Gravitational Field Equation, Near Light Speed, and the G.U.T.

Astronomy this semester, coupled with several nights spent watching doomsday scenarios on The History Channel, have started to get me interested in the physics behind it all. This is not to say that I want to run off and take a physics course (in fact, I failed physics in high school, but that was due to lack of effort), but I would like to start getting a better handle on it.
My astronomy instructor mentioned that Einstein's notes for his Grand Unification Theory (G.U.T.) are available in book form at most book stores, so I figured while I was online, I might see if I can see how much such a piece of literature would cost. Seeing as how even Einstein couldn't figure out what his notes were telling him, I don't expect to understand it in the slightest, but I'd still like to see what he came up with before he died. But, I digress; while my initial search didn't really turn up what I was looking for, I did stumble across an article published back in 2006 that mentions a new exact solution for Einstein's Gravitational Field Equation (something I also don't know in the slightest), and the possibility of near-light-speed travel by the end of the century. While I realise that "the end of the century" is beyond my lifetime, it's hardly the millenia I would've figured it would take to get anywhere close to light speed.
The physicist who came up with this solution also mentioned something about changing our perception of exploring the "far reaches of our universe". This I don't quite believe, as something travelling the speed of light would take something like a hundred-million years to even get from one side of our galaxy to the other, so something going near light speed isn't showing too much promise of getting very far in that aspect, but it may allow people to see new solar systems, which is in and of itself pretty cool.
Anyhow just thought I'd mention something about this because I found it interesting. Now back to my hunt for the published version of the G.U.T.

edit: I found it... s' in three volumes and is one-hundred and sixty shmuckers... maybe for Christmas xD