3 comments about Condensed Matter Field Theory.

1. This book is a good introduction to Field Theory applied in condensed matter physics. In dealing with two difficult subjects the authors do it in a very simple language. This is very important either to beginners or experts. There are very good solved examples to illustrate each section. Besides, there are small boxes citing the people behind the development of the issue.



2. This is an extremely well-written book, which covers almost all the modern topics in condensed matter physics while keeps the physics and mathematics clear and simple.
   
   It is an invaluable reference or textbook for graduate students who are interested in theoretical condensed matter physics, esp. in strongly correlated systems.
   
   It is almost the best book I have seen for a graduate student to study the functional method, renormalization-group theory, etc., applied to condensed matter systems.



3. This book is really incredible. It is one of only a handful of really readable physics texts, and it carefully moves from very friendly explanations of basic concepts, such as a two page review of Gaussian integrals (things like this make it a great reference), to very advanced material. The last chapter on topology, for example, doesn't hold back from using the full machinery of differential geometry, but also provides a great tutorial on the subject.
   
   Also, a closer read reveals that this book's point of view is thoroughly modern, in the sense that it puts symmetry concepts and non-perturbative techniques front and center. The authors do readers a huge service by promoting the idea that one of the keys to understanding complex quantum systems is to correctly identify their fundamental excitations.

5 comments about Photoshop 7 Bible, Professional Edition.

1. I am shocked by the handful of bad reviews I've seen here. I am going to suppose the bad reviews are written by people whose idea of using Photoshop means applying enough filters until it looks cool. My friends, it's called the "Professional Edition" for a reason; if you would take the time to read the Preface you would find it clearly explained. Deke McClelland is the best Photoshop instructor, period. This book deserves more than 5 stars!



2. Those who criticized this book as being a poor choice for beginners were unfair. (Why did they buy the Professional Version anyway?) Teaching those first steps to people who are not too familiar with computers in general is a book in itself. This book is perfect for anyone who has mastered even the most basic steps and wants to move far, far beyond.

   I was first exposed to Photoshop only a few weeks ago and after about 2 days of learning the basics using a popular beginner's manual found that the "how to" book had taken me as far as it could go. It was just enough to get me addicted but left me with too many questions.

   I thought that I might have been a bit presumptuous in purchasing the "Professional Version" of the Bible, but as soon as I started reading it quickly discovered that it answered all my questions. I went from page to page saying to myself "oh, so that's how..." and "hey, I was having trouble with this". Amazing! And it is written in language that even a newbie like myself can understand and follow.

   I am still a beginner but I love this book. I can see myself referring to it for years to come.




3. This book describes the fine intricacies of all the tools, the filters and the features of Photoshop. Where other books lead you through lessons and tell you to set X tool preference to Y, and you may happily use the Y preference for years without even knowing there is also a Z preference, this book explains all the preferences for all the tools and gives illustrated examples of what the various settings produce.
   
   I wanted to force myself to sit down and read this thing cover to cover to get an in-depth knowledge of everything Photoshop, but after 2 chapters of reading I just couldn't go on in this manner. For me, the best use of this book is as a reference when I have a question about a particular tool or technique. I'll read a few pages to get the particulars, then I put the book back up on the shelf until the next question arises.
   
   This version has lots of nice color plates and paging through it can be inspirational when I'm stuck for a design idea. Especially if I'm burned out on surfing online for ideas.
   
   The one irritating factor about this book is the author's sense of humor interspersed throughout. I understand that he's trying to make a technical subject friendly, approachable and enjoyable, but the humor just comes across as extremely corny. This is a plague I've noticed infecting many of today's authors of software books.
   
   Dear Authors,unless you are absolutely certain that people other than family and close friends consider you funny, please leave the humor out or hire a professional to help. Thank you.
   
   I still give this book highest marks because
   1)it is so absolutely thorough
   2)the author knows his stuff and can communicate it well (even if there is a bit of dorky humor in it) and
   3)since I use it as a reference book, the humor only comes in small, managable chunks.



