The discussion revolves around recommendations for introductory books on general relativity suitable for undergraduate students. Participants share various titles, some considered standard and others nonstandard, while also discussing the suitability of these texts for different audiences and learning preferences.
Participants express a range of opinions on the best introductory texts, with no clear consensus on a single recommended book. Different preferences for teaching styles and content depth lead to multiple competing views.
Some recommendations depend on the audience's background, with distinctions made between physics majors and a less technical audience. There are also references to external resources and discussions that may provide additional context.
This discussion may be useful for undergraduate students seeking introductory materials on general relativity, educators looking for teaching resources, and anyone interested in exploring various perspectives on learning this complex subject.
You could try this series of lectures from MITStenEdeback said:Summary:: I am looking for a good introductory book about general relativity at undergraduate level.
I am looking for a good introductory book about general relativity at undergraduate level.
Thank you very much!robphy said:Here are some newer ones to consider:
Tom Moore - A General Relativity Workbook
http://pages.pomona.edu/~tmoore/grw/
(I didn't get to teach with this because the school bookstore wouldn't get this because it couldn't be "rented".
I chose Hartle instead.)
Andrew Steane - Relativity Made Relatively Easy
https://www.amazon.com/dp/019966286X/?tag=pfamazon01-20
(old lecture notes now published... possibly too advanced for typical undergraduates)
Robert Geroch - General Relativity: 1972 Lecture Notes
http://www.minkowskiinstitute.org/mip/books/geroch-gr.html
(Wald says that Geroch influenced some of his presentations of topics.)
- More of Geroch notes (some very rough)
http://home.uchicago.edu/~geroch/Course Notes (and see the parent directory)
some older ones:
Ellis & Williams - Flat and Curved Space-Times
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0198506562/?tag=pfamazon01-20
N.M.J. Woodhouse - General Relativity (there's a Special Relativity book as well)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1846284864/?tag=pfamazon01-20
Ohanian - Gravitation and Spacetime
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1107012945/?tag=pfamazon01-20
Ludvigsen - General Relativity (A Geometric Approach)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/052163976X/?tag=pfamazon01-20UPDATE:
My earlier answer above assumed that physics majors would be studying the material.
Here are some choices for a less technical audience:
(from a recent post: https://www.physicsforums.com/threa...om-multivariate-calculus.997339/#post-6431113 )
- https://www.amazon.com/dp/0226288641/?tag=pfamazon01-20
- the Schutz book (Gravity from the Ground Up) - as mentioned above
- some of Taylor & Wheeler materials - as mentioned above
PeroK said:You could try this series of lectures from MIT
They are on the MIT website as well. They go quite well with Sean Carroll's book - although that is more advanced than Hartle.
Thank you very much!StenEdeback said:Thank you very much!
Thank you!vanhees71 said:For me the best intro text is Landau Lifshitz vol. 2. It's just the right amount of geometry with emphasis of the physics. It's also well worth to study the first part about electromagnetism. It's the best "relativity-first approach textbook".
Thank you!mpresic3 said:I would go with Hartle, above. If you do not like applications, and the "physics first" approach, that Hartle uses, Schutz is probably best, at the undergrad level, or maybe Ohanian and Ruffini. At the graduate level,Carroll may be best, or maybe Wald, for the ambitious.
Thank you!robphy said:For completeness,
the OP's question on https://physics.stackexchange.com/q...vity-at-undergraduate-level?noredirect=1&lq=1
prompted a comment linking to an old page with useful details (with some recent updates)
https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/363/books-for-general-relativity
Thank you!robphy said:For completeness,
the OP's question on https://physics.stackexchange.com/q...vity-at-undergraduate-level?noredirect=1&lq=1
prompted a comment linking to an old page with useful details (with some recent updates)
https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/363/books-for-general-relativity
Thank you!lomidrevo said:I have pretty enjoyed reading a textbook "Einstein Gravity in a Nutshell" by Zee
https://www.amazon.com/dp/069114558X/?tag=pfamazon01-20
Thank you!Daverz said:Another vote for Hartle as a first pass.
The book by Ta-Pei Cheng, A College Course on Relativity and Cosmology, is similar in intent.
I like Zee. It has tons of cool stuff in it. But that's what makes it less than ideal for a first pass: too much stuff.
D'Inverno has also become one of my favorite books, but I'd label it a graduate text.
If Tevian Dray rewrote his General Relativity book so that it is more coherent for linear study, it could be the best introduction.
StenEdeback said:Summary:: I am looking for a good introductory book about general relativity at undergraduate level.
I am looking for a good introductory book about general relativity at undergraduate level.
I have a masters exam in electronics from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden. There, many years ago, I did extra studies for pleasure of tensor calculus and also some general theory of relativity. For a little more than a year I have now studied, just for fun, quantum mechanics, particle physics, and electrodynamics and some mathematics. I am now studying group theory, planning soon to study quantum field theory and hopefully later M theory and superstring theory.MidgetDwarf said:May be a bit off topic, but if you ever want to learn Special Relativity, give Spacetime Physics a gander. Look for the red edition.Now for General Relativity. What is your math background?
StenEdeback said:I have a masters exam in electronics from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden. There, many years ago, I did extra studies for pleasure of tensor calculus and also some general theory of relativity. For a little more than a year I have now studied, just for fun, quantum mechanics, particle physics, and electrodynamics and some mathematics. I am now studying group theory, planning soon to study quantum field theory and hopefully later M theory and superstring theory.
Thank you very much! Then I will read Zee's book. By the way, I have a hard time finding a book about group theory that I like and that gives me what I need for my studies. Can you recommend suc´h a book?Daverz said:In that case, it sounds like Zee's book is exactly the sort of thing you'd enjoy.
Thank you! What about Zee's group theory book?vanhees71 said:The classic is
M. Hamermesh, Group Theory and its application to physical problems, Dover (1989)
Another one is
H. J. Lipkin, Lie groups for Pedestrians, North-Holland Publ. Comp. (1966).
For me it is a big no. If you can get your hands on Wu Ki Tung's book, it is all you need for group theory in physics without invoking sofisticated mathematics. It takes you from 0 to Young Tableaux for the classical groups, which are a foundation for Quantum Chromodynamics and Electroweak Theory in the Standard Model. It goes through the Lorentz group smoothly, without trying to attempt finesse which Zee misses (real vs complex, real vs complexified vs real forms of complexified Lie algebras).StenEdeback said:Thank you! What about Zee's group theory book?
Yes, it is personal.vanhees71 said:I don't like Zee's books, but that's only a personal opinion. It's anyway a good idea to first check several books on a subject in a library, because it's a personal matter, from which book and which approach one learns a subject the best.
Thank you very much! I will look at the books you have suggested.dextercioby said:For me it is a big no. If you can get your hands on Wu Ki Tung's book, it is all you need for group theory in physics without invoking sofisticated mathematics. It takes you from 0 to Young Tableaux for the classical groups, which are a foundation for Quantum Chromodynamics and Electroweak Theory in the Standard Model. It goes through the Lorentz group smoothly, without trying to attempt finesse which Zee misses (real vs complex, real vs complexified vs real forms of complexified Lie algebras).
As for GR, I only recommend two books: Ray D'Inverno's (first level) and Wald's (second and third level). If the latter is too expensive as a used book, then perhaps Norbert Straumann's text should serve the same spot, if found at a decent price.
I don't think it's been mentioned that Sean Carroll's notes are online here:StenEdeback said:Thank you very much! I will look at the books you have suggested.