5 comments about Handbook of Mathematics.

1. Bronstein's "Taschenbuch der Mathematik" is a longtime favorite among german science and engineering students. English language readers should be aware however, that there are numerous different editions of this book. Not only were the german editions constantly enlarged and reworked, but there were also two publishers of the same book, one in East Germany (Teubner Verlag), one in West Germany (Harri Deutsch Verlag). Today both of these publishers sell a "Taschenbuch der Mathematik" based on the original Bronstein, yet they are completely different books. The english edition by Springer Verlag advertised above is based on the current Harri Deutsch edition. An english translation of the Teubner edition is now available as the "Oxford Users' Guide to Mathematics" from Oxford University Press. It is mostly considered to be the better 'Bronstein' (even though Teubner and OUP have dropped his name because the new edition was completely rewritten by E. Zeidler).



2. This book is exactly what the title says it is; a handbook of mathematical techniques and formulas for scientists and engineers. It is more a handbook than a book on mathematics and assumes a prior knowledge on the subjects covered. Readers of this english version of the Bronshtein should take note that it is a "raw" translation of the german version and so some discussion may not do justice to the theory. This in no way takes away from the fact it is an exceptional book and you'd be hard pressed to find any other book with more mathematical content.



3. This handbook contains more material than I find in any other single source that I happen to have. But I don't use it as frequently as I use the analogous CRC handbook, or MathWorld and Wikipedia on the Web, or the ancient NBS handbook. Why not? Because one uses a handbook, not as a textbook, but as a source for things one should know, but don't (or perhaps once knew but have forgotten). So one wants to find the thing one is looking for, refresh or extend one's memory, and then put the handbook aside and go back to the problem one is trying to solve. I have trouble locating what I'm looking for in Bronshtein and Semendayev, and when I find it, I often find that I have to look up things elsewhere in the volume to get all of whatever it is I was looking for. So I try my other sources first, and if they don't answer my question, I pick up this book, resignedly, and expect to spend hours rather than minutes getting whatever it is I want to know. There is nothing wrong with that; indeed, this book often supplies me with answers to questions I can't find answered elsewhere.
   
   In case the reader of this review attributes my difficulties with this book to a lack of mathematical background, I'll remark that my academic training, very many years ago, was in math, so I find that I can follow the discussion in this book of any particular thing I look up; it's just a slow process for me. I'm not surprised that it's a favorite in Germany (and in Europe more generally); Europeans in their mathematical training are expected to deal with tough subjects by dogged persistence, and probably feel more comfortable with this style than I do, given my US background. So, overall, it's a book I couldn't do without, but hate having to spend time in.



4. I highly recommend the Handbook of Mathematics. It is an excellent resource for every engineering student and professional engineer.



5. Product was "as expected". I am very satisfied with the quick response to my order.

2 comments about Statistical Physics of Particles.

1. M. Kardar is simply phenomenal, probably the best teacher I've ever seen in the Institute.



2. Perhaps I am a bit biased as I took Mehran Kardar's statistical mechanics class, but this is the best graduate-level statistical mechanics textbook I have looked at (including Pathria, Huang, and Landau). In the tradition of Landau's excellent mechanics textbook, Kardar is a master of statistical physics who starts with only basic assumptions about the nature of the physical laws in each chapter, and derives wonderful results elucidating the nature of statistical physics. The meat of the textbook is less than 200 pages and includes all of the basic results of thermodynamics, a section on probability, an introduction to kinetic theory, and the bulk of classical and quantum statistical mechanics; brevity is the soul of wit, as they say. A few areas could have used a little more elaboration (the derivation of the Boltzmann equation seemed to skip a few important steps in implementing the streaming collision terms, and a better explanation for the basics of diagrammatical techniques would have been nice), but none of the other books I have looked at even broached these topics in any depth. Unlike Landau's excellent statistical physics book, very little assumed knowledge is required to follow this textbook; obviously, skill in elementary algebra, calculus, differential equations, and a bit of Hamiltonian mechanics and a few very basic results of quantum mechanics are prerequisites. Recommended!

4 comments about Random Walks in Biology.

1. If you're interested in learning the physics underlying cellular biology, then you should read this book.

   The physics is pithy and the language is clear.




2. I bought this book in 1995 to get an understanding of random walk phenomena.
   The random walk equations are mostly biologically based.
   That is equations that describe the motion of biological things.
   
