5 comments about Quantum Computation and Quantum Information.

1. This is absolutely the standard introductory text to quantum information and quantum computation. Nielsen and Chuang certainly covered all the basis, and tried to give a self contained book including many reviews of related topics in the appendices. The main complain about the book is that some times it is sloppy, making hard to grasp the concepts. In some parts of the book there are even grammatical errors. My advice, get it, read it, but be very careful.



2. This is an excellent book about a topic which becomes more important
   with each passing month. It is written at a graduate level, such that
   you really need to have had a college-level quantum mechanics course,
   or equivalent. Most of the book uses bracket notation.



3. My first acquaintance with this book came from a copy which I ordered through interlibrary loan after seeing favorable comments on the internet. The loan period was only two weeks, so I wasn't able to study this 600-page book in detail. But I learned quite a bit just by skimming it. After I saw that it was a book that would repay study, I purchased it.
   
   The first chapter of 58 pages nicely introduces many of the important ideas, leaving the more difficult details to later chapters. For example, I learned about quantum teleportation, which I had never understood from popular accounts.
   
   I read it from cover to cover and was able to follow almost all of it in detail. Since I read it as someone learning this material for the first time, I'll review it from a student's perspective. A much longer review discussing technical issues is available on my web site.
   
   Chapter 2 gives a nice summary of basic quantum mechanics. It includes an introduction to necessary concepts from abstract linear algebra, including important specific applications (e.g., the Schmidt decomposition) which are not likely to be covered even in advanced linear algebra courses.
   
   The third chapter gives an introduction to computer science concepts.
   This gives a conceptual framework within which to present the ideas of quantum computation. More material is included here than is necessary to understand the rest of the book. Readers may find it efficient to skim this chapter initially and return for more detail when necessary.
   
   The next three chapters present the essentials of quantum circuits, the quantum Fourier transform, and quantum search algorithms. Here there is perhaps room for a little improvement. I thought that important details were sometimes omitted from the exposition, and I occasionally had to go to the original literature to understand the ideas.
   
   Also, there is a bad misuse of the "Big-O" notation throughout these
   chapters, startling in a book so generally carefully written. Sophisticated readers will take this in stride, but it might demoralize beginners. For details, see the longer review on my web site.
   
   The mathematics of quantum computation is easy compared to the problems of physically realizing it. Chapter 7 gives an extensive discussion of these problems and various proposals for overcoming them. This concludes the "quantum computation" section of the book, which is a little more than half of the 600-odd pages.
   
   The rest deals with quantum information theory. This is presented in less detail than the quantum computation chapters, and demands more from the reader. A summary of classical information theory is included, with sketches of proofs of important results. I found this very helpful in refreshing my memory of Khinchin's book on information theory, which I read decades ago.
   
   Some of the more complicated proofs are only sketched. I didn't get as much from the quantum information section of the book as from the quantum computation section. I think it gives a useful overview of the field, but if I wanted to learn quantum information in detail, I would look for a book dedicated to this topic, perhaps reading Nielsen/Chuang first as an introduction.
   
   The book concludes with a 12-page introduction to quantum cryptography.
   I couldn't follow this section in detail. Perhaps it could be followed with enough work, but I wasn't motivated. I imagine that a proper treatment of cryptography would require many more than 12 pages. Again, if I wanted to learn this material, I would seek an expository text dedicated to it.
   
   In summary, this is an exceptionally fine text which can be read on many levels. The 58-page overview of quantum computation should be comprehensible to anyone familiar with the basic ideas of quantum mechanics. The rest of the book may possibly be readable with great effort by well-prepared undergraduates, but I think a graduate-level
   background in quantum mechanics and linear algebra would be more realistic prerequisites, and also more efficient. These prerequites will have to be mastered anyway for anyone who wants to work in a field dependent on quantum theory. Those who lack the prerequisites may still be able to get a feel for the problems of quantum computation and information from the book, even if the details seem too difficult.
   
