The Genesis of General Relativity (Four-Volume Edition)

The four-volume work presents a comprehensive documentation and study of the creation of general relativity, one of the fundamental physical theories of the twentieth century. Volumes 1 and 2 contain the facsimile and transcription of, and a commentary on Einstein's 1912–1913 Zurich Notebook. The research by Einstein recorded in this notebook forms a pivotal part of his creation of the theory of general relativity. Complementing this core material are essays re-evaluating the genesis of Einstein's theory in light of the analysis of this notebook. Volumes 3 and 4 contain additional sources by Einstein and his contemporaries, who from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth century contributed to this groundbreaking development. These sources, most of which are presented here in translation for the first time, are accompanied by essays by leading historians of relativity offering new insights into the broader scientific context from which Einstein's theory emerged. The result of more than a decade of research, these four volumes provide a study of unprecedented depth of one of the most important revolutions in the history of science.