   Type of things covered ( including but not limited to)
   Ficks equations
   Diffusion
   Drift
   drag
   Diffusion at Equilibrium
   Derivation of Boltzman equation
   Importance of KT
   Mean Square Velocity
   Einstien-Scmoluchowski relation
   
   Flagellar propulsion
   Motility of Escherichia Coli
   Probability Distributions (Gaussian , Binomial , Poisson)
   
   etc
   
   The book is a fairly easy read.
   You'll need at least high school to uni maths background.
   The maths is fairly practical stuff ( translatable to s/w code )
   
   There are plenty of graphs and diagrams.



3. Random walks in Biology explains concepts of diffusion driven processes in a lucid, intuitive and didactic fashion. The approach lacks mathematical rigor, but abounds in examples to incite interest in one and all. For physicists, this book offers a delightful peek into biophysical processes where their mathematical skills and knowledge of random processes can be utilized and tested. For biologists and chemists, the book presents an erudite route to understanding how these random processes, diffusion and fluctuations influence function and design of biological contrusts.



4. Awesome. You will learn a lot about diffusion, stat mech, and even transport phenomena a tthe cellular level. Not worth 27 bucks tho.

5 comments about Geometry, Topology and Physics, Second Edition (Graduate Student Series in Physics).

1. This is a very useful book for understanding modern physics. You absolutely need such a book to really understand general relativity, string theory etc. For instance, Wald's book on general relativity will make much more sense once you go through Nakahara's book. It is very complete, clearly written, comprehensive and easy to read. I would also recommend Morita's "Geometry of differential forms' and Dubrovin,Novikov and Fomeko's 3 volume monograph, if you can find it. All in all, Nakahara's book is one of the best buys, precious book.



2. No doubt, the interplay of topology and physics has stimulated phenomenal research and breakthroughs in mathematics and physics alike.
   
   Unfortunately, there is so much mathematics to master that the average graduate physics student is left bewildered.....until now.
   
   The text is an excellent reference book. I emphasize reference. The book presupposes an acquaintance with basic undergraduate mathematics including linear algebra and vector analysis.
   
   The author covers a wide range of topics from tensor analysis on manifolds to topology, fundamental groups, complex manifolds, differential geometry, fibre bundles etc.
   
   The exposition in necessarily brief but the main theorems and IDEAS of each topic are presented with specific applications to physics. For example the use of differential geometry in general relativity and the use of principal bundles in gauge theories, etc.
   
   Unfortunately, there are very few exercises necessitating the use of supplementary texts. However, to the author's credit appropriate supplementary texts are provided. The author goes to great lengths to show which texts inspired the chapters and follows the same line of presentation.
   
   Perhaps the greatest attribute of the text is to take disparate branches of mathematics and coallate them under one text with applications to physics. In doing so one gains a better grasp of how the fields of mathematics interact in the domain of physics.



3. This is the best book of its type, that is, a book that contains almost all if not all the advance mathematics a theoretical physicist should know. I have studied chapters 2-9 and it has the perfect balance between rigorous presentation of topics and practical uses with examples. The level is for advance graduate students. The range of topics covered is wide including Topology topics like Homotopy, Homology, Cohomology theory and others like Manifolds, Riemannian Geometry, Complex Manifolds, Fibre Bundles and Characteristics Classes. I believe this book gives you a solid base in the modern mathematics that are being used among the physicists and mathematicians that you certainly may need to know and from where you will be in a position to further extent (if you wish) into more technical advanced mathematical books on specific topics, also it is self contained and brings lots of exercises that help learn the concepts presented, my advice, get it is a superb book!



4. This book provide a complete and useful review of geometrical instuments of mathematical physics from the beginnig to the most advanced topics of interest. It can be used by students at the beginnig of thei studies in this topics, and it's found to be a useful gallery for higher level students (or scholar).



5. Reading all the glowing reviews of this book, I wonder whether the reviewers actually tried to use the book to understand the material, or just checked the table of contents. There are so many misprints, throughout, that one wonders if the book was proofread at all. Some of the mistakes will be obvious to every physicist - for example, one of the Maxwell equations on page 56 is wrong - others are subtle, and will confuse the reader. The careful reader, who wants to really understand the material and tries to fill in the details of some of the derivations, will waste a lot of time trying to derive results that have misprints from intermediate steps which have different misprints! Some chapters are worse than others, but the average density of misprints seems to be more than one per page.
   The book might be useful as a list of topics and a "road map" to the literature prior to 2003, but that hardly justifies the cost (or the paper) of a whole book.