   Although this is a serious book suitable for obtaining a professional knowledge of its subjects, it is unusually carefully written in an expository style. There are many exercises interspersed with the exposition, but no solutions are provided. Most of them should be solvable on sight by anyone following the presentation, so they provide
   a useful check on one's understanding of the material. (I am a professional mathematician; students may find the exercises less easy.)
   
   Each chapter ends with "History and further reading'' sections, often extensive. I found these very helpful.



4. I've recently purchased this book, and have only read the first 50 or so pages. However, it is clear thus far that the authors have invested alot of time in making such a complex topic as clear as possible, with simple examples to express fundamental concepts. I'm looking forward to reading the rest.



5. As a grad. student in the field, I would recommend this book to every new beginning student. It helped me understand the basics if quantum information, particularly physical notions that I had previously wondered about.

5 comments about The Annotated Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions.

1. If you want to make a young budding girl scientist feel really bad about herself and teach her not to trust men who teach math, this is the perfect book. This author describes women as one-dimensional. The Taliban treated women horrendously but they didn't kick them out of the human race. Flatland basically kicks women out of the human race. This is NOT GIRL FRIENDLY. If you give this to a girl who likes math, there's a good chance she could decide she hates math after reading this.



2. With the Alice in Wonderland books, the late 1800s seem to have been the time for really creative mathemetical writing.
   
   Although not as frequently read, Flatland, the Edwin Abbott Abbott story of a little square coming to understanding that higher dimensions do indeed exist outside his world is a delightful read. For those seeking to understand what life is like in other dimensions, Flatland is very comprehensible with clear writing and simple, easy to understand illustrations that help drive home Abbott's points.
   
   Originally written with many sly references to the then existing state of British culture, Abbott's invitation to try and understand higher dimensions was also an invitation to society of his time to try to re think its views on a myriad of issues...including its openness to women in education.
   
   In this way, Abbott converted viewing higher dimensions into both a mathematical and social challenge...points Stewart was sensitive to in his annotations and his own homage, Flatterland.
   
   Although other editions of this work exist, the annotated Flatland is the one to buy both because of its faithful reproduction of the original and its thought provoking and helpful footnotes that give the work broader meaning.



3. A wonderful little fantasy tale that explains mathematical concepts of dimensions from the point of view of a 2-dimensional world. It is a fun way to introduce others (notably children) to the wonder of mathematics and the joy of discovery.



4. I happened to come across this book on my father's book shelf, when I was sick and had to miss school, long time ago. Fascinating book! It has opened me a door to the world that I have been too familiar with, but had never visited before.
   And now I would like my kids to have the same wonderful experience of going through the Flatland. However it was not easy to find it again - I forgot the name of the book, as well as the name of the author. In addition, when I read it first it was in russian translation. But here it is - Flatland, Flatlandia. Hooray!!!



5. For over a hundred years Edwin Abbott's ANNOTATED FLATLAND has attracted readers interested in both math and satires on Victorian society. This annotated version introduces readers to Flatland, where men are polygons and females are lines, and adds commentary connecting the original text with history, science and culture. The annotated version makes for a contemporary survey that science and general-interest collections alike will find compelling.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch

5 comments about Star Maps for Beginners: 50th Anniversary Edition.

1. I'll echo the comments of the reviewers below. I've looked at many books of star maps and I've written articles on the night sky for local newspapers. This book is by far the best - it's easy to use and the constellations are depicted just as they appear in the sky - without a lot of confusing, unnecessary additions. The accompanying essays are informative, entertaining and easy to understand.

   It's a huge shame that this book evidently has not been updated in 10 years. So, yes, the planet information is out-of-date. (But before you learn to find planets you first need to learn to identify constellations and bright stars - that's where Star Maps for Beginners outshines all the others.)

   I, too, have given away countless copies of this book. It's great for almost all ages. (Well, let's say for a bright 10-year-old and up.) I'm buying it again as a gift for someone who sells telescopes for a living. He never heard of it and he doesn't know what he's missing.




