Rating: 
Summary: It's not QUITE that bad...
Review: Yes, it is very mathematically demanding. Yes, some of the discussions (particularly towards the ends of chapters) are thoroughly inpenetrable. And yes, each chapter features a few problems of the type "Show that (horrendous expression)=(even worse expression)=(multi-line, triple sum of modified Bessel functions expression)." But with a serious effort you'll make it through the first 3/4 of every chapter and >half the problems; the remaining parts are usually specialized topics anyway. The hardest part of studying this text is simply the large amount of time you need to invest; it doesn't read like Griffiths' book. And what did you expect, E&M to be easy? To those of you who truly hate this book (and judging by the reviews, there's a fair number of you), you might try the following substitutes/supplements: 1) Landau's Classical Theory of Fields: covers E&M in vacuo, with special relativity present from the beginning. Worked problems, E&M section is ~200 pages. 2) Mathews and Walker, Mathematical Methods- useful for special functions (Jackson's Chap. 3 presentation is somewhat brief). 3) Landau's Electrodynamics of Continuous Media- covers E&M in matter. I haven't used this one (yet), but people seem to love it. Again, worked problems. (Of course, find them in the library first!)
Rating: 
Summary: The most comprehensive Physics text I have ever read
Review: There is a reason that so many universities use this text for graudate courses in E&M. Every single special function that I successfully avoided as an undergrad has shown up within the pages of this text. Jackson is thorough and more thorough. Chapters 2 and 3 introduce fundamental techniques that must be mastered in order to understand the rest of the text. Jackson's treatment of separation of variables (while solving Laplace's Equation) does not stop with the introduction of Legendre Polynomials and Spherical Harmonics... he then introduces Bessel Functions, and eventually connects Green's Functions with expansions in spherical and cylindrical coordinate systems. He has a brief section on mixed boundary conditions at the end of chapter 3. For anyone looking for a very comprehensive text on the subject of electrodynamics, I strongly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: Excellence in Physics
Review: First off, this is either a graduate book or a senior undergraduate book in Physics. The book assumes at least 2 years of college math, preferably for engineering or physics folks. What sets this book apart is the focus on physics is perfect as we understand E&M theory at this point. Unlike other imperfect college texts like Lorraine and Courson, this book contains no errors. While some may no like "and the proof is left to the reader", the book is meant to teach people who are focused on physics but can describe the process mathematically as well as in regular language. The assumption is that there has already been a rigorous introduction of both physics and mathematics so this book is NOT a casual read. The beauty of this book is that it's not just teaching knowledge but it teaches one how to think. To those who can rise to the occasion and draw upon their education, professors and peers, there is the satisfaction of really understanding E&M clearly and concisely. To those who only seek rote knowledge, this book will be too challenging.
Rating:
Summary: See Jackson for what it really is!
Review: First, a pop quiz: do you know how to expand a plane wave in spherical harmonics? Do you know how to decompose a periodic function into its harmonic components? Do you know how find Green's function for the Helmholtz operator? If you don't, then do not pick up this book, since it does a poor job of teaching the mathematical foundations of classical electrodynamics.
And now for my review:
Jackson is not a very good classroom text - it omits many steps, provides few examples and generally assumes the reader is mathematically competent enough
to fill in all of the missing steps by him/herself. It is - surprise! - not
such a good reference work either. He only mentions some topics briefly. For
example, what about Hertzian treatment of radiation? Jackson has one merit,
though - it is simply an interesting book, with material which is hard to find
in many other books. One should view it as an informative collection of essays
on EM. For example: I read in many undergraduate books how E&M can be "derived"
from Coloumbs law and special relativity. Wrong! Jackson discusses this subject
and points out where this fails. So, all-in-all, Jackson is a pretty knowledgeable
fellow who has written pretty interesting "articles" about EM and put them all
together in one book - which I refer to now and then to get his opinion on things.
That is all! Jackson's book contains many interesting tidbits and I really do
believe they make the book worth buying.
For graduates/undergradutes - please, there are so many other more instructive books out there you could be using! First of all try finding a copy of the wonderful "Problems and Solutions on Electromagnetism" edited by Lim Yung-kuo - an excellent collection of problems (although sadly out of print, I suspect). Albert Shadowitz's book "The Electromagnetic Field" has excellent, detailed and pedagogical coverage of most topics found in Jackson's book, and is also very cheap! For a book full of physical insight, check out "Principles of Electrodynamics" by Melvin Schwartz (although it isn't so comprehensive). Julian Schwinger's "Classical Electrodynamics" is an even match for Jackson and pays a LOT more attention to detail (i.e. it pulls almost no "the student can show ... " tricks).
Furthermore, a note about the mathematics - yes, it is dense, but today much of it
is simply obsolete. No one wants or needs to remember all of those properties of
Ylms and such. Computers and numerical approximations do most of the hard work.