4. I must say, as much as this book takes VERY LONG to get through, because I have to stop, try the stuff out myself and really try to understand it, I find myself motivated by Deke's humor. As much as he contradicts himself after saying that he'll be concise in the beginning but half the time he's talking nonsense (funny nonsense that is), you can't blame him. That's his style after all! I have found myself loving the book because I'm always curios to see what silly thing he's going to say next? I love it how he knows when to be serious about the tools and when to make a good joke about it. My favorite has to be the one about using the healing and cloning tools with a picture of a baby's bottom that heals the dents on his forehead.
   Absolutely a good laugh after a painful 1 hour of reading...
   Painful...yes because this is intense, and it's not for a beginner user, and relatively dangerous if you havent been using photoshop for at least half a year if you ask me.
   Otherwise I say go for it, read this book and learn some really advanced stuff, but beware, it's intense to the point you could get tired of learning...



5. Well structure for the professional or novice. You'll find yourself looking trough it every chance you get.

2 comments about Concepts in Thermal Physics.

1. Where do I begin? We had switched to using this textbook for our second course in statistical mechanics at the undergraduate level; I wish we hadn't. The chapters are short which makes reading them easy. However, because of the short chapters, I don't feel that it goes as in depth as I would like it to. Perhaps it could explain things a lot better if it didn't use the word "hence" in every sentence. The authors should have written this book with a thesaurus.
   One of the biggest flaws is that the book is filled with many mistakes. There is an errata for this book, but only covers a tiny fraction of the mistakes. Many of the end of chapter problems are stated unclear, and have many errors. For example, it asks you to derive something, and the equation it wants you to derive is wrong. In the appendix, it gives mathematical derivations to some special functions, like the volume of a hypersphere, and the derivation is wrong! Also, the end of chapter problems are nothing more than mathematical manipulations and derivations. None of the questions help develop a concept for the material.
   I recommend not getting this book.



2. The advantage of the text is that its an easy read. The chapters are short, the mathematics is elementary (multi-variable calculus is the supremum of what one should know) and the concepts are readily available to one willing to stop and think (as opposed to one who wishes to be fed directly).
   However, there are points where the author discusses topics repeatedly at an almost childish level. Moreover, there exists many errors within the text. Though most are minor and sort of obvious, they are rather annoying. The end of chapter problems are mostly mathematical manipulations. There are of course problems that test one's conceptual understanding of the material; however, the subject is mathematical in nature and the concepts are relatively babyish.
   Reading through chapters 1-30, my opinion of the text is that its a great buy if one wishes to see the subject through a mathematical lens (which is hopefully the case).

4 comments about Introduction to Superconductivity: Second Edition (Dover Books on Physics).

1. This book provides an excellent comprehensive review of most of the aspects relevant to superconductivity. A strong basis in physics is required to follow it all the way. Otherwise, it is possible to read most of the chapters separately without loosing continuity, so the more complex ones can be put aside if the reader is not interested in deep physics. Many references to relevant authors are given all along the text. It should be a reference available to all the people seriously involved in superconductivity. The only bad point is that it uses CGS unit rather than SI units.



2. The theory of superconductors is an amazingly complicated and rich field, and it can be very daunting to begin studying without a large background in physics. This book does an excellent job telling you the details enough to understand what is going on without giving you so much that it becomes a daunting task to read the book.
   
   Having only read through the first three chapters so far, I give that caveat before continuing.
   
   The first chapter, the author says upfront, is difficult to follow, as it gives a quick outline of every future chapter in the book. I would recommend skimming the first chapter, and then after reading each chapter go back and see if you got the key points illustrated in the first chapter.
   
   The second chapter, a treatment of the London equations, does an excellent job deriving the London equations in the first section, then providing a great deal of application of the equations, as well as outlining the limits of that model of superconductors.
   
   Chapter 3 is where the book gets down to business, as Tinkham gives an introduction to BCS theory. This treatment uses plausibility arguements to justify many of the conclusions or assumptions, but also provides some guidance to the mathematical rigor you might use to really prove the assertions you make. The chapter does not leave you feeling very confused at all, and the section can be read almost straight through.
   
   Although I have not read any further into the book, I can only imagine that it is more of the same. I would strongly recommend this book to anybody interested in learning something about superconductors before trying something more rigorous, such as Schrieffer's classic text on the work.



3. I really enjoy reading this book. Thanks for the wonderful service of Amazon



4. This classic book on superconductivity is excellent for an experienced reader who has already some background in superconductivity. However, for a student trying to learn superconductivity, it says too many things in too brief which may be difficult to follow. While teaching a course I would prefer to follow a book like Superconductivity by Ketterson and Song and refer to this book for selected (special) topics.

5 comments about Electromagnetism.

