Rating: 
Summary: A physicists handbook for mathematics -- not a textbook
Review: The lecturer of our undergraduate Mathematical Methods for Physics course said that he recommends Arfken's book because it will be useful also later as a reference book. Hearing those words, I could not help but to think "this is one of *those* books". And indeed, although Arfken's and Weber's book covers quite a wide range of mathematics, it does so by being very concise, e.g. there is usually only one example per topic. This is one example of why it is not a good textbook. Not following Arfken's course, I will give another example: there are no answers and no solutions for any of the problems, making it very undesirable from the viewpoint of the person who cannot attend all the lectures. Finally, text itself is quite concise, and often it stops at telling the things rather than explaining them also. I guess I have to admit that I am not one of the excellent students mentioned by a reviewer, for I liked Kreyszig's Advanced Engineering Mathematics much more. As a contrast to Arfken's book, it offered many examples and helped to understand what the thing was all about. Unfortunately, it does not cover nearly all of the topics covered by Mathematical Methods for Physicists. If Mathematical Methods for Physicists is going to be your first introductory text to these topics and if you are not supported by very good lectures I can only say that may God have mercy on your soul.
Rating:
Summary: I couldn't stand this book
Review: There are two main things that made me dislike this very popular book. First, the topics are frequently spread along several chapters, making a selective reading at least unpleasant. Second, the examples frequently involve topics of physics not yet covered (like mesons, nuclear physics, etc). I must admit that people I respect like it. I see it more like a collection of formulas with too little connective tissue, and badly organized too.
Rating: 
Summary: Overall a good book
Review: This book atempts to cover most of the fields one runs into while studying physics, starting from scratch, without resorting to multiple volumes or 10kg tombs. With over 1100 pages this is no pocket book, but is still the right size to not become too cumbersome. Finding a particular topic can be at times time consuming since the index isnt of the best, and some topics are spread out over various chapters, putting you in the position of having to jump chunks of pages all the time to find the specific item. However in the end one generally succeeds and the explanations are mostly clear and well made. Arfken covers vector analysis, group theory, complex analysis, differential equations, special functions, series, integral transforms and equations and many other topics and this choise of a vast selection reflects in what is sometimes a too little detailed description of what one is looking for; this book will be of little use to someone trying to solve any slightly advanced problems (the hypergeometric function part for example) and another text will be prefered (Whittaker & Watson, ...). You cant have it all; this book is overall a good example of stocking up alot of stuff giving you a general idea about it all, without entering in too many (unneccessary) details, and succeeds in giving the sensation that u can reffer to it for anything, getting enough knowledge to then be able to search for a more specific description in other litterature if needed. Moreover it contains very many problems (most unsolved, some with hints) that can help clearify the basics, if one has the time to scroll through them.
The hardcover is neet and well made, however the paper quality is pretty bad and does not fully justify the price of the HC version.
Rating: 
Summary: Good book! Nothing is "easily shown that...."
Review: This book is excellent when used in conjunction with a book like Mathews and Walker "Mathematical Methods for Physics and Engineering". The Arfken book has problems that are oriented to the student taking a mathematical physics class for the first time. I highly recommend it to anyone teaching that type of class.
Rating: 
Summary: A misguided attempt to teach mathematical methods
Review: This book is little more than a collection of summaries of nathematical techniques, badly organized and badly commented. A friend of mine told me the exercises are OK, if you are a student. Would this book be one of those loved by students and hated by the teachers? Well, I am a teacher...I learned these things from Sommerfeld's "Partial Differential Equations of Physics" and a little from Mathews, Walker. It's a shame that the first one is no longer available. But the second is! Enjoy it!
Rating:
Summary: An oversized APPENDIX rather than a useful text!
Review: This book was used as a text for an advanced undergraduate/1st year graduate course. Unfortunately, this work is becoming the classic text for such courses. The text is too concise to be useful for most students at this level. However, it may serve as a good reference book for those who have already learned the material. Good luck to those trying to learn it for the first time! The book is loaded with oversimplified examples of tough concepts and then leaves the difficult problems AS AN EXERCISE FOR THE READER. You will definitely need a supplemental text or two! Try Mathematical Physics by Eugene Butkov for a more thorough treatment of the concepts.
Rating: 
Summary: General reference purposes
Review: This book was used in my undergraduate/graduate mathematical physics class. The instructor made it quite clear and I agree with his comments that the purpose of the course was to be able to understand the text at the end of the year. Well, I am pleased to say that this goal was attained. The text is an excellent reference. Of course, if rigor is what you are seeking, then I suggest you look elsewhere. Even for a physicist, the proofs and development of the well known equations is quite lacking. In its defense, I will use this book much more than other more rigorous texts when I need to remember simple formalism which can often be the case in graduate physics courses!
Rating:
Summary: A great learning tool
Review: This is a great book for graduate students in physics or engineering. It is very problem solving oriented, and the explanations are quite good. It is not mathematicaly formal. It is a good readable teaching book and a great reference to have. This book has helped me solve many problems quickly that would have otherwise required much library time. The only negative, the last chapter on Chaos theory (new to the 4th ed.,12 pages long) is good introductory reading, but it is week in comparison to more advanced books, and does not provide enough info to be useful in solving problems.
Rating:
Summary: A book for the twentieth century
Review: This text is hopelessly out of date if one is serious about modern physics. The tired old approach to vector calculus should be relegated to the dustbin of history. Students need, indeed must, learn the exterior calculus of differential forms, not as graduate students but undergraduates, if they can ever hope to get to the frontier. There is so much a student of physics needs to master in advanced mathematics. In this regard it would be very useful if the classical areas such as electromagnetic theory were recast in the language of differential forms.
Rating:
Summary: Good reference book -
Review: This was a required text book for one of my physics classes. While it's a great reference, it's very difficult to read. Not recommended for a textbook, but recommended as a needed reference for other course material.
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