Not only that, but Jackson uses vector calculus to discuss classical field
theories, when today we have the much more efficient tools of exterior calculus and connections available to us (which also go a long way explaining gauge theories).
In other words: Jackson is mathematically outdated! Anyone with an eye towards
theoretical physics should be aware of this. For a modern approach to field theories, check out the more mathematically mature "Classical Mathematical Physics" by Walter Thirring.
Rating:
Summary: A reasonably competent grad student's view...
Review: I recently completed an grad E&M course using this book. I must say I was intimidated at first, but as I was using it, I became more and more impressed with the utility of the information and the examples. THOROUGLY understanding the examples (especially chaps. 2 & 3) is crucial to understanding later material. Our Prof. introduced the course as a math course disguised as a physics course. She wasn't kidding. Previous reviewers have indicated that a STRONG mathematical background is helpful to get the most out of the book. I wouldn't say that my math background is significantly strong. Actually, true to our instructor's word, I learned a great deal of math through the course. What I did find helpful was using D.J. Griffiths' E&M text (my undergraduate text) as a supplement to reinforce my understanding of the physics involved, then I could "see" what the mathematics describes. What this book is: It is an elegant, sophisticated presentation of one of the more difficult topics in science. What this book is NOT: It is most definitely not a self-study guide or a means for casual learning of E&M. The elegance is reflected through Prof. Jackson's economy of expression. The formulas presented are certainly useful for solving problems (also, the limitations and effective boundaries of the equations are clearly documented). I must admit that I was very fortunate to have a Prof. who understood the book at many levels, was willing to "fill in the gaps" in the terse derivations, and dilligently coached us in solving the problems. This is critical as there are many hidden (but useful) "tricks" used both in the derivations and in the problem solutions. Without this kind of "coach", only a few gifted geniuses would ever be able to get the most out of this book.
Rating:
Summary: The Classical text for E & M
Review: Jackson's text still remains as the classic text for E & M. The problems are challenging and difficult I do admit. I found that having the mathematics background helped when it came to solving some of Jackson's problems. From the other reviews that I saw that gave this book low ratings probably didn't have the mathematical background to tackle this text. Before attempting to read and solve the problems of Jackson, you should have an excellent working knowledge of Multivariable calculus including vector calculus, differential equations (including partial differential equations),complex variables, Legendre and Bessel functions. If you don't have this background, you will have a very difficult time with this book.
Rating: 
Summary: EECCCHHHH!!!!!
Review: This book (I use the term loosely) stinks. Some reviewers suggest that you can only appreciate this book if you already have a solid foundation in math and Electromagnetics. Baloney! Truth is, Jackson should never have been allowed to even think of writing such a textbook. From what I have seen so far, painful is not a strong enough word to describe the act of sifting through this mess. I feel for the students who had this assigned as their classroom text. As one reviewer put it, the students had to take other books out of the library to get through the course or to determine what the hell Jackson is talking about. There is a difference between a well presented, intelligent style of writing and a pretentious "Look how smart I appear to be, try try try to figure out what I am saying; I'm not going to tell you, that's for sure" style of writing, where Jackson adopts the latter, exclusively. There are far better books out there. Go look for them.
Rating:
Summary: Good old Jackson
Review: I like Jackson, but I think that most people don't. Anyway, the reason I'm writing this is to tell the
Reviewer from July 12, 2000 that Jackson DID write
another book. It's called
"The Physics of Elementary Particles."
Rating: 
Summary: A reasonably good book, but not a good text book.
Review: This book seems to just show how well Jackson knows E&M, but does not lead us readers well to know the subject. This book uses more math than physics to introduce the concepts and sometimes the math used has not been presented clearly and vigorously enough for the readers to follow. Our class used this book as a text book and many of us winded up buying many other books just to find out what the heck Jackson's book is talking about. If you already know E&M theory very well, you might appreciate the breadth and depth of this book. But if you do not know the subject very well to begin with, look somewhere else for the book(s) you plan to follow.
Rating:
Summary: Jackson knows his math. Not so sure about the physics.
Review: I believe the main reason that this book remains the standard graduate-level E&M text is "inertia". Your prof used it, and so you will, too. As a physics text, it supplies more mathematical details than physical insight. Confusing mathematical expressions with physical understanding may be the reason that many people get the warm and fuzzy feeling about this book. The truth is, most people who proclaim to enjoy this book probably haven't throughly mastered the -physical- contents of Griffith's undergraduate text. If you truely have, you can go a long way without touching Jackson. Sure, long math equations can be orgasmic, but it's not physics. The explanations in this book for the most part can best be described as turbid. For a particulary hideous example, try the section on the vectorial diffraction theory, and come back and ask yourself if you really know what the heck he's talking about. And then ask if HE knew what he was talking about.
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