4 comments about Mathematical Foundations of Statistical Mechanics.

1. A Y Khinchin was one of the great mathematicians of the first half of the twentieth century. His name is is already well-known to students of probability theory along with A N Kolmogorov and others from the host of important theorems, inequalites, constants named after them. He was also famous as a teacher and communicator. The books he wrote on Mathematical Foundations of Information Theory, Statistical Mechanics and Quantum Statistics are still in print in English translations, published by Dover. Like William Feller and Richard Feynman he combines a complete mastery of his subject with an ability to explain clearly without sacrificing mathematical rigour.

   In his "Mathematical Foundations" books Khinchin develops a sound mathematical structure for the subject under discussion based on the modern theory of probability. His primary reason for doing this is the lack of mathematically rigorous presentation in many textbooks on these subjects. I can remember the vague feeling of dissatisfaction I felt as a student with some of the mathematics in Frederick Reif's "Fundamentals of Statistical and Thermal Physics" and other texts. Khinchin's little book puts everything on a firm mathematical foundation and yet is very readble.

   I liked all three of these books but I think I liked this one best. The English translation was done by the eminent physicist and writer George Gamow. Nicely typeset in modern notation with index. This book is also a real bargain.




2. To read this book one needs some fundamental knowledge of mechanics and probability theory. The great author builds the foundations of statistical mechanics on these two pillars. Throughout the book the author develops the statistical theory of mechanics using an axiomatic approach and tries to invoke as few assumptions as possible.
   If you like the language of mathematics, this is the most elegant and concise book on classical equilibrium statistical mechanics. J.W.Gibbs's pioneering book, elementary principles of statistical mechanics, is not as readable as this one, in my opinion.
   In the appendix there is author's extension of the central limit theorem as a bonus!



3. This superb classic text deservs nothing but only the highest credit.
   Being keen on mathematical subjects I "ate" this book in less then a week and be onest it was trully a pleasure.
   This text will be easily read by curious student interested in subject and having solid background in just basics of undergraduate level math being taught in physics departments .
   Author carefully discusses such important topics as ergodic theory, topology of phase space and couple of important probabilistic thems in a way, that no other author does, all the derivations are clear and elegant. For experienced student name of author will make it clear that quality of book can't be low. Khinchin is one of the famous figures of last centuries brilliant mathematicians. After reading this "golden" book you not only will appreciate true mathematical beauty behind statistical mechanics, but also you will realize how limited you were before.
   Well, if you want to become expert in statistical mechanics, then there is no way to avoid this treasure.



4. This book gives an excellant review of the theory behind statistical mechanics. This is a topic that is often left out of more popular books on statistical mechanics. It is a great companion to those other books.

2 comments about String Theory in a Nutshell (In a Nutshell).

1. So i have to admit one thing: i was lucky enough to go to kiritsis's lectures at ENS where he handed out some prepublication versions of this book but i havent read the final version.
   
   That said, his lectures were infinitely more clear to me than my attempts at digesting polchinski which i always found took time enough to try my patience. I found the calculations here detailed enough to follow, and i find that research papers suddenly made sense after reading his stuff. The level is similar to that of D-branes by johnson.



2. I have mixed feelings about this book. Let me start off by saying that despite the title of the book, this book is NOT written in the style of "Quantum Field Theory in a Nutshell", which is the masterpiece by A. Zee. I eagerly awaited the release of String Theory in a Nutshell thinking finally here is a string theory book mere mortals can understand. Unfortunatly, the presentation is quite a bit more rigorous and terse than QFT in a Nutshell, so I don't think it lives up to its name. In fact if I hadn't been reading other string theory books at the same time, I would have found this book incredibly terse and hard to get through. Results are simply stated without any how or why behind them. This is in complete contrast to Becker, Becker & Schwarz say, where they have detailed calculations laid out for you.
   
   OK that all sounds negative. The other side of my review is that if you have had some exposure to string theory, the book is fairly well written. So what's my conclusion? If you're looking to learn string theory for the first time, which this book seems to claim to be able to do by the name of it, you're going to be really disappointed. Like I said above this ain't A. Zee's book (which is an example of what a book in this series should look like). On the other hand, if you're looking for a reference to keep on your shelf, its good to have.