2. My tattered copy sitting on the shelf as I write this attests to it's value. I'm no major astronomer in any sense of the word, but a major part of what I DO know about the night sky was gleaned from its pages. It is what the title suggests: "For Beginners". It refrains from being too technical, the charts for the months of the year are easy to understand and use, and it's ar less expensive than other books of its kind. If your wish is to begin a hobby in astronomy, or better yet, if you simply are curious as to how to find your way around the night sky, this is a wonderful place to start. You will amaze yourself with what you'll know after only a few nights with this book. However, please note how up-to-date your copy is when buying it here or elsewhere. Hopefully, it will be as much a joy to you as it has been for me these past six years.



3. My son loved this book of constellations. They were easy to read and had good information.



4. The Zodiac On The Ceiling Of The Denderah Temple In Abydos, EgIpt(Egypt).
   You can borrow, but you must give proper respect to the rightful heirs.



5. When you compare this book to the 2-sided PLANISPHERE,the book is almost useless.Go with a planisphere and or a software such as "Galileo Planetarium",(Complete Guide TO The Cosmos Ver.1.8).A planisphere will track by the month and the hour.A software will include the planets.New comers should be careful to order a planisphere within the latitude of their location.
   
   I myself would not have bought this book if I had fliped through it in a book store.I expected more.The knowledge is better than nothing,but you can do much better.

3 comments about Group Theory in the Bedroom, and Other Mathematical Diversions.

1. If you liked the book "Freakonomics: a rogue economist explores the hidden side of everything" (which I loved), there is a good chance you will like this one too. The author may have screwed-up giving it the title he did and by adding "and Other Mathematical Diversions", as it may put off or scare off a lot of people who would find it enjoyable. One would be hard pressed to find a mathematical equation anywhere in the book.
   
   Take for instance the first chapter, "Clock of Ages", on the astronomical clock located in the Strasbourg Cathedral, in the city of Strasbourg, Alsace. Though the current version of the clock dates from 1843, not only was it designed to be Y2K compliant, it is also Y10K functional, designed to directly display the current year up to 9999 and the only revision needed to make it correct for subsequent years would be to paint the number "1" to the left of the display. It will continue to display such events as the correct date for Easter even in the year 19999 (Easter falls on April 3rd in 11842). Though solely a mechanical device, the gears of the clock were designed to be accurate to an error of less than one second per century. There is a gear in the clock that turns only once every 2,500 years and the celestial sphere out in front of the clock will complete one full precessional cycle after the passage of 25,806 years.
   
   After his discussion of the beauty of the design of this clock, the author then takes up a philosophical discussion of time, asking if anyone will still care what date Easter will be in 11842, or even if we will still be counting in years of the Common Era.
   
   The second chapter, "Follow the Money", demonstrates how through even an entirely random process, wealth tends to become concentrated in the hands of a few people, even in a fair system.
   
   The remaining chapters are similarly varied and all are interesting.
   
   A great book with a wide variety of interesting subjects and an engaging, erudite writing style.



2. As David Hilbert had wanted to make Math easy for any person on the street to understand, this book has surely achieved the goal. In the chapter on Group Theroy in the Bedroom, the author explained Klein 4-Group (I,P,R,Y) using mattress flipping, and Cyclic 4-Group by rotating 4 car tyres. One needs not have to go through the complicated Group jargons to appreciate its usefulness in daily life.



3. This is an excellent collection of thought-provoking essays related to mathematics. Brian Hayes covers a wide array of topics through the lens of mathematics in an engaging, thought-provoking and entertaining manner.
   
   The essays contained in this book, addressing topics such as the genetic code, the Continental Divide and randomness, among other topics, vary widely in subject matter, but share a common underlying theme. Specifically, each of these essays asks the reader to examine "things," such as the genetic code, from a unique perspective. Moreover, Hayes pulls the reader through a thoughtful and insightful problem framing approach that has broad applications across many disciplines.
   
