Reviews provided by Syndetics
Publishers Weekly Review
First formulated by Einstein in 1907, two years after publishing his special theory of relativity, the general theory of relativity has endured some hard times, having been challenged by quantum mechanics in the 1930s and by dialectical materialism in the Soviet Union during Stalin's reign. Even Einstein doubted some of his early conclusions. But Ferreira, a professor of astrophysics at Oxford, shares the story of general relativity's revival and application to previously unobservable objects like quasars and black holes. Ferreira's book is also about the people who find joy and excitement in discovering the secrets of the universe. With palpable delight, Ferreira details false starts, chance discoveries, and the vindication of long-ridiculed ideas that emerged from the work that predicted singularities, M-theory, and dark energy. He also shows that Einstein didn't work in a vacuum; international collaboration made confirmation of his theory possible, while overturning some initial conclusions. Perhaps most importantly, Ferreira's clear explanations offer a wonderful look into a world of those who tackle the hard math that is "the key to understanding the history of the universe, the origin of time, and the evolution of... the cosmos." Agent: Patrick Walsh, Conville & Walsh (U.K.). (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
CHOICE Review
Ferreira (astrophysics, Univ. of Oxford, UK) explores the evolution of general relativity (GR) from its introduction by Einstein up to very recent developments focused on measuring ripples of gravity waves radiating from black hole collisions. This is an excellent, balanced, absorbing history depicting how important and influential GR continues to be. On November 25, 1915, Einstein presented his new theory suggesting that gravity is "nothing more than objects moving in the geometry of spacetime." Hilbert formulated this theory within days of Einstein, but Hilbert conceded credit to Einstein for the discovery. The first observational confirmation of GR came in 1919 with the measurement of the bending of starlight from the star cluster Hyades by Earth's sun. The number of research areas that are a consequence of GR is astonishing: the expanding universe, the big bang, black holes, time travel, quasars, dark matter, gravity waves, string theory, loop quantum gravity, and the multiverse, to name a few. Ferreira eloquently incorporates the drama surrounding the formation of theories in physics; even after 100 years, GR is not settled and still must be tested. Ferreira provides very helpful notes for each chapter, along with recommended readings. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower- and upper-division undergraduates; general readers. M. Mounts Dartmouth College
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Einstein pulled no punches when he met Belgian theorist Georges Lemaitre in 1927: Your physics, the German titan told his colleague, is abominable. But Ferreira highlights the irony in this confrontation: Lemaitre only starts the parade of geniuses mining Einstein's theory for unanticipated cosmological insights. Of course, the history of this fertile theory begins with Einstein himself, the lowly patent clerk whose daring thought-experiments lead to a radically new space-time physics in which gravity bends light. Though eclipsed for decades by quantum mechanics, Einstein's theory crystallized in 10 elegant field equations ultimately enthralls a phalanx of conceptual pioneers. Whether capturing the echoes of the Big Bang, glimpsing the phantom shadows of dark matter and dark energy, plumbing neutron stars, pondering possibilities for time travel, or testing the limits of string theory, these pioneers take Einstein's formulas as their sure guide. Predictably, strong-willed scientists clash over their reading of these fiendishly entangled formulas: Eddington versus Chandrasekhar over black holes, Hawking versus Bekenstein over cosmic entropy, Oppenheimer versus Wheeler over stellar-collapse singularities, Godel versus Robertson over rotating space-time. More such clashes seem certain in a twenty-first century poised for yet more audacious thinking about relativity. No book better prepares armchair physicists for the intellectual excitement ahead!--Christensen, Bryce Copyright 2010 Booklist
Kirkus Book Review
Ferreira (Astrophysics/Univ. of Oxford; The State of the Universe: A Primer in Modern Cosmology, 2006, etc.) writes an enthusiastic and comprehensible popular account of how Albert Einstein's Theory of Relativity continues to generate new knowledge as well as hints of more secrets to be revealed. Einstein's Theory of General Relativity may be the greatest discovery in science. It's the key to understanding the history of the universe, the nature of time, stars, galaxies and matter itself. With the dramatic 1919 announcement confirming the theory's prediction that gravity bends light rays, Einstein became a media superstar, and physicists began a search for other predictions that continues to this day. Everyone during that time, Einstein included, assumed that stars and galaxies drifted at random. Several physicists pointed out that his equations indicated an expanding universe. Reluctantly, Einstein finally agreed. Others calculated that when a large, aging star collapses, gravity shrinks it into an infinitely dense point outside of time and space: a black hole. However, Einstein never accepted that. During the 1920s, many physicists turned their attention to quantum mechanics and nuclear physics, which, unlike relativity, had vivid consequences. Only with the 1950s did a new generation return to the research. Simultaneously, astronomers began discovering phenomena that required relativity, including quasars, neutron stars, gravitational lenses, dark matter, energy and black holes. The perfection of Einstein's theory remains; none of its predictions have been proven wrong, but the stubborn refusal of gravity to unite with all other natural forces remains a frustrating problem. Ferreira does not downplay relativity's complexity and avoids the easy route of oversimplifying it into a cosmic magic show. The result is one of the best popular accounts of how Einstein and his followers have been trying to explain the universe for decades.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.