5 comments about Geometrical Methods of Mathematical Physics.

1. This book presents the basic concepts of differential geometry in a clear, concise manner using modern notation. Schutz's writing style is very readable and there is a considerable breadth of coverage. In areas where one might wish for greater depth, Schutz provides excellent references. My only regret is that the physical applications chapters weren't longer. An excellent starter book and a good quick reference if you continue in differential geometry, GR or field theory.



2. This is a very enjoyable and clearly written book. From a physics point of view the approach is rather abstract, so although differential geometry is developed from 'scratch', it is probably better to have studied a more elementary text on the theory of 2-surfaces in 3-space first (eg Faber's book Differential Geometry and Relativity Theory ). The first chapter sets the mathematical background expected of the reader. The rudiments of analysis, topology, calculus of many variables and basic linear algebra is reviewed.The ensuing chapters cover differential geometry from a 'modern' viewpoint but the style is quite relaxed and the links to 'co-ordinate approach' are well explained. The exercises concentrate on the abstract approach. Throughout the book the underlying structure of manifolds is concentrated upon. No extra 'structure' eg connections and 'distance' concepts are added until the final chapter on Riemannian spaces. For example the metric tensor throughout the body of the book is merely used as a map between a tangent space and its dual space. It is only used as a 'distance' operator in the final chapter.For the purposes of independent study this is a sound book, there are hints and partial solutions for many of the exercises, which is always a welcome feature for those studying entirely on their own.



3. I had read first the "first course in general relativity"and was exited,so i fygured out that this book from the same author would reach the same standards,but it didnt.If Ihadnt read the first book from Schutz this book would be incomprenheceble.The greatest problem i think is the lack of exercices.Without them you cant really go anywhere.Another problem ,i believe,is the short space given to analyzeeach topic.Eventhough i understand tensor calculus very well I just cant get anywhere with the differential forms.
   Eventhough its not the worst book out there its not the best either.My advise,buy a better book.



4. Written in a attractive and even seductive way, relying more on Lie algebraic language than is typical, this book is probably as stimulating an intro. to modern geometry as you can find, within certain limits. The section on noncoordinate bases might have been more clearly written, however. Frobenius's theorm is discussed, something that Fomenko et al should have covered, and the section on connections can be worked throuigh independently of the heavy machinery of exterior differential forms, which is attractive for physics students.



5. Advanced mathematics, such as differential geometry and topology, plays an important role in many areas of physics. This excellent book covers one of these topics, differential geometry. This is a topic essential for understanding general relativity and gauge theory. There are several good books aimed at physicists that cover differential geometry. While some of these have a broader scope than this book, nevertheless this book is my favorite one for differential geometry.
   
   The topics covered include those necessary for reading advanced treatments of general relativity (such as Wald or Misner/Thorne/Wheeler). These include manifolds, fiber bundles, tangent/cotangent bundles, forms, Lie derivatives, Killing vectors and Lie groups.
   
   Following this basic material a chapter covering some applications to physics, one example is electromagnetism. Up to this point the consideration of manifolds had been fairly general. In the final chapter the implications of adding a connection, and then a metric, are considered.
   
   Why do I think this book is so good? It's not the breadth of material covered, this book is very focused on a limited range of material. It's the quality of the presentation for what it does cover. The development follows a logical order, the writing is exceptionally clear and the diagrams are very useful since Schutz explains them so well.

5 comments about Sync: The Emerging Science of Spontaneous Order.

1. In his 1987 book Chaos, James Gleick noted that choatic systems produce periodic patches of order.
   
   At that time and during that state of research, the answer to the question of why this should be so remained largely unresolved. And to be honest, after reading this book and learning about the sync or synchronicity of how fireflies light up the night in unison and how inanimate pendulums can come to swing in unison the question will be still be largely unresolved.
   
   However, you will leave this book with some additional interesting food for thought.
   
   Why do periodic patches of order emerge in choatic systems?
   
   Well, one answer suggested seems to be that if that chaotic system produces periodic amounts of a like particle -- like an electron -- that those like particles can generally be relied upon to behave similarly. Then maybe it's the delicate calculus of these mutually constitued similar behaviors that helps give rise to the rise of order.
   
   But maybe not...and such is the state of research into this important issue.