   I found the content and style across each essay to be first-rate. This book teaches the reader many things...most importantly, I feel it offers rare insight into the power of shifting perspective and framing problems.

3 comments about The Apophenion: a chaos magick paradigm.

1. Thank You Mr. Carroll,
   "Why would one choose a prosaic inner life, when they could live one of poetry instead?"
   Another gem of wisdom from Pope Pete.
   Drink deep and shift away from whatever deranged sense of comfort you have, rest assured Mr. Carroll will rock your world and make you question everything.
   somethings are true, somethings are permitted ? ?
   - Ciao



2. The Apophenion refreshes us, the team within known as Lee Webb. Having savored Carroll's writings for years and benefited from them thoroughly we now delight in his latest release.
   
   Do not worry that he only restates earlier material - this truly elegant product complements, clarifies and yet exceeds his previous works. Once again the team known as Stokastikos works marvels.
   
   Many Thanks,
   WTTLITHF



3. somehow, this slipped under my radar or i would have bought it a couple months ago when it first came out.
   
   here, pete demolishes all of the most sacred fairy tales that mankind has created including self. then he provides lots of pointers for developing your own customized personal philosophy of life. if you consider any of your beliefs to be any more than mere expedients, then this could be unsettling at first. you'll get over it and be more for it.
   
   if that's in the least interesting to you, then get this before it's banned.
   
   just in case you're not familiar with Peter J. Carroll ...
   
   Liber Null & Psychonaut: An Introduction to Chaos Magic
   
   Liber Kaos
   
   Psybermagick: Advanced Ideas in Chaos Magic

5 comments about Stochastic Differential Equations: An Introduction with Applications (Universitext).

1. A well written book in Mathematics
   Stochastic Differential Equations is a branch of mathematics. This book is not just for financial derivatives analysis or modeling. Oksendal first introduces the subject by raising a few stochastic problems (population growth; electric charge in RLC circuit; filtering problems, Dirichlet problems; asset management; optimal portfolio and options pricing) in the first chapter. The subsequent chapters develop notions and techniques which are able to solve wide varieties of stochastic problems (not just those mentioned in the first chapters). The arrangement is impressive in particular for readers who have no previous knowledge about the subject. The readers at least know the target for developing the techniques and would not lose the way when manipulating tons of symbols. Hints and answers to selected problems are invaluable to students for self-study.
   To achieve a sound background on stochastic equations is extremely important especially in quantitative finance. It is not an easy job however. QF students may consider going through this book before seriously take Shreve's books on Stochastic Calculus for Finance.



2. I read this book after I had read Karatzas' and Shreve's book "Stochastic Calculus..." and it is probably better to do it the other way round. The mathematical prerequisites are not high, however a good intuitive understanding of measure theory is probably necessary. The pace of the book is leasurely, the proofs are such, that pencil and paper is rarely needed, however no rigor is lost.
   The book quickly moves to interesting applications of the theory, which is motivated very well.
   It contains a few typographical errors, mostly in the last chapter, and mostly of a harmless nature.
   
   With the necessary mathematical background, it seems to be an ideal introduction to this highly interesting topic of stochastic differential equations!



3. Oksendal is not as formal as KS, Karatzas and Shreve (Brownian Motion and Stochastic Calculus), but it is easier to follow. The exercises in the first five chapters are very informative. Exercises in last chapters are more difficult (as they should be). After studying by this book, you may want to go deeper by using KS.



4. If you aren't a bit of a Math wonk, this book can be a bit daunting. But it is worth wading through the Math if you want to understand the "WHY" behind all those formulas and results. If you are looking for a gentler introduction and the "real formulas" Quants use, check out Paul Wilmott's books.
   
   The text generally starts with an intuitive example for the chapter and then starts methodically working through the underlying mathematics to get to the meaty results. The exercises are worth the effort as they reinforce the chapter work and offer additional insights.



