Relativity remains a topic of crucial interest for scientists grappling with its implications for physics, astronomy, cosmology and other disciplines. Laymen, too, are fascinated by relativity theory, which overturned the classical order of Newtonian physics and postulated ideas about space and time that often seem to contradict common sense.

The present work is a very clear, concise and authoritative exposition of both the special and general theories of relativity. Intended for nonscientific readers with a knowledge of high school math, the book offers illuminating coverage of such topics as the speed of light, simultaneity, time distortion, distortion of space and mass, journeys to the stars, dimensions and hyperspace, the theory of general relativity, anomalies in space, and the structure and evolution of the universe.