous speculating which do nothing to further anyone's understanding of science. This book is an absolute gem in comparison.

Without getting bogged down in the nitty gritty mechanics of the mathematics, he systematically explains the mathematical concepts behind the standard model of particle physics, step by step and with much summarizing and review throughout. The result is an account that reveals the true nature and beauty of the scientific theories that any reasonably educated person can appreciate.

As a high school science teacher, I admire his rigorous but pedagogically sound style. Although I am keenly interested in physics, it is not my specialty so I learned a great deal I didn't know from this book. More than that, I was awestruck by the beauty of the mathematical theories that were brought to me by this masterful teacher. It takes a truly special writer to bring that experience to the lay person.

First a little about my background. I have a master's degree in mathematics, along with the usual undergraduate courses in physics (including introductory Quantum Mechanics). I am currently taking a survey course on elementary particle physics. This course is still at the undergraduate level, so there's no Quantum Field Theory (other than mentioning that there is something called QFT). Being a mathematician however, I am curious about the mathematical ideas, but not curious enough to read graduate level textbooks on QFT just for fun.

So why do I go on and on about my background? The reason is that if you, like me, are curiuos about the mathematical ideas behind elementary particle physics, and you are almost but not quite ready to dive into graduate level textbooks on the subject, this book could be a perfect match (it certainly was for me). What a relief to find a book that is both exciting and easy to read (I read it in five days), and at the same time elucidates a few of the ideas vaguely presented in "The ideas of Particle Physics" by Coughlan, Dodd & Gripaios, which is used in the course I'm taking. With my background I was also able to get a lot more from this book than the average lay person, since I can guess at some of the mathematical details.

It is also nice to know that if I do want to read graduate level textbooks on the subject, I now have a general idea of what the mathematical constructions are for. It is often a problem with graduate level books that it takes some time before you understand why certain abstract constructions are introduced.

This is a tough book for the lay person. I am perhaps not suitably qualified to review it, but as I bought it I will do so nevertheless. I fell short of appreciating the "breathtaking beauty of particle physics," although I am certain that particle physics itself is breathtaking. There is a superb introduction and the opening chapter lays the groundwork perfectly, but after that I battled with the algebraic formulae and the complex jargon of particle physicists. The author has so little to say on the metaphysical implications of his subject; it is as though he is sitting in his living room oblivious to an entire herd of elephants. If you are interested in quantum physics as it might relate to how you live your life, then this book is probably not for you. If you are looking for an in depth analysis of the sub-atomic interactions between the "ethereal world" and the natural world, then it is.

I had taken a course in modern physics in college and read several books on special relativity, but I never really got it until after I read this book. The thought experiments and progression of the book allow the reader to gain understanding conceptually and with virtually no mathematics. This book is so lucid and concise that you don't need to dwell on concepts that aren't clear (since they're all made clear in the text) and you're able to move on quickly. I believe this was the only 'laymans' guide to relativity that I actually finished.

My fondest wish is that someday Professor Epstein will write on quantum mechanics, since that may be the only way I'll ever understand it.

I have canvassed many books seeking to get an intuitive understanding of relativistic gravity and spacetime. No book anywhere does it better than this one! This book is without peer in providing a visualized understanding of the issues of relativity.

The one 3-star reviewer on this site failed to read the book carefully. Epstein shrewdly talks about "myths," that we all must have what he calls "myths" to understand anything. In other words, we are limited to our human cognitive abilities to understand and build models for any concept. So, he warns us that he is about to build on our "myth" about spacetime in that chapter. So right on! Epstein clearly gets it, but that particular reader did not.

Superb book. If you want to have a gut feel for relativity, grab this book.

This is an amazing book. The concepts make immediate sense as they are explained. Once the book is finished, you will have a thorough conceptual understanding of how and why relativity must work.

This book is a precious aid to help you develop your intuition about both special and general relativity. If you, like me, are someone who relies and feels comfortable more with intuition then reasoning, memory and abstractions, you have probably experienced quite a bit of discomfort studying and thinking about relativity. In other areas of physics, even quantum physics, you might have been able to come up with some sort of intuitive feel, but relativity, just a big void and a sense of "what this guys are taking about?". It's just about the fact that light velocity and strong gravitational fields are so outside of our reach that our intuition has nothing to work with, not even the "little balls" of particle physics.
Well this book is really helpful in starting to develop a visual and "gut" feel about relativity. Sometimes the drawings get a bit too fancy and confused, and you should avoid the pitfall of being led to believe you areally understand relativity just because you made something out of this book, but still it's a worthy, interesting and unusual read that will surely add something to your understanding.

This book provides a basic look at the What of relativity... but is seriously flawed when explaining the Why. And this is very problematic in a book that is constantly claiming that it's "showing" you why a fact about relativity is true. Epstein keeps "proving" things but when you really look at it he hasn't proven anything at all and you don't really understand relativity any better. For example, he loves schematic diagrams, and showing how something is true because it looks a certain way in a diagram. But just drawing something in a diagram and saying, "See, that's the way time works because that's how the line looks on the diagram" proves nothing. Why does the diagram represent reality? And why must the diagram be drawn in exactly the way he did? And the "diagram proofs" are just a symptom of the bigger problem here: a lack of valid argument to back up conclusions, and an overall lack of rigor throughout the book, from the terms used to the methods utilized for demonstration. Read this book if you are new to relativity and want to get an initial grasp of what it's about and the kind of phenomena it entails. But don't make the mistake of being fooled into thinking you're really undertsanding relativity, because for the most part you're not.