Relativity Reviews of “Gravity: An Introduction to Einstein’s General Relativity”

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James B. Hartle's book "Gravity: An Introduction to Einstein’s General Relativity" is highly regarded as one of the most accessible introductions to general relativity (GR), making it suitable for self-study. However, a solid understanding of special relativity (SR) is essential, as the book revises SR but does not cover it in depth. Additionally, readers should be familiar with advanced undergraduate mathematics, as the book, while minimizing mathematical complexity, still requires a certain level of mathematical proficiency. The inclusion of a free 389-page solutions manual enhances its value for self-learners.
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TL;DR Summary: Review/Rating of “Gravity … … “ by James B. Hartle

Thoughts regarding prerequisites for reading this book

I would be really grateful if someone would rate/evaluate/review James B. Hartle’z book, “Gravity: An introduction to Einstein’s General Relativity”

Would the book be suitable for self study … especially given that James Hartle has provided a free solutions manual of 389 pages … which includes solutions to all problems in his book!!!

Peter
 
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It's probably the most accessible serious introduction to GR. And possibly the best for self-study. GR, however, is not an easy subject. The main prerequisite is to have a really thorough grasp of SR. Hartle revises SR in the book, but I don't think that's enough by itself. And, although Hartle goes as light as possible on the mathematics, the book still requires familiarity with advanced undergraduate mathematics.
 
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PeroK said:
And possibly the best for self-study.

Oh yes, I agree with that. It's a great book.
 
PeroK said:
It's probably the most accessible serious introduction to GR. And possibly the best for self-study. GR, however, is not an easy subject. The main prerequisite is to have a really thorough grasp of SR. Hartle revises SR in the book, but I don't think that's enough by itself. And, although Hartle goes as light as possible on the mathematics, the book still requires familiarity with advanced undergraduate mathematics.
Thanks so much, PeroK .... that is most helpful ...

Peter
 
The book is fascinating. If your education includes a typical math degree curriculum, with Lebesgue integration, functional analysis, etc, it teaches QFT with only a passing acquaintance of ordinary QM you would get at HS. However, I would read Lenny Susskind's book on QM first. Purchased a copy straight away, but it will not arrive until the end of December; however, Scribd has a PDF I am now studying. The first part introduces distribution theory (and other related concepts), which...
I've gone through the Standard turbulence textbooks such as Pope's Turbulent Flows and Wilcox' Turbulent modelling for CFD which mostly Covers RANS and the closure models. I want to jump more into DNS but most of the work i've been able to come across is too "practical" and not much explanation of the theory behind it. I wonder if there is a book that takes a theoretical approach to Turbulence starting from the full Navier Stokes Equations and developing from there, instead of jumping from...

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