The Road to Relativity
eBook - PDF

The Road to Relativity

The History and Meaning of Einstein's "The Foundation of General Relativity", Featuring the Original Manuscript of Einstein's Masterpiece

  1. 264 pages
  2. English
  3. PDF
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF

The Road to Relativity

The History and Meaning of Einstein's "The Foundation of General Relativity", Featuring the Original Manuscript of Einstein's Masterpiece

About this book

An annotated facsimile edition of Einstein's handwritten manuscript on the foundations of general relativity

This richly annotated facsimile edition of "The Foundation of General Relativity" introduces a new generation of readers to Albert Einstein's theory of gravitation. Written in 1915, this remarkable document is a watershed in the history of physics and an enduring testament to the elegance and precision of Einstein's thought. Presented here is a beautiful facsimile of Einstein's original handwritten manuscript, along with its English translation and an insightful page-by-page commentary that places the work in historical and scientific context. Hanoch Gutfreund and Jürgen Renn's concise introduction traces Einstein's intellectual odyssey from special to general relativity, and their essay "The Charm of a Manuscript" provides a delightful meditation on the varied afterlife of Einstein's text. Featuring a foreword by John Stachel, this handsome edition also includes a biographical glossary of the figures discussed in the book, a comprehensive bibliography, suggestions for further reading, and numerous photos and illustrations throughout.

Frequently asked questions

Yes, you can cancel anytime from the Subscription tab in your account settings on the Perlego website. Your subscription will stay active until the end of your current billing period. Learn how to cancel your subscription.
At the moment all of our mobile-responsive ePub books are available to download via the app. Most of our PDFs are also available to download and we're working on making the final remaining ones downloadable now. Learn more here.
Perlego offers two plans: Essential and Complete
  • Essential is ideal for learners and professionals who enjoy exploring a wide range of subjects. Access the Essential Library with 800,000+ trusted titles and best-sellers across business, personal growth, and the humanities. Includes unlimited reading time and Standard Read Aloud voice.
  • Complete: Perfect for advanced learners and researchers needing full, unrestricted access. Unlock 1.4M+ books across hundreds of subjects, including academic and specialized titles. The Complete Plan also includes advanced features like Premium Read Aloud and Research Assistant.
Both plans are available with monthly, semester, or annual billing cycles.
We are an online textbook subscription service, where you can get access to an entire online library for less than the price of a single book per month. With over 1 million books across 1000+ topics, we’ve got you covered! Learn more here.
Look out for the read-aloud symbol on your next book to see if you can listen to it. The read-aloud tool reads text aloud for you, highlighting the text as it is being read. You can pause it, speed it up and slow it down. Learn more here.
Yes! You can use the Perlego app on both iOS or Android devices to read anytime, anywhere — even offline. Perfect for commutes or when you’re on the go.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Yes, you can access The Road to Relativity by Hanoch Gutfreund,Jürgen Renn in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Physical Sciences & Science History. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title
  3. Copyright
  4. CONTENTS
  5. A Brief Note on the Publication of This Work
  6. Foreword
  7. Preface
  8. THE CHARM OF A MANUSCRIPT
  9. EINSTEIN’S INTELLECTUAL ODYSSEY TO GENERAL RELATIVITY
  10. THE ANNOTATED MANUSCRIPT
  11. NOTES ON THE ANNOTATION PAGES
  12. POSTSCRIPT: THE DRAMA CONTINUES . . .
  13. A Chronology of the Genesis of General Relativity and Its Formative Years
  14. Physicists, Mathematicians, and Philosophers Relevant to Einstein’s Thinking
  15. Further Reading
  16. English Translation of “The Foundation of the General Theory of Relativity”
  17. English Translation of “Hamilton’s Principle and the General Theory of Relativity”
  18. Index