Review by Choice Review
The theory of relativity can seem bizarre and hard to accept when first learned. Time slows down, and length and distance contract as the velocity of a moving object approaches the speed of light; light is an electromagnetic wave, and its speed is constant. Energy and mass are related by E = mc2. Light bends around large masses. Making science topics like relativity approachable and fun to learn are important goals of the "Manga Guides" series. Each manga is a collaboration between illustrator, scenario writer, and expert scientist. M. Yamamoto, the scientist, successfully writes about relativity in a clear, simple manner that should be understandable to a general audience. The science is gently introduced in the manga storyboards, and then the theory is more fully explained in standard text. The manga story is charming, but not very engaging and even rather pedantic: a student body president, for the good of his classmates, gives up his summer vacation to learn relativity from a quirky teacher. The book uses real-world examples to show why relativity is important. For example, there is a nice demonstration of why the global positioning system's accuracy depends on special and general relativity. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates and general readers. M. Mounts Dartmouth College
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