5. With this book you'll impress a potential employer how deep your knowledge of stochastic calculus is. The book has proposed problems with some hints for the solutions. Solving the problems will make you an SDE guru.

5 comments about The Cosmic Landscape: String Theory and the Illusion of Intelligent Design.

1. Thought provoking and fascinating book that gives a clear notion what anthropic principle is about. Have the physicists discovered a new fundamental law of nature? This book gives a definite impression that this indeed happened.



2. Susskind's vision of the cosmic landscape provides the most compelling evidence yet that our Universe is just one of many in an infinite spacetime.
   This completely pulls the rug from under the "intelligent design" argument.



3. The author jumps around and changes subjects too much. He starts an explanation, then stops halfway through and says he's saving it for the next chapter. His analogies are absolutely terrible. He is pushing a theoretical agenda, so don't read this book if you're looking for just a simple, straightforward explanation of string theory. I understood most of what he had to say only because I had previous knowledge of string theory.



4. This book is so poorly written and illustrated that I had difficulty not just giving up. Apparently it was never seen by an editor. The text is rambling and not clear. The illustrations are mostly so simple as to not convey any information. As far as I can tell his premise supporting the anthropic principle is just silly. While he is a well known physicist he engages in a lot of name dropping in an apparent attempt to enhance his importance.



5. I picked up this book after reading Michio Kaku's Parallel Worlds. This book was a disappointing read compared to the before mentioned book - which is a clear and engaging read. The cosmic landscape jumps around a lot (especially in the beginning) and it simply isn't as readable as the before mentioned book.

5 comments about The Lady Tasting Tea: How Statistics Revolutionized Science in the Twentieth Century.

1. Salsburg writes a selective account of the history of statistics in the 20th century. In so doing, he tackles the philosophical issue of a scientific revolution from deterministic to stochastic thinking (he writes that this is a revolution in the Kuhnian sense). I haven't personally found another book which displays the big picture of what happened so clearly, and from that standpoint consider this book a must read on the topic. It is well written and appears to me to successfully communicate to a broad audience.



2. I have given several copies of this book away to my statistician colleagues, as it is an outstanding overview of the development of statistics in the twentieth century.
   
   It is not particularly technical but it probably would appeal only to statisticians, students of statistics, and others interested in the impact of statistics on the advancement of science.



3. The Lady Tasting Tea is a new book by David Salsburg (a Ph.D. mathematical statistician, who recently retired from Pfizer Pharmaceuticals in Connecticut). The title of the book is taken from the famous example that R. A. Fisher used in his book "The Design of Experiments" to express the ideas and principles of statistical design to answer research questions. The subtitle "How Statistics Revolutionized Science in the Twentieth Century" really tells what the book is about. The author relates the statistical developments of the 20th Century through descriptions of the famous statisticians and the problems they studied.
   
   The author conveys this from the perspective of a statistician with good theoretical training and much experience in academia and industry. He is a fellow of the American Statistical Association and a retired Senior Research Fellow from Pfizer has published three technical books and over 50 journal articles and has taught statistics at various universities including the Harvard School of Public Health, the University of Connecticut and the University of Pennsylvania.
   
   This book is written in layman's terms and is intended for scientists and medical researchers as well as for statistician who are interested in the history of statistics. It just was published in early 2001. On the back-cover there are glowing words of praise from the epidemiologist Alvan Feinstein and from statisticians Barbara Bailar and Brad Efron. After reading their comments I decided to buy it and I found it difficult to put down.
   