2. What a fun book. Strogatz has managed to talk about the leading edge of mathematical modeling without a single equation! He uses a comfortable prose and never strays too far from the story of his research. The reader is treated to a view of the way that the world network of scientists organizes itself within areas of research and finds unions where research from one speciality can contribute to another. Who would have thought that the western power grid, the Internet Movie Database and the nervous system of a worm called C. elegans could be effectively modeled with the same operational principles.



3. What I found most interesting about Strogatz's sync theory was the position that it did not require an extensive measure of complexity in order to achieve synchronization. It merely required a critical mass or critical repetition in order to effectuate a phase transformation. The phenomenon of resonance performs similarly. Synchronization may be a form of resonance which has been overlooked, thus far, in our reality (biosphere).



4. Author Steve Strogatz's book "Sync" ostensibly concerns the spontaneous synchronization of oscillators, where an "oscillator" is anything that exhibits periodic behavior -- be it a clock, a flashing firefly, or an electron in a superconductor.
   
   The book is clearly modeled on James Gleick's book "Chaos": both books follow various researchers who originally work in isolation but who gradually recognize that they are investigating different aspects of the same phenomenon. As Gleick did for chaos, Strogatz tries to portray spontaneous synchronization as a fundamental, unifying phenomenon in nature. However, many of Strogatz's examples are unimpressive: sleep patterns, the coordinated flashing of lightning bugs, etc. In the more important cases -- the heart's pacemaker cells, phase transitions -- the mechanisms' details haven't been elucidated, so it's not clear how synchronization actually operates. Gradually Strogatz wanders: He argues that in order to progress, science should abandon its traditional analytic approach of investigating the bits of a system and instead should investigate the interactions between the bits; in this connection, he discusses the game "6-degrees of separation," in which very different people are "linked" by chains of acquaintances.
   
   (Strogatz also follows Gleick's footnote format, which is a nuisance.)
   
   In reading this book, I had hoped to find deep insights from a principal investigator in the field; instead, I found entertainment for the math-phobic.



5. It covers a lot of topics and some of them are entertaining. But seems unfocused and hard to get a big picture.

5 comments about Sex, Drugs, Einstein & Elves: Sushi, Psychedelics, Parallel Universes and the Quest for Transcendence.

1. This book isn't the most cohesive look at psychedelia's possible link to alternate realities though it produces some good arguments and questions about it. This book is a lot of things but primarily Dr. Pickovers own ideas into the evolution of language and its inherent limitations that keep us from experiencing things like alternate universes. The idea that language shapes our realities isn't new but that there might be possible ways to escape the vortex of our current reality via mind altering substances was entertaining to me. I would have given this book 5 stars if it weren't for the lecture on creative writing found in chapter 6 or 7. I would have cherished something that was more binding of the previous chapters to the later ones. None the less his stories, insights, and questions provide for a trip into Pickovers mind about where the state of reality really lies. I don't know if there was a purpose to writing this book but I found a nice and intriguing way to pass the time on the bus. Give it a try you just might like it.



2. This is a great book, which touches on a number of subjects, but is directed to the concept that our language dictates our concept of our "reality". You just have to read it, as there are way too many references to everything from Sushi, to Machine Elves..... A great read if you have a good sense of humor. I would recommend this book to anyone who isn't an idiot. Well, even some idiots.... Eric Melendy, Memphis Tennessee. 4/1/08 April Fools!



3. The title of this review is of course facetious. It's not about everything, but it is about everything that ultimately matters: human beings and the ways they imagine the world and create it; and re-imagine the world and re-create it.
   In this book, Clifford Pickover in a stream of consciousness and easy to read style gives the reader the tools to better understand the human condition and allow us to rise above it; or as the title suggests, to "transcend" the human condition through knowledge, perspective and understanding.
   By giving us "tools" I don't mean to suggest that this book is work or tedious. To the contrary, I've never had such fun reading a book before. The ideas come fast and furious and just when you follow a certain path, Clifford Pickover takes you down another. But none of them are blind alleys. The paths run parallel, though they will all meet up one day (although I might add, probably in a parallel dimension). For instance, in one Chapter alone ("From Holiday Inn to the Head of Christ") Mr. Pickover leads us down paths that show us his memories of celery flavored soda; the concept behind the Holiday Inn chain; the psychology of television laugh tracks; Thomas Jefferson's remarkably humane version of the Bible; DMT elves; living forever in the Pi matrix; and the kinds of maths that Jesus would have known. I was naturally buzzed after reading that Chapter. (And all this time I thought Holiday Inn was just a hotel chain. It never occurred to me that the Holiday Inn really changed behavior on a large scale by making it easy for most Americans to take long distance vacations. Think about it!)
   This book really is for everybody as my review title suggests. Except, of course its probably not for those who have no interest in the world around them and no interest in understanding and making the world and themselves a little better through knowledge and insight. Unfortunately, those are the exact people who need this book the most. The rest of us will simply want to read this amazing book like we want to breathe the air. Free your mind, and the rest will follow.



