Suggest some good introductory textbooks on GR

AI Thread Summary
The discussion centers on recommendations for introductory graduate-level textbooks on General Relativity (GR). Participants suggest consulting a comprehensive booklist available online, which categorizes various texts. Ray d'Inverno's "Introducing Einstein's Relativity" is highlighted as a solid foundational text that covers essential topics up to cosmological models and charged black holes. While some participants mention James Hartle and Sean Carroll's works, there is debate about their suitability for true introductory courses, with a preference expressed for texts that do not require extensive background in differential geometry. Additionally, Dirac's concise book is recommended for its accessibility, and contributions from notable physicists like Pauli, Feynman, and Weinberg are acknowledged as valuable resources. Overall, the conversation emphasizes the need for clear, introductory materials that effectively bridge the gap to more complex GR concepts.
TensorKhan
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Hello,

I was wondering if any of you can suggest some good introductory textbooks on GR around the graduate level. Thank you for your time.

Yours Truly,

TK.
 
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Students at KUL learn GR following Ray Inverno's "Introducing Einstein's Relativity"...Elementary book.Covers the basics up until cosmological models & charged BH.

Daniel.
 
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No offense,but he (the OP) specifically said "good introductory textbooks on GR around the graduate level".Let's not go to Hartle,Carroll & Wald.

Dirac's 70 pages book is perfect for getting to know GR without diff.geom...

Field theorists such as Pauli,Feynman & Weinberg wrote good books on GR,too.

Daniel.
 
dextercioby said:
No offense,but he (the OP) specifically said "good introductory textbooks on GR around the graduate level".Let's not go to Hartle,Carroll & Wald.
Well, you're right that Hartle's seems to be aimed at undergrads, but Carroll's is supposed to be for "advanced undergraduates and graduate students" (the notes the book was based on were from a graduate-level course), and Wald's also seems to be graduate-level according to https://www.physicsforums.com/archive/topic/t-42161_Books_in_general_relativity?.html .
 
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I'm a graduate student, and i learned GR from d'Inverno, but also from the text of Sean Carroll, which is very good! And ofcourse, being a dutch student, Gerard 't Hooft also wrote a nice introductory. You can find his lecture notes on the site of his university (at utrecht )
 
Do you want a good introductory book that explains the standard theory with plenty of examples, and then is also open to heterodox interpretations of the cosmological data? Try "An Introduction to Cosmology" (3rd Ed.) Jayant Narlikar CUP 2002 (1st Ed.) ISBN 0 521 79028X

Garth
 
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