   Salsburg has met and interacted with many of the statisticians in the book and provides an interesting perspective and discussion of most of the important topics including those that head the agenda of the computer age and the 21st century. He discusses the life and work of many famous statisticians including Francis Galton, Karl Pearson, Egon Pearson, Jerzy Neyman, Abraham Wald, John Tukey, E. J. G. Pitman, Ed Deming, R. A. Fisher, George Box, David Cox, Gertrude Cox, Emil Gumbel, L. H. C. Tippett, Stella Cunliffe, Florence Nightingale David, William Sealy Gosset, Frank Wilcoxon, I. J. Good, Harold Hotelling, Morris Hansen, William Cochran, Persi Diaconis, Brad Efron, Paul Levy, Jerry Cornfield, Samuel Wilks, Andrei Kolmogorov, Guido Castelnuovo, Francesco Cantelli and Chester Bliss. Many other probabilists and statisticians are also mentioned including David Blackwell, Joseph Berkson, Herman Chernoff, Stephen Fienberg, William Madow, Nathan Mantel, Odd Aalen, Fred Mosteller, Jimmie Savage, Evelyn Fix, William Feller, Bruno deFinetti, Richard Savage, Erich Lehmann (first name mispelled), Corrado Gini, G. U. Yule, Manny Parzen, Walter Shewhart, Stephen Stigler, Nancy Mann, S. N. Roy, C. R. Rao, P. C. Mahalanobis, N. V. Smirnov, Jaroslav Hajek and Don Rubin among others.
   
   The final chapter "The Idol with Feet of Clay" is philosophical in nature but deals with the important fact that in spite of the widespread and valuable use of the statistical methodology that was primarily created in the past century, the foundations of statistical inference and probability are still on shaky ground.
   
   I think there is a lot of important information in this book that relates to pharmaceutical trials, including the important discussion of intention to treat, the role of epidemiology (especially retrospective case-control studies and observational studies), use of martingale methods in survival analysis, exploratory data analysis, p-values, Bayesian models, non-parametric methods, bootstrap, hypothesis tests and confidence intervals. This relates very much to my current work but the topics discussed touch all areas of science including, engineering in aerospace and manufacturing, agricultural studies, general medical research, astronomy, physics, chemistry, government (Department of Labor, Department of Commerce, Department of Energy etc.), educational testing, marketing and economics.
   
   I think this is a great book for MDs, medical researchers and clinicians too! It will be a good book to read for anyone involved in scientific endeavors. As a statistician I find a great deal of value in reviewing the key ideas and philosophy of the great statisticians of the 20th Century.
   
   I also have gained new insight from Salsburg. He has given these topics a great deal of thought and has written eloquently about them. I have learned about some people that I knew nothing about like Stella Cunliffe and Guido Castelnuovo. It is also touching for me to hear about the work of my Stanford teachers, Persi Diaconis and Brad Efron and other statisticians that I have met or found influential. These personalities and many other lesser-known statisticians have influenced the field of statistics.
   
   The book includes a timeline that provides a list in chronological order of important events and the associated personalities in the history of statistics. It starts with the birth of Karl Pearson in 1857 and ends with the death of John Tukey in 2000.
   
   Salsburg also provides a nice bibliography that starts with an annotated section on books and papers accessible to readers who may not have strong mathematical training. The rest of the bibliography is subdivided as follows: (1) Collected works of prominent statisticians, (2)obituaries, reminiscences, and published conversations and (3) other books and article that were mentioned in this book.
   
   The book provides interesting reading for both statisticians and non-statisticians.
   
   Dennis Littrell comments in his review that he missed the fact that the formulas common in mathematical statistics were missing. For statisticians and mathematicians such things help put extra meat bewteen the bread in the sandwich. But personally I do not see where that would contribute much conceptually to the book and it could have the effect of turning off the non-mathematically inclined medical researchers and other medical professionals who could learn to appreciate the role of statistics in the scientific advances in the twentieth century. Also note that I have the hardcover version of the book. The only difference between the hardcover and the paperback edition is the reduced price. Publishers often do that with popular books to increase sales.



4. I really enjoyed this book.
   It makes you understand that science is not perfect, that not everybody agrees or thinks the same about the issues, and that there is always much to be done.
   It was interesting to know a little of the lives of the people behind the ideas, and also how often the desire to resolve practical matters pulls science.



5. This is the best book I've found on the recent history of statistics. The book has a lot of detail about the rolls that Pearson, Fisher, Neymam, Bayes, Tukey and others played in the development of statistical theory and practice. The book does a good job of detailing the utility of statistical theory while pointing out the well-known flaws of null hypothesis testing.

