Before listing some of my favorite books related to relativity, let me emphasize that they are not required for the class. Depending on your background, interests, and inclinations, they can be useful supplements.
Edwin Taylor and John Wheeler, Spacetime
Physics, W.H. Freeman & Co. (ISBN: 0716723271)
The class makes extensive use of this book. It is readable and
fun. I strongly recommend it.
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to order.
Albert Einstein, Relativity,
Crown Publishers (ISBN: 0517884410)
Relativity explained by its author.
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to order.
Einstein, et al., The
Principle
of Relativity, Dover Publications (ISBN: 0486600815)
This book is an anthology of the early papers on relativity by
its originators (Einstein, Lorentz, Minkowski, and Weyl).
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to order.
Stephen Hawking, A
Brief History of Time, Bantam Books (ISBN: 0553380168)
A bestseller that gives a good overview of some of the advanced
topics.
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to order.
Kip Thorne, Black
Holes
and Time Warps, W. W. Norton (ISBN: 0393312763)
A wide-ranging book that covers everything you want to know
about black holes and other exotica of General Relativity.
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Edwin A. Abbott, Flatland,
Dover (ISBN: 048627263X)
An amusing introduction to multi-dimensional space. Helpful in
understanding spacetime.
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to order.
This book is available as e-text at Project Gutenberg.
George Gamow, Mr
Tompkins
in Paperback, Cambridge (ISBN: 0521447712)
Brings relativity and quantum mechanics into the realm of
everyday experience through the adventures of Mr. Tompkins, a
British bank clerk.
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to order.
Madeleine L'Engle, A
Wrinkle in Time, Farrar Straus & Giroux (ISBN:
0374386137)
This was published as a children's story, but is a delightful
tale of space and time with appeal for readers of all ages.
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to order.
These books can be obtained at your local bookstore or one
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above to purchase one of the books on the reading list.
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