This is a book review of General Relativity: The Essentials by Carlo Rovelli. General Relativity: The Essentials, by Carlo Rovelli (Cambridge University Press), 2021. Pp. 180, 23 × 15.5 cm. Price £14.99 (paperback, ISBN 978 1 00 9013697).
At just 180 pages, including introductory chapters on physics and philosophy and a final one on quantum gravity, it is much shorter than a typical GR textbook. Although it is a textbook, as the title says it concentrates on the essential aspects of GR. The usual suspects --- curvature, gravitational waves, cosmology, some solutions for special cases, black holes --- are all here, but also more discussion of concepts than one finds even in some much longer texts. While it might be difficult to learn GR in detail (even just regarding the topics discussed) from this book alone, it is possible to learn the basic concepts, and at a deeper level than the typical popular-science presentation. It is nice to see front-line researchers, at least those who do it well, taking the time to write for a wider readership than their immediate colleagues; Rovelli is one of the best current examples. The book is interesting, well written, and fills an otherwise vacant niche.