The preface to this 1921 volume immediately signals a pedagogical concern: the editor, J. Malcolm Bird, argues that previous attempts to explain Einstein have failed because they “pitchfork the reader into the intricacies of the subject without adequate preparation.” Bird’s solution is to delay the winning essay—Lyndon Bolton’s prize-winning entry—until after a substantial introductory section. The reader first encounters a detailed explanation of the contest’s genesis and then a lengthy background chapter on the Special Theory of Relativity. Only after this groundwork does the winning essay appear, beginning with a patient definition of coordinate systems and frames of reference.

Delaying the Prize Essay

The most striking structural choice in this book is that the winning essay does not open the volume. Bird anticipates that readers will expect the prize essay to be given “the post of honor,” but he deliberately places it later. In the preface, he explains that this arrangement is meant to avoid the common mistake of assuming the lay reader can jump directly into relativity. Instead, the book first provides a “preliminary background” chapter that establishes the Special Theory’s core concepts—such as the relativity of time and space—before the essayists attempt to “take us more deeply into the subject.” This ordering suggests that Bird views the winning essay not as a standalone explanation but as a text that builds on prior preparation.

The Background Chapter as Scaffolding

The background chapter, written by Bird himself, introduces the Special Theory by emphasizing the “limiting case” of unaccelerated motion. It repeatedly stresses that the revisions of fundamental concepts made for the Special Theory “will remain with us in the General” Theory. The language is careful and cumulative: the reader is told that the four-dimensional space-time continuum “persists” and that the General Theory demands “a non-Euclideanism of a much more whole-hearted type.” This chapter does not assume prior knowledge; it defines terms like “frame of reference” and explains why the mechanical principle of relativity is insufficient for electromagnetism. The prose is methodical, often using phrases like “we shall see” to guide the reader forward.

Bolton’s Opening: Coordinates and Clocks

When the winning essay finally begins, it starts not with a grand statement but with a concrete analogy: specifying points in a plane by distances from perpendicular lines. Bolton then introduces the need for synchronized clocks and defines a “Frame of Reference” as a system of axes with clocks. He explicitly states that “every observer will be supposed to be provided with such a frame partaking of his motion.” This opening is deliberately elementary, echoing the background chapter’s approach. Bolton’s prose is precise but not technical; he uses everyday language like “flat-sided box” to describe coordinate axes. The essay assumes the reader has absorbed the background material and can now follow a more detailed exposition of the mechanical principle of relativity.

A First Reading Strategy

Given the book’s structure, a first-time reader should begin with the preface and the background chapter, even if tempted to skip to the winning essay. The preface itself is a short but revealing document: it explains the editorial rationale and warns against the “great gulf” between trained mathematicians and lay readers. The background chapter then provides the vocabulary and conceptual framework needed to understand Bolton’s essay. Readers who start with Bolton may find his opening clear but may miss the context for why the Special Theory is a “limiting case.” The book rewards patience; its arrangement is itself a pedagogical argument about how to learn relativity.

This volume is best approached as a guided course rather than a reference work. The editor’s deliberate sequencing—preface, background, then essays—mirrors the gradual preparation he advocates. Readers who follow this order will find that Bolton’s essay, when it arrives, builds naturally on established ideas. The book’s structure is its most instructive feature, turning the challenge of learning relativity into a step-by-step process.