Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This book fully does what it sets out to do - to give a "Very Gentle Introduction to the Mathematics of Relativity". Collier aims to teach rather than be a reference text book, and he achieves this beautifully. It is very easy to follow and leads you gradually and gently to the full mathematical detail of general relativity. You will finally understand the finer details of how it all works. For me, it feels like I am no longer just looking through a window at something amazing, but am now standing in the room. I have previously found there are two types of books on relativity. First, there are those wordy books describing the consequences of relativity, that you have to accept on faith since the maths is missing. Then there are books full of mathematical jargon which seem to jump straight into advanced calculus and tensors. This book is the bridge between the two. Collier takes you by the hand and reveals all the mathematical details of general relativity, but without going to the extreme of obsessive mathematical perfectionism. Collier even explains all the background mathematics you would need, although I suspect it would help if you already have some understanding of high school maths (eg differentiation and vectors). For example, you will be able to see how the equations of general relativity calculate Mercury's perihelion shift rather than just talk about it. You will see not only that gravity bends light rays, but also calculate by how much they will bend! Tensors somehow suddenly seem basic and easy. This is a fantastic book and I loved it.