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Summary: Quantum fields for ever
Review: I'm entangled to this book.
I found Zee's discussions and demonstrations sublime. I am trying to push the song "quantum fields for ever!" one step further!
I recommend this book to anyone trying to walk in the same direction.Rafael.
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Summary: Both deep and entertaining
Review: I'm having a blast reading this book. It's both deep and entertaining; this is a rare breed, indeed. I usually prefer the more formal style (big Landau fan), but I have to say that when Zee has the talent to present things his way, it's a definite plus :-) Thanks to Zee for a nice book on quantum field theory.
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Summary: Dig it
Review: I've looked through many QFT books, both in English and in French, and I prefer this book. I find it more readable and dig your commentary about open questions -- as a student, it's exciting to see that.
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Summary: A clear overview of Quantum Field Theory
Review: Is an excellent book, full of insight , and I am delighted that Professor Zee took the time and effort to write it. There is really nothing else around quite like it. Well done !
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Summary: Quantum Fields Forever!
Review: One characteristic which distinguishes this book from ordinary physics books is that it is written by a human physicist for other humans! This text on quantum field theory is filled with charming psychology of physicists. It not only teaches up-to-date quantum field theory, but also tells readers how research is actually done and shows how to think about physics. For example, it is told how Yang-Mills theory was born out of a great mind in 20th century physics. It is also told how theorists and experimentalists live with each other. Readers can even know about how a life in physics is like, say, through the career of Confusio. These may belong to what people usually say `cannot be learned from books'. This book is in the same style as ``Fearful Symmetry'' and ``Einstein's Universe'', two `popular' physics books. I think one can recognize that they are written by the same author merely by reading the texts. I have to use quotation marks for the word `popular', as those two books geneuinely teach physics, with a same taste as this quantum field theory book except with less technical details. All the three books, by a special theoretical physicist, are classics.
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Summary: Wow! A readable text on QFT!
Review: Or, I should simply say a readable text, period, since they are so rare, But, specifically, in regard to this book, I found that the highlight was the ability to link the physical concepts with the mathematics. I found this book to be very approachable and, amazingly to me, understandable. I have Peskin & Schroeder, Feynman's own QED book, some older texts, and a book that really lays the groundwork for basic string theory by someone I can't remember off-hand. But none is very readable, particularly to someone like myself whose research area is not QFT. I primarily study the foundational aspects of quantum mechanics and relativity and my latest project involves a bit of merging between the two - hence my interest in QFT which I never took a class in. I won't go so far as to say I can now carry out many calculations in QFT, but I understand more of the formalism now; and the link between the physical processes and the mathematics is (at least somewhat) clear for the first time. The physical processes always made sense without the mathematics and the mathematics are fairly standard in many senses (entirely apart from the physics), but the link was really missing in my mind and this book has provided it.
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Summary: A very gentle QFT book
Review: The first chapter of this book is great. Chapter one does a great job of explaining the necessary tools of bosonic field theory like gaussian integrals and wick contractions. Then, after a couple distracting (but interesting) sections on gravity and whatnot, Zee moves on to computing Feynman diagrams for phi^4 theory.
I think the easy-going style of this book is nice, but I wish it went into move detail in some cases. Zee seems to have a good understanding of field theory and a really good gift for explaining it, so I wish he would have written more about renormailization. I felt that chapter was way to short.
All in all, it is a 4 star book.
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Summary: Not your father's quantum field theory text
Review: The first sentence of the text sets the tone: "Quantum field theory arose out of our need to describe the ephemeral nature of life." (The entire first chapter is available at http://pup.princeton.edu/chapters/s7573.pdf) This is *not* your father's quantum field theory text. I particularly appreciate that things are motivated physically before their mathematical articulation. Further, the author is willing to fill in steps (in chapter appendices), rather than take the "it will be recalled" or "it can be shown" approach across intermediate steps. Most especially though, the author's "heuristic" descriptions are the best I have read anywhere. From them alone the essential ideas become crystal clear. If you are comfortable with non-relativistic quantum mechanics and special relativity, but not so with their union, I think you will find this book very helpful.
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Summary: worthy addition
Review: The reviewer who found the book "not rigorous" is correct in the sense that Zee's emphasis is not on long technical proofs, but rather on clarity, brevity and physical insight. There are many texts on quantum field theory (such as the classic, Itzykson and Zuber, or the more recent volumes by Weinberg or Peskin) that are more technical - just as there are books that cover the material in the Feynman lectures from a more mathematical perspective. However, I find when teaching quantum field theory that most students have trouble developing an intuitive or physical grasp of the subject. That is what this book (uniquely) addresses. It is full of small gems of pedagogy and insight. It is unrealistic to think that a serious student would only own a single text on quantum field theory. The cost of a book is negligible relative to the hours (years?) of effort necessary to master the subject! In my opinion Zee's book deserves its place among the classics.
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Summary: QFT in a coconut shell
Review: The title may not be to the point since the book in fact is fairly long. Quantum field theory (QFT) is however a quite mature subject nowadays so there is a lot of material. In this book you get a pedagogical, informal, and sometimes even entertaining account of modern QFT. The style is explanatory and playful rather than terse and concise. The areas treated all seem important. Of course you need the right background to be able to digest this book, but if you do, you will like it.
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