The Meaning of Relativity

Originally published in 1922, this volume is based on four lectures delivered at Princeton University. It gives further explanation of the famous theory and its developments.

In 1921, a young Albert Einstein traveled to America to give four lectures at Princeton University, paving the way for a more complete acceptance of his theory of general relativity. These lectures are published together as The Meaning of Relativity, and were revised with each new edition until Einstein's death. Despite Einstein's profession that he thought without using words, his examples and descriptions of the relativistic world he perceived are clear and easy to follow. Unfortunately for nontechnical readers, his presentation requires deep diversions into mathematics often enough to break up the flow of his narrative, and they may find this rough terrain. But for the mathematically sophisticated or the devoted scientific historian, these lectures are profoundly illuminating--Einstein's bright, quiet genius shines through in the simplicity and economy of his writing. Two appendices follow the lectures: the first covers advances and experimental verifications after 1921; the second, "Relativistic Theory of the Non-Symmetric Field," was Einstein's last scientific paper. The Meaning of Relativity documents a revolution in progress and yields to the careful student deeper truths than those found in physics textbooks. --Rob Lightner