What are the Best Books for Learning Special and General Relativity?

[Andy_K]

Dear All,

I am trying to find some good books that provide a comprehensive one-stop education for special and general relativity, with concise coverage of key fundamentals of the maths involved.

It is intended for self study, and I do not have strong fundamentals on advanced physics / maths.

The book I currently read is this:
http://amzn.to/2kQGFUb

It is pretty good as it covers some mathematical concepts from the grounds up, though I would like more cross references as I sometimes get stuck at certain equations, especially during the latter parts of the book pertaining to curvature and geodesics.

What books would you recommend that are similar in nature?

Thank you.

 

[PeterDonis]

I am trying to find some good books that provide a comprehensive one-stop education for special and general relativity, with concise coverage of key fundamentals of the maths involved.

I would try Sean Carroll's online lecture notes:

https://arxiv.org/abs/gr-qc/9712019

The title says they're on GR, but they cover SR as well, in the sense that they cover the case of flat spacetime.

 

[Andy_K]

Thanks for your prompt advice, Peter.

I found this book by Sean Carroll:
http://amzn.to/2llRyu8

Is this a good book for the above purpose?

 

[jedishrfu]

Online there's Ben Crowell's books on Relativity and Relativity for Poets at

Www.lightandmatter.com

 

[Nugatory]

Taylor and Wheeler's "Spacetime Physics" is good.

 

[PeterDonis]

I found this book by Sean Carroll

This is basically an expanded book version of the lecture notes I linked to.

 

[Andy_K]

Thank you for your great references, I will try to get a good grasp on these books — literally and figuratively! :)

Online there's Ben Crowell's books on Relativity and Relativity for Poets at

Taylor and Wheeler's "Spacetime Physics" is good.

This is basically an expanded book version of the lecture notes I linked to.

 

[smodak]

Try Hartle. Great Book and easier read than Carroll. Carroll would be a great second book.

 

[Andy_K]

Try Hartle. Great Book and easier read than Carroll. Carroll would be a great second book.

Thank you, I will seek out the book!

 

[robphy]

Tom Moore's "A General Relativity Workbook" http://pages.pomona.edu/~tmoore/grw/
was based in part on his teaching out of Hartle's text.

Some background on Tom's approach is described in
https://www.aapt.org/doorway/TGRU/articles/Moore GRArticle.pdf
http://people.carleton.edu/~nchriste/pto000041.pdf

 

[Andy_K]

Tom Moore's "A General Relativity Workbook" http://pages.pomona.edu/~tmoore/grw/
was based in part on his teaching out of Hartle's text.

Thank you, this book is extremely helpful with the workbook approach and accompanying resources! Especially for people like me trying to self-study with no formal education. :)

 

[smodak]

Tom Moore's "A General Relativity Workbook" http://pages.pomona.edu/~tmoore/grw/
was based in part on his teaching out of Hartle's text.

Some background on Tom's approach is described in
https://www.aapt.org/doorway/TGRU/articles/Moore GRArticle.pdf
http://people.carleton.edu/~nchriste/pto000041.pdf

It's a good book but unfortunately no solution manual included :( Including the solution manual would make it a great book.

The reason I like hartle over this book is you get to the 'fun' part of GR very quickly and that makes reading interesting. I love the physics first approach that Hartle takes but includes all the necessary math as well. At the end of the day, we all are different and like different things. The OP has to try a few books before he/she finds one that is going to work for him/her.

 

[robphy]

It's a good book but unfortunately no solution manual included :( Including the solution manual would make it a great book.

The reason I like hartle over this book is you get to the 'fun' part of GR very quickly and that makes reading interesting. I love the physics first approach that Hartle takes but includes all the necessary math as well. At the end of the day, we all are different and like different things. The OP has to try a few books before he/she finds one that is going to work for him/her.

Does Hartle's or Carroll's have a solution manual included?

Moore does have a Student Manual with some hints and solutions.
In addition, he says
"Also, please note that almost all of the exercises and many of the homework problems in the textbook already provide answers that will give you at least some feedback: this manual only supplements the information already provided in the book. Getting the right answer using incorrect methods is generally more difficult with this material than it would be in an introductory course, so if you arrive at the right result, chances are pretty good that you are doing things correctly. At the same time, I strongly recommend that you refer to this manual only after you have tried to work out the problem on your own."

 

[smodak]

Does Hartle's or Carroll's have a solution manual included?

No. But then Hartle or Carroll are not workbooks. Moore's is a workbook without a solution manual - for me it kinda made the point moot. I actually started with Moore but very quickly got bored as I did not know whether what I am doing is right or wrong. Then I tried Schutz - well for me, it was even more boring. When I read Hartle, since the book is pedagogically excellent and does not skip steps, at least i was following him well enough to keep me interested. Carroll is a great read after Hartle. At the end of the day, It just may be a matter of personal preference as I said.

