The book 'The Power of Now' by Ekhart Tolle pretty much sums up my
belief these days about the meaning of life. The present moment is the
thing. Its like a portal to infinity. It already contains the past and
the future.
   I believe this idea is rational and scientific. I believe it ties
in with Einsteins explaination of the relativity of time and space.
 I am looking for short , simple books or articles which offer a
scientific explaination of time which ties in with Ekhart Tolles idea
that 'Clock time' is really an illusion.
    A kind of 'Einstein for Dummies' I suppose.

Hi,

I've searched and came up with some books which I think you'll find
interesting.
I will only list books which readers are enthusiastic about. Also, I
will only give you titles of books which are easy to understand.

-"About Time : Einstein's Unfinished Revolution" by P.C.W Davies
This book deals specifically with Einstein's ideas on the relativity
of time. It is written for the lay-man and people are very
enthusiastic about it.

A comment from a reader about this book:
"The bottom line is that our "common sense" notions of past, present,
and future and our perception of time as flowng from present into
future are distortions of reality. Instead of a flowing time that
moves from present to future, time is actually a block of past,
present, and future that is simply "there." The common sense notion of
past, present, and future must be discarded if we are to understand
the nature of time."
Kenneth Matheny 
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0684818221/qid=1023353102/sr=1-5/ref=sr_1_5/002-1030297-5512845

You can find more information and buy it here: 
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0684818221/qid=1023353102/sr=1-5/ref=sr_1_5/002-1030297-5512845

-"Space and Time in Special Relativity" by N. David Mermin
This book tries to explain Einstein's ideas on the relativity of time
and make it easy to understand.

A comment from a reader:
"We have Einstein to thank for the Principles and Theories of Special
Relativity, and Mermin to thank for communicating them to the general
population."
Cal - Poly Student
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0881334200/qid=1023353561/sr=1-9/ref=sr_1_9/002-1030297-5512845

You can find more information and buy it here:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0881334200/qid=1023353561/sr=1-9/ref=sr_1_9/002-1030297-5512845


A more genereal book about relativity:
-"Philosophy of Space and Time" by Hans Reichenbach

A comment from a reader:
"This is an absolutely fabulous book about the foundations of special
and general relativity. The author's deep understanding of and insight
to these complex structures is beautifully displayed and explained
using simple but nontrivial examples and very readable text. If you
really want to understand relativity, you must read this book."
Arja Turunen-Red
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0486604438/qid=1023353673/sr=1-12/ref=sr_1_12/002-1030297-5512845

You can find more information and buy it here:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0486604438/qid=1023353673/sr=1-12/ref=sr_1_12/002-1030297-5512845


A totally different view on Einstein's relativity of time is given in
the following book:
-"Space, Time and Matter, and the Falsity of Einstein's Theory of
Relativity" by Kamen George Kamenov
In the book the author tries to prove that Einstein's ideas on the
relativity of time are wrong. Maybe you find this interesting.

Comment from a reader:
"Mr. Kamenov has done a superb job in this book explaining the falsity
in Einstein's theory of relativity in a very simple but a very logical
and convincing way."
Jay Zinzuvadia 
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0533130972/qid=1023353363/sr=1-23/ref=sr_1_23/002-1030297-5512845

You can find more information and buy the book here: 
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0533130972/qid=1023353363/sr=1-23/ref=sr_1_23/002-1030297-5512845


Other books written by Eckhart Tolle (the author of "The Power of
Now") which you might find interesting:

-"The Realization of Being : A Guide to Experiencing Your True
Identity"
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1564559475/ref=pd_sim_books_4/002-1030297-5512845

-"Practicing the Power of Now: Essential Teachings, Meditations, and
Exercises From The Power of Now"
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1577311957/ref=pd_sim_books_3/002-1030297-5512845


Other books which deal with time in other, more general ways:

-"How to Build a Time Machine" by P.C.W. Davies

Comment from a reader:
"This book is perfect for people wanting to get a general idea of the
physical possibilities of time travel. Davies does a great job of
putting the physics of time travel into lamens terms."
Aaron
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0670030635/ref=pd_sim_books_2/002-1030297-5512845

You find more information and buy it here:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0670030635/ref=pd_sim_books_2/002-1030297-5512845


I hope this answer is to your satisfaction and if you want more titles
or more information, don't hesitate to ask for a Clarification.

Kind regards,
paul_b_18-ga

Wow...what a great list...

In a more humorous fashion, "Einstein's Dreams" by Alan P. Lightman
may also be satisfying.
  http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0679416463/qid=1023367300/sr=8-2/ref=sr_8_2/103-1786691-7969416

To quote from a review at amszon.com:  " Einstein's Dreams became a
bestseller by delighting both scientists and humanists. It is
technically a novel. Lightman uses simple, lyrical, and literal
details to locate Einstein precisely in a place and time--Berne,
Switzerland, spring 1905, when he was a patent clerk privately working
on his bizarre, unheard-of theory of relativity. The town he perceives
is vividly described, but the waking Einstein is a bit player in this
drama.

The book takes flight when Einstein takes to his bed and we share his
dreams, 30 little fables about places where time behaves quite
differently. In one world, time is circular; in another a man is
occasionally plucked from the present and deposited in the past: "He
is agonized. For if he makes the slightest alteration in anything, he
may destroy the future ... he is forced to witness events without
being part of them ... an inert gas, a ghost ... an exile of time."
The dreams in which time flows backward are far more sophisticated
than the time-tripping scenes in Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five,
though science-fiction fans may yearn for a sustained yarn, which
Lightman declines to provide. His purpose is simply to study the
different kinds of time in Einstein's mind, each with its own lucid
consequences. In their tone and quiet logic, Lightman's fables come
off like Bach variations played on an exquisite harpsichord. People
live for one day or eternity, and they respond intelligibly to each
unique set of circumstances. Raindrops hang in the air in a place of
frozen time; in another place everyone knows one year in advance
exactly when the world will end, and acts accordingly."

Well, I'm off to amazon.com.....they have my numbers already..

seedy

Two of my favourites:

"A Brief History of Time"
AND
"The Universe in a Nutshell"
by Professor Stephen W. Hawking 

I´ve read both (a couple of times) and highly recommend both of them,
they are
a couple of very readable books that tackle fundamental questions
about "Life, The Universe and Everything" in a (relatively) easy way
to understand.
Amazon Link:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0553380168/o/qid%3D936736511/inventorsmuseumbo/002-0032749-0916017

I´m sure you will spend many billions of happy femtoseconds reading
them !
(look that one up!)

THX1138

One book that deals precicsly with this question is 
The End of Time: The Next Revolution in Physics
by Julian B. Barbour

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0195145925/qid=1024857130/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_1/102-4134219-7940137

I am half way through the book now. He provides an excellent history
of the physics involved (talks about Relativity quite a bit) and
provides his own theory about time as an illusion.