4. This is an interesting work by a scientist who is interested in exotic psychedelics, Proust, Einstein, Surrealism and other singularly offbeat subjects.



5. The book in question is basically a mingle-mangle of different ideas floating through Mr.Pickovers mind while he's walking around his neighbourhood. From linguistic theory, to seducing woman. From psychedelics to Jeffersons Bible. Jefferson tried to extract the teachings of jesus Christ by cutting out all religious , supernatural aspects, in case you didn't know.
   
   In the same way, I'd love to see a Version of this book minus Mr.Pickovers constant self appraisal and self-advertising. He can't stop talking about how he is the most prolific writer, that his obscure SF Novels are awesome, that he prolific writer..oh did I mention? He's a prolific writer! Short: Mr.Pickover is full of himself.
   
   Nevertheless, his collection of ideas is certainly entertaining and stimulating to the mind and I've enjoyed them. He's not quite the deep thinker, prophet and philosoph he paints himself. But his work was enjoyable despite his annoying antics.
   
   Well..."you shouldn't care about it, as long as the book is good itself, right?" Wrong. It just annoys me. He paints his book as some sort of "reality carnival" but "ego carneval" would be more suitable.
   
   The "talking" reaches it's climax as he confesses to never have taken DMT, yet he talks about the importance of establishing a center for DMT elve reasearch. But here's the real kicker: He says the reason for never taking the substance is because he is so "psychedelic himself" just like dali. To undermine his opinion, he lets his readers know, that his Artwork is featured at erowid alongside other psychedelic artists - go figure!
   
   And just as you think it couldn't get any more ridiciolous he carrys on to talk about proust (he never stops to talk about him during the course of this book, he should be in the title!) and how Proust is so much better than a psychedelic trip (he's never taken, because he's psychedelic himself, remember!)....
   
   Well, but still a nice collection of colorful ideas and I don't regret buying it. What I regret is, reading all his self praise, but that's hard to cut out. Jefferson had an easier job with his version of the bible - he used a razor.

5 comments about Statistical Mechanics.

1. I am a engineering/physics student, and I used this book for a first year graduate course in statistical mechanics. The book contains a lot of information, and the chapters are extremely concise. In this, lies both the strengths and weaknesses of the book. I think that the short, too the point writing style makes this book an excellent reference. However, the relatively small amount of exposition made it hard to learn material for the first time from the book. Overall, I would not suggest this book as a first introduction to the subject. But i think that it could be a usefull reference for someone with some background in the subject.



2. The condition of the book I purchased was rated as very good on the Amazon web site, but its real condition was excellent. In fact, it is as close to being a new book as a used book can get.



3. I was forced to use this singularly unhelpful book in graduate school. It was written in a terse, indigestible style; contained very few worked problems; left many important derivations or steps of derivations to the reader; had impossibly hard end-of-chapter problems - without solutions; and contained many typographical errors. Perhaps, as other reviewers have suggested, it would have been more helpful as a research reference, or as a textbook for students with a very strong background in undergraduate statistical thermodynamics. Do not attempt to use this book to learn statistical mechanics for the first time!
   
   This review refers to the first edition.



4. I purchased this book after I bought quantum chemistry by the same author.
   I liked the quantum chemistry book better than this book because It lacks the mathematical details found in the book about quantum chemistry. So it is more difficult to follow what is written. I recommend to the author for future versions to be mathematically elaborate and add mathematical details for each and each derivation in the book.
   
   Tarek H. Musslimani



5. Good book, covers a lot of material. However, there seem to be some mistakes pointed out by my professor. Things like - McQ doesn't seem to know the difference between quantum probability (Born interpretation) and statistical probability when it comes to quantum stat mech. Don't take my word for it though. It covers what you need to know.