5 comments about The Finite Element Method: Linear Static and Dynamic Finite Element Analysis.

1. I wanted a complete book in FEA to start learning about it. I expected this book to be clear, practical, complete, with a good amount of practical examples showing how to use the theory, that is complex by itself. I also wanted some sort of reference to a computer program so that I could start using to simplify my life. I work at a Company and I don't have too much time. This book is not for me. I



2. The text is obviously considered a benchmark for FEA. The date of the first edition causes me to guess that it was among the first serious texts in the subject. For that reason, the book is worth the some of the price. But, detractors reduce the worth...
   
   Two major items detract from the usefulness of the text:
   1. It is written for a mathematician. So, reading is a little rough for those who are learning the notation as they read the book.
   2. The text spends pages describing examples using and an appendix providing user information for software that is missing from the reprint. This subtracts from the value, even if the code is a source in FORTRAN, because excellent examples of FEA implementations are missing.
   
   It turns out that the source code and a compiled executable for DLEARN is available on the web. However, you have to know where and how to search. [...]



3. This book has been a core finite element reference for me for 16 years. The mathematics are actually somewhat mild compared to most of today's finite element literature and many of the other seminal finite element texts. It is completely inappropriate for an undergraduate level text, but it is an excellent graduate level introduction the FEM. It provides a sound basis for advanced topics in non-linear analysis. It does assume that the reader already has a reasonable background in related fields (e.g. continuum mechanics, linear algebra, and real analysis). I have never touched the code that the text references.



4. I am an international student majored in geology and geophysics. FEM is quite important for me to build a computational model to caculate statical and dynamical problems. This FEM book is recommended by my supervisor and I have read it carefully. The concepts and mathematics are easy to understand for me. good deal~ not too hard, good for new students in this area



5. I bought this book to begin understanding of finite elements theory. the book is good but sure not for starters. The lack of examples and introduction to computer software make this book limited at least for me.

5 comments about Mathematics of Classical and Quantum Physics.

1. Over my head, but clearly a solid rung in the ladder for those who are capable of mastering quantum physics. Not that I couldn't - it would just take 10-20 years that I don't have.



2. this book chose the best way to convey the mathematics behind a physical idea just by proving it through the mathematics involved . With that , one has a lucid idea about the language of physical laws . I can simply assure anybody who wants to buy this book that it is worthy .



3. Great mathematical physics book. I bought it as a supplement text for a mathematical physics course as well as help in quantum physics course. Got me through a lot of Quantum homeworks. I still use this book as a reference for math and physics concepts. The ordering of the book is a little weird and skips the some of the basic concepts in linear algebra but explores a wide variety of other topics including Green Functions, Cauchy-Riemann, Fourier analysis and transforms, Dirac notation, ect. At the end of topic the book works through examples. A must have for physicist, engineers, and mathematicians.



4. As the title says, it's one of the best books for mathematics in physics. Not simple at first glance (not indicated for first students, I guess), but good to review some math...



5. This book seems to be a rarity. Although the matrial seems at first to be sophisticated and advanced to grad or undergrad students using it, it still doesn't discourage them or myself from continuing to try to grasp it. In fact it seems to do the opposite and draw one in to keep trying over and over again to improve your comprehension. (This can't be said for a lot of "difficult" textbooks out there).
   
   I think it's in the tone of the authors that makes this book so engaging. It seems to me to be written in a sort of conversational style, and while the authors realize that this is tough stuff to digest, their tone lacks any hint of snobbery (for lack of a better word). They're also good at getting straight to the point.
   
   Yes, it may take three, four, or maybe more readings to understand certain sections, but in some way this title makes one feel like there is a light at the end of tunnel, and it provided a lot of "Ah Ha" moments for me after such multiple re-readings.
   
   Not only an excellent book for it's wealth of information, but also very engaging.