1. Goes into much more detail than other undergraduate E&M texts, so it will never leave you hanging on the math. Discussion is also extremely clear and easy to follow. I would strongly recommend this book to anyone who is taking an undergraduate E&M course.



2. I used this book for a 2 semester course in E&M. I absolutely hated it for the first semester, but it's merits became apparent during the second semester. The treatment of statics is inadequate at best, but Pollack and Stump do a great job from the chapter on Maxwell's equations on. The chapter on relativity and tensors alone makes this book a worthwhile buy. I would suggest using Griffith's for statics and Pollack and Stump for dynamics, but given the cost of both books thats probably going to be an expensive proposition.



3. Whether you are a student in engineering or physics field, you should get this book. The author is terrific in explaining things. It's complete and to-the-point. After reading this book, not only would your understanding of E/M increase tenfold, your mathematical ability strengthens along with it too!
   
   This book is not really for 100% beginner. You must be rather well versed in vector calculus.
   
   My only complaint about this book is that only about 3 pages are devoted to discussing numerical methods, which is not sufficient from my point of view. Despite this shortcoming, THIS BOOK IS BY FAR THE BEST!!! Buy it with Griffith's book, this is ALL you'll ever need to learn E/M!!



4. The authors achieved a very interesting balance between the mathematical level and the introductory nature of the book (if you don't already master the math, you will have to learn it in order to understand the text... which is good). It has a good number of worked out examples, and the problems are challenging without being unsolvable. One characteristic of these is that they require a good comprehension of the material and therefore, you will not go on to the next chapter without learning the material (hopefully). The structure of the book is pretty much standard. Mathematically, the book is not self-contained, but that does not affect my rating because it is not intended to be. With a good foundation (or book) in vector calculus and maybe a more elementary book in E&M (Griffiths? Yeah, I agree with a previous reviewer that it might be an expensive proposition), you will be more than ready to learn E&M.



5. I love this book, and I don't really like electromagnetism. Pollack and Stump use an easily understood writing style that is concise, thorough, and occasionally witty. Their use of extensive examples is great for the visual learner. This book covers a full academic year's worth of advanced electricity and magnetism courses.

5 comments about Polymer Physics (Chemistry).

1. As a polymer physicist, among other things (mechanical engineer/tribologist) I can tell you that this is must for anybody trying to understand polymer physics. Whether you are a scientist or worked in applied sciences (engineering) this will make a great text book and reference.



2. Polymer Physics by Michael Rubinstein and Raplh Colby is a fascinating introduction to the realm of polymer statics, dynamics and phase behavior. It embodies the depth of Flory's classic text on Principals of Polymer Chemistry, classic delight of de Gennes' Scaling concepts in Polymers and the rigor of Theory of Polymer Dynamics by Doi and Edwards. The authors manage to do this with a textbook authority and clarity, which definitely makes this book a definite buy for anyone interested in polymer physics.
   
   The book has four main sections. The first part talks about the polymer statics: ideal and real chains and how their size and size dependent properties are characterized. Then comes thermodynamics of polymer blends and solutions, which includes a discussion on polymer brushes and adsorption of chains. The authors devote the third section to networks and gels and this part includes a very thorough discussion of gelation, rubber elasticity and swelling. The last section is devoted to the polymer dyanmics, where chain models and polymer relaxation ideas are developed and discussed. The last two sections of the book cover topics which are of immense current interest, and have had original and critical contributions from the authors. Most highly recommended, both for beginners and for experts.



3. My title tells everything. This book is one of the best one if you are new to the field. You need to know Calculus, Thermodynamics and Statistical physics and then read through the pages. Not too detailed nor too brief. I suggest the book to seniors and grad level students.



4. From the equations of Flory-Huggins to the fractal nature of polymer confirmations, this book covers everything you need to know about the physical nature of polymers.



5. The book is an excellent introduction to statistical polymer physics.
   Its great strength is that it offers a mathematical treatment of polymer
   physics with a minimum of mathematics i.e. only dimensional analysis and simple
   ordinary differential equations. In addition, one needs to have an introductory
   course in equilibrium statistical physics (statistical thermodynamics).
   
   It is valuable to both academics and industrial practitioners, since it represents
   a very complete picture of polymeric solutions, gels and networks
   given with remarkable intuition. Certainly it does not go deep into
   more advanced analytic (e.g. functional integral or numerical approaches),
   but it is a necessary background to these fields.
   
