How did the theory of relativity originate? How did Einstein’s revolutionary ideas influence ideas about space and time, science and technology? What is their place and significance in science today? The book gives the reader the opportunity to enter into Einstein's world, to share those special moments when he was able to lift the edge of the great veil, comprehending the hidden mechanisms of the Universe. The author, step by step, scrupulously, but entertainingly and accessiblely talks about the origins and formation of Einstein’s ideas, shows their struggle with established ideas, the difficult path of introducing these ideas into the heads of physicists and philosophers, and their significance for our time.