This is a fascinating and enjoyable popular science book on gravity and black holes. It offers an absorbing account on the history of research on the universe and gravity from Aristotle via Copernicus via Newton to Einstein. The author possesses high literary qualities and is celebrated relativist. The physics of black holes constitutes one of the most fascinating chapters in modern science. At the same time,there is a fanciful quality associated with this strange and beautiful entity. The black hole story is undoubtedly an adventure through physics,philosophy,history,fiction and fantasy. This book is an attempt to blend all these elements together.
Publisher: Springer-Verlag Berlin and Heidelberg GmbH & Co. KGISBN: 9783642069734Number of pages: 360Weight: 563 gDimensions: 235 x 155 mmEdition: Softcover reprint of hardcover 1st ed. 2006
MEDIA REVIEWS
From pre-publication reviews:
"Beautifully written and thoroughly entertaining,Vishveshwara's "Einstein's Enigma" provides an authoritative but distinctly original approach to an explanation of basics and subtleties of Einstein's general relativity and of the astrophysics of black holes. I warmly recommend it to beginner and expert alike."
Prof. Roger Penrose,Author of Shadows of the Mind and The Road to Reality
"The main dish in this feast is a clear and sound presentation of the science underlying black holes from a distinguished scientist who has been contributing to their study since before they were named. Furthermore this science is presented in a sauce of philosophy,history,literature,gastronomy and imagination from an entertaining personality who needs several alter egos to show all the different ways he can think about his subject. Among the cartoons and drawings are the few lines of optional mathematics which are included for those who like that approach."
Prof. Charles W. Misner,Co-author of Gravitation by Misner,Thorne and Wheeler
"The unusual format and whimsical style of "Einstein's Enigma" should not obscure the fact that this is a serious book,which aims to get across the essentials of the theory of general relativity and some related topics to a readership which is not assumed to be fluent in advanced mathematics.I believe the author,who has a long experience in presenting this kind of material to non-specialist audiences,has succeeded in the task he has set himself; the book will amply repay sustained and diligent reading by even a totally unmathematical reader."
Prof. Anthony J. Leggett,Nobel Laureate in Physics,2003
From the reviews:
"The only thing this intoxicating is Salman Rushdie's Haroun and the Sea of Stories." Dr. Richard Isaacson,former Program Director for Gravitational Physics,Physics Division,National Science Foundation,USA.
"...an innovative way of trying to explain some of the most complicated concepts in physics to beginners and it contains one of the best accounts I've ever read of the (almost Damscene) conversion of a newcomer to the pleasure of a night's observing. As Nietzsche said:'What would be the joy of a star but for those who behold it'"
David Reid,BBC Sky at Night,April 2007
"Vishveshwara's is among the more successful presentations of a most sophisticated,important,and beautiful theory of 20th-century physics-Einstein's general relativity and its most fascinating corollary,the existence of black holes....A book to inform,enrich,and entertain every science-educated reader. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through professionals." (V. V. Raman,CHOICE,Vol. 44 (11),July,2007)
"The author is a major specialist in the field of relatvity,astrophysics and gravitation,and is currently working in Bangalore,India....According to me,this book deserves a very large audience: it is very different from all the popular science books written on the subject and as such will be appreciated even by the non-physicists. The physicists will probably learn new things,while the specialists in astrophysics and gravitation will certainly enjoy this new and fresh insight in their field." (Fabrice Louche,Physicalia Magazine,Vol. 29 (4),2007)
"The author blends fiction,fantasy,physics and philosophy to tell the story of gravitation theory...and the astrophysics of black holes. He not only succeeds at doing this; he entertains readers with delightful digressions and illustrates key concepts with wonderful cartoons,some purportedly scribbled on paper napkins..." (Michelle Press,Scientific American,January 2008)
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