I. The Creation of The Theory of Relativityl.- 1.Science, Logic, and Objectivity.- 2. The Rise and Fall of the Mechanical World View.- 3. Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity and Its Consequences.- 4. Further Consequences of the Heuristic Nature of the Special Theory of Relativity.- 5. The General Theory of Relativity.- II. The Early Response to the Special Theory of Relativity, 1905–1911.- 6. When a Hundred Flowers Bloom: The German Response.- 7. As If It Never Happened: The French Response.- 8. Defending the Ether: The British Response.- 9. Defending the Practical: The American Response.- III. From Response to Assimilation.- 10. Relativity in America, 1912–1980.- 11. Relativity and Revolutions in Science.- Appendix 1. Trigonometry.- Appendix 2. Kinematics: The Galilean Description of Motion.- Appendix 3. Newtonian Mechanics.- Appendix 4. The Kinetic Theory of Matter and the Mechanical World View.- Appendix 5. Ether Drift Experiments: The Search for Absolute Frame of Reference.- Appendix 6. Some Relativistic Derivations.- Bibliographic Essay: On Understanding Relativity.- Inde.