 

[smodak]

OP. Since you are reading Colier but getting stuck, another book to try would be
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F5UWW38/?tag=pfamazon01-20
by Gron

This is at exactly same level as Collier (as you asked) but very well written. Do not get the Kindle version. Get the print. Also if you get stuck with something, you can always ask questions here.

 

[smodak]

Another suitable (and free) book for self study seems to be from lightandmatter . I do own the book but have not read it. Other members may chime in of they have any opinion of the book.

You can learn more about the book here http://lightandmatter.com/genrel/
Download the free book here http://lightandmatter.com/genrel/genrel.pdf
Get a printed copy for less than $8 from here http://www.lulu.com/shop/benjamin-crowell/general-relativity/paperback/product-22125088.html

Hope these help!

 

[Andy_K]

Another suitable (and free) book for self study seems to be from lightandmatter . I do own the book but have not read it. Other members may chime in of they have any opinion of the book.

Thank you, your references are very helpful indeed. I'll try to get or preview as many of these books as I can, to see which approach is more conducive for my self study.

I checked out the Hartle book on Amazon, there seems to be many versions, most of which are priced at $100+, but I found one version at $15:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/9332535086/?tag=pfamazon01-20

Is this a valid / genuine version? This is the only one I can afford.. Though it appears they don't post to my country (Malaysia). :)

 

[smodak]

Thank you, your references are very helpful indeed. I'll try to get or preview as many of these books as I can, to see which approach is more conducive for my self study.

I checked out the Hartle book on Amazon, there seems to be many versions, most of which are priced at $100+, but I found one version at $15:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/9332535086/?tag=pfamazon01-20

Is this a valid / genuine version? This is the only one I can afford.. Though it appears they don't post to my country (Malaysia). :)

That is a legitimate international edition. The only problem with that edition is the book sometimes refer to page numbers that don't match the actual pages as the [page numbers have been changed (I know because that is the version that I have) but it is not something that can't be worked round. Also it is a softcover printed in cheaper paper as opposed to the US version and the print quality is not great. You could also look at a used version https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0805386629/?tag=pfamazon01-20 or look at abebooks.com for cheaper hardcover copies.

 

[Andy_K]

That is a legitimate international edition. The only problem with that edition is the book sometimes refer to page numbers that don't match the actual pages as the [page numbers have been changed (I know because that is the version that I have) but it is not something that can't be worked round. Also it is a softcover printed in cheaper paper as opposed to the US version and the print quality is not great.

Thank you for the clarification and info, I found these 2 lowest priced options at Abebooks. I'm listing them here for the benefit of other readers:

$19 & $4+ postage to Malaysia ($23.80)
https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=17320627686

$15 & $9+ postage to Malaysia ($24.81)
https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=20145813025

 

[Andy_K]

The only problem with that edition is the book sometimes refer to page numbers that don't match the actual pages

Btw, do you know if there are any changes in content from the 2014 edition compared to the original 2003 one, besides the print quality? I can't find any proper description on the product listing for the 2014 International Edition that explain the differences, if any.

The closest thing I could come up with is the Errata on Hartle's website, which I believe may have been applied to 2014 edition:
http://web.physics.ucsb.edu/~gravitybook/

 

[smodak]

Btw, do you know if there are any changes in content from the 2014 edition compared to the original 2003 one, besides the print quality? I can't find any proper description on the product listing for the 2014 International Edition that explain the differences, if any.

The closest thing I could come up with is the Errata on Hartle's website, which I believe may have been applied to 2014 edition:
http://web.physics.ucsb.edu/~gravitybook/

I do not believe there is any difference whatsoever.

 

[Andy_K]

I do not believe there is any difference whatsoever.

Thank you for your kind help and advice :)

 

[Daverz]

I really like the coverage of topics in Zee's Nutshell book. However, this may because I'm already fairly familiar wit the subject. I did not find his QFT book very helpful at all.

 

[smodak]

I really like the coverage of topics in Zee's Nutshell book. However, this may because I'm already fairly familiar wit the subject. I did not find his QFT book very helpful at all.

I just started reading it. I do find the treatment elegant but the it may be confusing for a beginner.

 

[ibkev]

A great many solutions for Moore's General Relativity Workbook can be found here: http://www.physicspages.com/index-physics-relativity/thomas-a-moore-a-general-relativity-workbook/

There are several other books that he goes through on his blog took. Lots and lots of content.

 

[Andy_K]

Thank you for the references & resources

A great many solutions for Moore's General Relativity Workbook can be found here: http://www.physicspages.com/index-physics-relativity/thomas-a-moore-a-general-relativity-workbook/

There are several other books that he goes through on his blog took. Lots and lots of content.