   The only negative aspect of this book has nothing to do with the authors,
   but with OUP that produce such difficult to use book formats. I do not
   understand why the book has to be so large in dimensions making any
   handling difficult and awkward. I hope that soon is reissued in a more
   compact and usable format that is made for the joy of reading.

2 comments about The Materials Science of Thin Films.

1. This is a very good book for coating engineers. The richness of the explanation of a variety of subjects is worthy of reading it carefully, from beginning to the end.

   And in addition, I find the process of reading the book is quite a happy thing of enjoying the beauty of English, though I am not a native speaker.(I'd like to look forward to reading similar comments so as to confirming this impression of mine)

   The book is precise and in depth.




2. sorry for the fella who authored the book, he still has a long way to reach the level at which the interested customer finds the book of reference for the field of study;

2 comments about Principles of Electronic Materials and Devices.

1. Kasap offers a book well suited for an undergraduate engineer, who needs a comprehensive text of semiconductors and related electronic materials. The level of physics and maths required is moderate - one year or so of freshman courses.
   
   The important materials are explained. Silicon, gallium arsenide and others. Kasap also provides many diagrams to illustrate key ideas. Plus, this is clearly meant as a student's textbook. Many examples of problems are worked through. To some students, this may be the clearest way to understand and apply ideas.
   
   Kasap also found ways to greatly simplify standard mathematical treatments. Expands significantly the size of the audience who can appreciate the ease of understanding. Because a longstanding issue in materials science has been that texts were often written by physicists, for physicists or physics majors. Often leaving them too abstruse for engineering students, who also had a need for comprehending the same ideas.



2. This is one of the best books I have read on applied Materials Science. I found it particularly useful for electrical, electronic and computer engineering students.
   
   The author gets to the point effortlessly, addressing only basic materials concepts necessary to conceptualize a main subject. Then, to complement and deepen the understanding of each subject convenient problems are sprinkled throughout the text.
   
   Yet, the book is intense. The student needs to be focused and ready to absorb the wealth of themes presented in a structured manner. And this leads me to another interesting book feature:
   
   I may sound like an old-fashioned professor, but I do dislike most Materials Science & Engineering textbooks that use color figures to enhance (they think) the learning. False: Colors only serve the publisher as an excuse to raise the book price through the roof. Students need to get exposed to regular scientific, professional documents where only sparsely color figures are used (very purposefully). Kasap's textbook doesn't need that expensive perk to be clear and thorough; all figures are clear-cut without unnecessary coloring.
   
   For instructors, the book includes a CD that DOES help and with neatly arranged slide presentations. This is particularly useful in the instruction of electrical behavior of materials and solid state physics concepts used in the resolution of the accompanying problems.
   
   All in all, this is one of the best books on applied Materials Science that I have encountered. The price is high even for an excellent textbook as this one. That's my only complaint.

1 comments about Introductory Statistical Mechanics.

1. I recommend this book to anyone who is taking an undergraduate course in stat mech. I also recommend it to beginning GRADUATE students of stat mech. I used it for my own graduate coursework and I found it to be extremely helpful.

   This book provides a clean, uncluttered presentation of the principles of stat mech; does not lose sight of the physical reasons behind the mathematical manipulations; and most helpful of all, contains a good set of problems WITH SOLUTIONS! It has been more helpful to me in my graduate work than any graduate-level book!

   In a next edition, maybe the authors can include a gentle introduction to the new renormalization group theory of phase transitions, and also increase the number and depth of problems.

   If you plan on studying stat mech, get this book.

5 comments about Boundary-Layer Theory.

1. This is the best and the most classical fluid mechanics book that i have read. Read it through carefully and you will get much from it. Reading it from time to time can give you many new knowledge every time.



2. this is a classic book. however, the new 8th edition is not translated very well. i have an older english version (6th edition, 1968) that is translated much better. even where the content is the same between the two editions, the "updated" translation is worse that in the original version.



3. This is the classic book on the subject to be ever written and retains its class by incorporating some of the recent developments in the boundary layer theory.
   
   A great collection for anyone in the field of turbulence, aerodynamics ...



4. Although I have only the first edition, I still find it to be of immense value, and hands-down superior to any other book on the subject (save the newer edition perhaps). It seamlessly weaves together theory, mathematics, and experimental observation, into a very readable and (surprisingly) interesting text. Because it explains the fundamentals so well, Schlichting's book is one of those rare engineering classics that will continue to be of value for a very long time to come.



5. Good value - well worth the money. I also like the updated sections available in the Springer edition.