EINSTEIN'S POPULAR BOOK ON RELATIVITY
I
Not
long
after
the
final
version
of
the
general
theory
of
relativity
was
completed
in
the fall of
1915,
Einstein
began thinking seriously
about
writing
a
popular
book
on
relativity, though complaining,
as
he wrote to
a
friend at
the
beginning
of
1916,
that
he
found it difficult
to
begin.
"On the other hand if
I
don't
do it,
the
theory
will
not
be understood,
however
simple
it
basically
is."[1]
The
book,
Einstein 1917a
(Doc.
42),
was
completed by
December of the
same year
and
published
in the
spring
of
1917.[2]
Einstein
was
not
completely
satisfied with the
result,
especially
with
the
style,
which
he
referred
to
as
"wooden."[3]
The
book
was
a
success
nevertheless:
fourteen editions
appeared
between
1917
and
1922,
and the book
is
still
available.[4]
Particularly
after the observation of
gravitational light
deflection
in
the late fall of
1919,
foreign
publishers
became interested
in
translating
it.[5]
The
first
edition
of
an
English
translation
appeared
in
1920
(Einstein 1920),
and the book
went
through
five
more
editions within
two years.
Translations into other
languages
such
as
French
(Einstein 1921a),
Russian
(Einstein 1921b),
and Czech
(Einstein 1923)
soon
fol-
lowed.
This
popular
account
of
relativity
is not
the
first
of
its
kind. Some of Einstein's
contemporaries
had
already sought
to
explain
the
special
as
well
as
the
general theory
in
a
nontechnical
way
to
a
general
audience,[6]
and
Einstein
himself had tried his
hand
at
making
his work accessible
to
a
wider audience: he
wrote
a
number of
shorter
expositions
of
special
relativity[7]
and
a
paper
in
which
he
touches
on
the foundations
of
general relativity
as
well.[8]
Einstein's
style
is
clear and
easy
to
follow.
Only simple
formulas
are
used
in
the
main
text,
while
more
mathematical details
are
given
in
appendixes
that
were
added
in later editions for those who
are
interested.
In
addition
to
explaining
the basic facts
[1]"Aber
wenn
ich
es
nicht
thue,
wird die
Theorie nicht verstanden
werden,
so
einfach sie
im Grunde
nun
ist." Einstein
to
Michele
Besso,
3 January
1916.
[2]See
Walther Rathenau
to
Einstein,
10-11
May 1917,
in
which Rathenau mentions that
he
has
recently
received the book.
[3]"hölzern."
Einstein
to
Michele
Besso,
9
March
1917. He
used the
same term to
describe
the
style
of Einstein 1916c
(Doc.
29).
[4]The
following
German editions
appeared during
Einstein's
life:
first
(1917),
second
(1917),
third
(1918; enlarged),
fourth
(1919),
fifth
(1920),
sixth
(1920),
seventh
(1920), eighth
(1920),
ninth
(1920),
tenth
(1920; enlarged),
eleventh
(1921),
twelfth
(1921),
thirteenth
(1921),
fourteenth
(1922),
and sixteenth
(1954;
enlarged).
There
is
no
fifteenth German edi-
tion.
[5]See Elsa Einstein
to
Paul
Ehrenfest, 10
December
1919.
[6]Earlier
expositions
include
Cohn
1913,
recommended
by
Einstein
in
Einstein 1914h
(Doc.
1)
and
praised
by
him
in
Einstein 1915b
(Vol.
4,
Doc.
21);
Brill
1914
and
Lorentz 1914b,
both reviewed
by
Einstein
(see
Einstein
1914p, 1914q
[Docs. 10 and
11]);
and
Freundlich
1916b,
for which Einstein
wrote
a preface
(Einstein
1916i
[Doc. 35]).
[7]See
Einstein 1910a
(Vol.
3,
Doc.
2),
Einstein 1911i
(Vol.
3,
Doc.
17),
and
Einstein 1915b
(Vol.
4,
Doc.
21).
[8]Einstein
1914h
(Vol. 4,
Doc.
31).