First published in 1973, this influential work discusses Einstein's General Theory of Relativity, exploring its predictions relating to black holes and singularities in space-time. A Foreword contributed by Abhay Ashtekar and a new Preface from George Ellis help put the volume into context given the subsequent developments in the field.

"First published in 1973, this influential work discusses Einstein's General Theory of Relativity to show how two of its predictions arise: first, that the ultimate fate of many massive stars is to undergo gravitational collapse to form 'black holes'; and second, that there was a singularity in the past at the beginning of the universe. Starting with a precise formulation of the theory, including the necessary differential geometry, the authors discuss the significance of spacetime curvature and examine the properties of a number of exact solutions of Einstein's field equations. They develop the theory of the causal structure of a general spacetime, and use it to prove a number of theorems establishing the inevitability of singularities under certain conditions. A foreword contributed by Abhay Ashtekar and a new preface from George Ellis help put the volume into context of the developments in the field over the past 50 years"--