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The Curious History of Relativity: How Einstein's Theory of Gravity Was Lost and Found Again
Black holes may obliterate most things that come near them, but they saved the theory of general relativity. Einstein's theory was quickly accepted as the true theory of gravity after its publication in 1915, but soon took a back seat in physics to quantum mechanics and languished for decades on the blackboards of mathematicians. Not until the existence of black holes by Stephen Hawking and Roger Penrose in the 1960s, after Einstein's death, was the theory revived.
Almost one hundred years after general relativity replaced Newton's theory of gravitation, The Curious History of Relativity tells the story of both events surrounding general relativity and the techniques employed by Einstein and the relativists to construct, develop, and understand his almost impenetrable theory. Jean Eisenstaedt, one of the world's leading experts on the subject, also discusses the theory's place in the evolution of twentieth-century physics. He describes the main stages in the development of general relativity: its beginnings, its strange crossing of the desert during Einstein's lifetime while under heated criticism, and its new life from the 1960s on, when it became vital to the understanding of black holes and the observation of exotic objects, and, eventually, to the discovery of the accelerating universe. We witness Einstein's construction of his theory, as well as the work of his fascinated, discouraged, and enthusiastic colleagues--physicists, mathematicians, and astronomers.
Written with flair, The Curious History of Relativity poses--and answers--the difficult questions raised by Einstein's magnificent intellectual feat.
Almost one hundred years after general relativity replaced Newton's theory of gravitation, The Curious History of Relativity tells the story of both events surrounding general relativity and the techniques employed by Einstein and the relativists to construct, develop, and understand his almost impenetrable theory. Jean Eisenstaedt, one of the world's leading experts on the subject, also discusses the theory's place in the evolution of twentieth-century physics. He describes the main stages in the development of general relativity: its beginnings, its strange crossing of the desert during Einstein's lifetime while under heated criticism, and its new life from the 1960s on, when it became vital to the understanding of black holes and the observation of exotic objects, and, eventually, to the discovery of the accelerating universe. We witness Einstein's construction of his theory, as well as the work of his fascinated, discouraged, and enthusiastic colleagues--physicists, mathematicians, and astronomers.
Written with flair, The Curious History of Relativity poses--and answers--the difficult questions raised by Einstein's magnificent intellectual feat.
376 pages, Hardcover
First published September 18, 2006
26 people want to read
About the author
Jean Eisenstaedt
8 books3 followersJean Eisenstaedt is a senior researcher at the Centre Nationale de la Recherche Scientifique (National Center for Scientific Research), an institution that is connected to the Paris Observatory in France. He is also one of the world's foremost authorities on Einstein's Theory of Relativity.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 14, 2025
Jean Eisenstaedt has written a fantastic little book on the history of general relativity. He does not shy away from discussing technical details, where relevant, and is not afraid to admit that certain points can be confusing, even for experts. Diagrams are well-drawn and pleasant. The translator, Arturo Sangalli, is a competent one, though he occasionally makes mistakes. For example, in English, we say "angular momentum" rather than "... moment."
Readers should note that this book was originally published in 2003, and its English translation in 2006. I am writing this review in 2025. Much as changed over the last two decades or so. We have been able to reliably and directly detect gravitational waves and managed to use radio telescopes to take photographs of a few black holes. Our map of the cosmic microwave background, made using data from the Planck satellite, is extremely detailed, showing some minute anisotropies not detected by COBE. Gravitational physics, astrophysics, and cosmology are active branches of research, so this should come as no surprise. Other than that, this is still an excellent book.
Readers should note that this book was originally published in 2003, and its English translation in 2006. I am writing this review in 2025. Much as changed over the last two decades or so. We have been able to reliably and directly detect gravitational waves and managed to use radio telescopes to take photographs of a few black holes. Our map of the cosmic microwave background, made using data from the Planck satellite, is extremely detailed, showing some minute anisotropies not detected by COBE. Gravitational physics, astrophysics, and cosmology are active branches of research, so this should come as no surprise. Other than that, this is still an excellent book.
June 20, 2014
This is a clear and complex history of the physics of relativity that deserves to better known. While other works focus on more recent cosmological theories or perhaps touch on some of the early demonstrations of general relativity like the 1919 solar eclipse expeditions or the perihelion of Mercury, Eisenstaedt's book really delves into the details of Einstein's impact on the evolution of 20th-century physics.
Don't expect a quick and breezy tour like "A Universe from Nothing" or similar works – this book is not for the scientifically faint of heart. Even when the technical bits and diagrams sometimes get a bit dense, however, Eisenstaedt does a good job of conveying clearly why particular aspects of relativity were important or troubling for modern physics, as well as why Einstein's theory of gravity was seen as something of an experimental backwater for much of its first half-century of life.
This last aspect of the book is particularly valuable, as the "lost and found" aspect of Eisenstaedt's title describes why most physicists continued to gravitate (so to speak!) toward quantum mechanics rather than relativity for many decades after 1915. Compared with the mid-20th century race to build more and better particle accelerators for testing different aspects of quantum mechanical theory, relativity seemed more like a theory that was nearly impossible to conduct experimental work on and whose results offered only relatively small improvements over classical physics. It was not really until later in the century, when theoretical and observational astronomy began to offer up more exotic objects like black holes and neutron stars as testing grounds, that relativity finally came into its own as a theory that is essential to our modern understanding of the structure and behavior of the universe.
Don't expect a quick and breezy tour like "A Universe from Nothing" or similar works – this book is not for the scientifically faint of heart. Even when the technical bits and diagrams sometimes get a bit dense, however, Eisenstaedt does a good job of conveying clearly why particular aspects of relativity were important or troubling for modern physics, as well as why Einstein's theory of gravity was seen as something of an experimental backwater for much of its first half-century of life.
This last aspect of the book is particularly valuable, as the "lost and found" aspect of Eisenstaedt's title describes why most physicists continued to gravitate (so to speak!) toward quantum mechanics rather than relativity for many decades after 1915. Compared with the mid-20th century race to build more and better particle accelerators for testing different aspects of quantum mechanical theory, relativity seemed more like a theory that was nearly impossible to conduct experimental work on and whose results offered only relatively small improvements over classical physics. It was not really until later in the century, when theoretical and observational astronomy began to offer up more exotic objects like black holes and neutron stars as testing grounds, that relativity finally came into its own as a theory that is essential to our modern understanding of the structure and behavior of the universe.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews