---
product_id: 40627865
title: "Introduction to Special Relativity (Dover Books on Physics)"
brand: "james h. smith"
price: "€ 20.29"
currency: EUR
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 5
url: https://www.desertcart.nl/products/40627865-introduction-to-special-relativity-dover-books-on-physics
store_origin: NL
region: Netherlands
---

# Introduction to Special Relativity (Dover Books on Physics)

**Brand:** james h. smith
**Price:** € 20.29
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** Introduction to Special Relativity (Dover Books on Physics) by james h. smith
- **How much does it cost?** € 20.29 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.nl](https://www.desertcart.nl/products/40627865-introduction-to-special-relativity-dover-books-on-physics)

## Best For

- james h. smith enthusiasts

## Why This Product

- Trusted james h. smith brand quality
- Free international shipping included
- Worldwide delivery with tracking
- 15-day hassle-free returns

## Description

Full description not available

## Images

![Introduction to Special Relativity (Dover Books on Physics) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71kHAB9mflL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ After sixty years in print, still the best introduction to special relativity
*by H***R on January 19, 2025*

This book was published in 1965, when there were some good introductions to special relativity available. Preparing to teach special relativity as part of my introductory (calculus-based) physics, I found this book to be just what I sought. It is well organized, clearly written in prose notably better than average for physics textbooks, and full of helpful diagrams. So I tried it. I continued using it for introductory special relativity until I retired in 2008. If I were still teaching today, I would still be using it. It addresses common sources of puzzlement head on. (These apparent paradoxes are easily resolved if one remembers that the slogans "moving clocks run slow" and "moving meter sticks are shortened" must be supplemented with the oft-forgotten but crucial "clock synchronization depends on reference frame.")As soon as I saw that Dover is keeping this book in print, I stopped searching for an introduction to special relativity for my grandson. I could not recommend an introductory physics book more highly. Six stars.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ exceptionally clear presentation, great value
*by J***Y on December 7, 2022*

This is one of the best introductions to special relativity available, and given the price, the very best value. The presentation is fairly conventional, but somewhat more careful and detailed than most. The figures and explanations make very clear what is being measured and how, paying particular attention early on to the disposition of the clock or clocks used for time measurement, which is really key to all the kinematical effects. Common misunderstandings are also pointed out and explained.The author indeed makes things "as simple as possible, but no simpler," so there is no overly elaborate or cumbersome notation bogging down the development (which also made the book age very well). At the same time, four vectors and the relativity of the magnetic force are discussed in some detail. This book provides all you need for a solid understanding at this level. And if you intend to continue to more advanced mathematical treatments, you'll be ready. One slight drawback is the lack of answers to most of the exercises, but I still highly recommend this book.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Not a simplified book
*by M***T on December 25, 2017*

Judging from the title one might expect this to be a relatively easy book to understand - it is not. It is introductory for a college level undergraduate physics course, and the author often chooses a relative complex approach, versus the more straightforward ones found in other introductory books. For instance, instead of restricting the discussion to only one spatial dimension, X, much of the text utilizes two dimensions, X and Y, greatly complicating the text. The twin paradox is discussed in terms of a version of special relativity that approximates acceleration, rather than evoking General Relativity as is done in most books, which I found to be interesting, but hard to follow. I got the impression that this approach was done more to illustrate the novel thinking of the author, rather than providing a clearer discussion. The book employs complex four-vector mathematics. For instance, there is a section on “The Lorentz Transformation as a Rotation in Four Dimensions”, which I consider to be much more than introductory in nature, and much of the last quarter of the book contains similar very complex material. For instance, the book also has a section on electric and magnetic fields that goes far beyond what is covered in any of the other introductory relativity texts that I have read. Surprisingly, the book does not cover world-lines, light cones or other space-time ideas, which I found to be a significant deficiency. There are exercise problems for each chapter, but solutions are provided for only a few of them, and where they are they are given as just final answers instead of being worked out in detail.The above comments not withstanding, I found things to like in the book, particularly the discussion of waves and how wave behavior makes the idea of the consistency of the speed of light expected and not as novel an idea as I had always considered it to be. Nonetheless, I recommend this book only as an adjunct to other more easily understood approaches and for a college level audience. This is especially true for a course that employs the level of complexity and mathematics used in this book. As a point of reference, I am a retired Materials Scientist, who has read a great many books on Special Relativity. I consider Mermin’s, “It’s about Time”, Taylor and Wheeler’s Spacetime Physics and especially Morin’s Special Relativity For the Enthusiastic Beginner”, to be much more readable introductory texts. They develop concepts in a more comprehensive manner and employ a much less complicated mathematical approach. Morin’s book is especially good and I highly recommend it.

## Frequently Bought Together

- Introduction to Special Relativity (Dover Books on Physics)
- Einstein's Theory of Relativity
- Relativity: The Special And The General Theory

---

## Why Shop on Desertcart?

- 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016
- 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories
- 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price
- 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members)
- 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection
- ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews

**Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.nl/products/40627865-introduction-to-special-relativity-dover-books-on-physics](https://www.desertcart.nl/products/40627865-introduction-to-special-relativity-dover-books-on-physics)

---

*Product available on Desertcart Netherlands*
*Store origin: NL*
*Last updated: 2026-01-31*