[.uk] Relativity: The Special and General Theory (Illustrated ... (ISBN 1406517879)

Still the Best:
The first edition of this book was published just after the original paper on the general theory of relativity. In the ensuing ninety years, no one has produced a better layman's introduction to the special and general theories. The alert reader will achieve not only a clear intuitive understanding of the important physics but will learn much about the awesome intellect that produced it. In the centenary of Einstein's annus mirabilis, a number of reprints of this classic have appeared, some adorned with introductions by such luminaries as Roger Penrose or with additional appendices added in later editions. I have a personal preference for the Dover version because it reproduces the type face of the orginal 1916 translation that was the first science text I read at age seven. And the cover phtograph alone is worth the price of the book. Enthusiastically recommended.

Bah!:
No, Einstein's Relativity IS amazingly brilliant and eloquent, I assure you of this. My review, although, is a buyer beware scenario. I ordered this exact copy of the text and the one that arrived had all sorts of horrendous typos. One? Two? No, more like...a ton. In an example of this, the 'aether' where the character 'ae' is a single one, somehow in the process of printing it, the character got repaced by a space and question mark! So when Einstein talks about the 'process by which the? ther happens...' or some such example, I translate it as 'bad' and not 'aether'. By all means, buy Einstein's copy of Relativity, but please be cautious when ordering from this particular publisher. I'm unaware of whether or not this problem is widespread, but to those who get the one with the maddening typos riddled all over it, just bear through it and appreciate Einstein's eloquence and not the translator or publisher's, in my own personal opinion, bad spellchecking.

This is a HORRIBLE Kindle Version:
This was my first bad experience with the Kindle. Had I picked this book up at a store, I would've flipped through the pages and realized that it was poorly formated. There are carriage returns at all the wrong places, it's nearly impossible to read. I wish I'd paid a few bucks more and gotten one of the other versions. If you're a kindle owner - go elsewhere.

Harder than it needs to be:
This Dodo Press edition is riddled with annoying typos -- even in some equations and variable names. In addition the section numbers referred to in the text are only found in the table of contents, making navigation cumbersome. A classic like this deserves better. Look for another edition.

Clear, concise, brilliant:
You know, Albert Einstein was a genius. I mean, he would have been a genius without ever communicating a single thought clearly to any other human being. But this book makes him, like, genius squared. The first part of this book covers special relativity. It's about 62 pages. I've never read anything like it. I'm not exaggerating when I say special relativity is a difficult topic. Einstein's presentation is clearer than I would ever have thought possible, concise but never rushed. Some pages may require many readings. But everything you need is there on the page. I would appreciate a looser translation; in a few places Lawson's translation reads to me like German with English words. Nonetheless: 5 stars. One of the most enlightening science books you'll ever read.