Rating: 
Summary: This is THE Book. Period.
Review: The Feynman Lectures on Physics are one of the best book I have ever read, in all fields. No, to be true this is the book I value the most, not just 'one of' an elite. And yet I would not suggest that it be used as the _only_ introductory text for a physics course. On the contrary, I think that one should rely on other books to get aquainted with the subject and only later venture to read THE Book to let Feynman really explain what was _thought_ to be understood.The commemorative edition has been cast in three nice hardback volumes: the first one is mainly about the basics of physics, mechanics, thermodynamicas and optics. The second one is devoted to a classical treatment of electromagnetism, elasticity and hydrodynamics. With 'classical' I mean that the treatment is somewhat more conventional than that adopted in the other two volumes, where you can feel Feynman's different approach. Finally, the third volume is devoted to quantum mechanics from a perspective different from most other introductory texts on the subject. All in all this collection is a must have for anyone who has an interest, albeit indirect, in Physics. Caution: these books can be enlightening. Always wear shades to protect your eyes from the light that seeps through.
Rating:
Summary: The best science teacher ever?
Review: I hold the opinion that Richard Feynman was the best physics teacher of all times. I keep his three red volumes always at the main position of my bookshelves, aside Dirac's "Principles of Quantum Mechanics" and the Landau-Lifshitz collection. What is it that puts them in a class apart from every other introductory text? A Nobel-prize winner, Giaever, I think, said that he seldom had to reach for other book of physics than Feynman's. On the other hand, the very respected mathematician Gian Carlo Rota gave it a bad review, orienting students to go instead to Halliday-Resnick for help. Perhaps these opposite opinions give us a clue: Feynman's "Lectures" are the sole book to present basic physics as a living subject, as real physics, that thing that researchers slowly build in their day-to-day toil.For the author, as always, strived to rebuild everything almost from scratch, sometimes with great originality. This explains why we never grow tired of it. It explains too why it "lacks" the organization of a text designed solely by pedagogical purposes. It's an asset, rather than a liability. If you are a beginner, use both (Feynman and Halliday-Resnick). In Feynman you'll see the magic and understand the beauty of a career in physics, as in nowhere else.
Rating:
Summary: Not perfect, but certainly the best.
Review: I am an undergraduate student,working on a double major in math & physics. Having found classroom teaching unmotivated, I ventured out to teach myself. This is the best I've found. Feynman was a very smart man and I can only wish that I could have had him as a teacher. The concepts are clear (for the most part) and he makes it interesting. Some things are not explained as well as they could, which is why I give it 4 stars instead of 5, but I think that's a shortcoming of the medium and not the author or the text. Some things just have to be learned hands-on, or with a teacher next to you. Reading a book brings you close but it's not the actual thing. Overall, excellent learning experience. Makes me look forward to the bizarre world of physics.
Rating:
Summary: Impressive...
Review: I almost find it a duty to review this book, just in case people click on reviewers' names to find out what good books there are they might not have ordinarily found. This book comes from the perspective of someone who really had a passion for this world and the strange things that exist in it, changing our directions, mocking us as we are blind and literally grasping mysteries all the time. Probably not great for directly learning all the little tactics of "doing" physics. Then again, it is those who are truly interested in what they do, who will learn these tactics themselves. Sometimes all a teacher must do is impart passion and give a person enough knowledge to know what she or he needs to learn. In some sense, Feynman said this in his preface. In any case, if you are looking to be inspired, to turn your head to something that may prove itself more interesting than school may have made it out to be, then take a look.
Rating:
Summary: Quite simply the best-- but not for everyone
Review: This book is easily the most clear, lucid, book there is on college level physics (though it can be confusing at times!). It must be understood, though, that these lectures were delivered to Caltech students; Caltech's average math SAT is like 780. So buy the book, but don't get discouraged if its hard! Feynman intended the lectures to be hard even for caltech students.
By the way it helps a lot if you know a little about the subject beforehand. Its easier to absorb they information that way.
Rating:
Summary: Feynman -- simply the best physics teacher of his era
Review: Feynman's famous three-volume set is an edited set based on his lectures to the introductory physics classes at Caltech, which are widely considered to be among the best lecture series ever published. Feynman takes a different approach from the typical introductory physics textbook. His point of departure perhaps assumes a higher level of mathematical sophistication than most introductory or survey texts. Also, his choice of topics is not as broad and comprehensive as many modern surveys of introductory physics. What makes Feynman's work remarkable is the his manner of explaining physical principles underlying a topic, instead of simply presenting the traditional expression of a rule and its formal mathematical expression. When one completes reading a section of Feynman's lecture, if one has the mathematical sophistication one will obtain a "feel" for how the topic fits in the broad context of physics as a whole. As a note of caution: most introductory physics surveys do not present material with use of matrix mathematics. Feynman assumes familiarity with the basics of matrix algebra, and this fact makes his presentation challenging to many students. In various sources I have read that his lectures were well attended by students in the upper division portion of their education and many graduate students and faculty, while the freshman audience intended may have been poor. That reflects the series as being a high-level conceptual overview reflecting the unified structure of physics. Perhaps not suitable for introductory physics instruction to any but the most advanced students.
Rating:
Summary: The best science teacher ever?
Review: I hold the opinion that Richard Feynman was the best physics teacher of all times. I keep his three red volumes always at the main position of my bookshelves, aside Dirac's "Principles of Quantum Mechanics" and the Landau-Lifshitz collection. What is it that puts them in a class apart from every other introductory text? A Nobel-prize winner, Giaever, I think, said that he seldom had to reach for other book of physics than Feynman's. On the other hand, the very respected mathematician Gian Carlo Rota gave it a bad review, orienting students to go instead to Halliday-Resnick for help. Perhaps these opposite opinions give us a clue: Feynman's "Lectures" are the sole book to present basic physics as a living subject, as real physics, that thing that researchers slowly build in their day-to-day toil.For the author, as always, strived to rebuild everything almost from scratch, sometimes with great originality. This explains why we never grow tired of it. It explains too why it "lacks" the organization of a text designed solely by pedagogical purposes. It's an asset, rather than a liability. If you are a beginner, use both (Feynman and Halliday-Resnick). In Feynman you'll see the magic and understand the beauty of a career in physics, as in nowhere else.
Rating:
Summary: A classic-- but not really for everyone
Review: The Feynman lectures on physics is a transcript of some of the lectures Feynman gave at the California Institute of Technology to freshman and sophomore students. It was somewhat of an "experiment"; feynman had never done this before. He purposed to adress these lectures to the most "intelligent" of the class. It should be no surprise that these lectures are difficult. Caltech students are among the highest scoring on the math college boards of the country; they can handle the math, so often used in these lectures. Feynman often assumes knowledge of certain subjects. These are some things that are helpfull to understanding the content the first volume: equation of oscilliating spring, Newton's equation of gravitation, fundamental algebra, trigonometry, a couple theorems of geometry... Calculus is definately helpfull to know, as Feynman's lecture on its principles is just a reminder to the students he was adressing, most of which were already proficient in the matter. These things aside, this texbook is one of the best college texbooks you can get; lucid, interesting, and very challenging. Feynman at his best; he can be quite humourous at times: i personally love it when he makes fun of the philosphers. So buy the book, but don't get discouraged if it's hard.
Rating: 
Summary: Confusing but decent
Review: I spoke to soon earlier. This is a fairly good book. I'm going to get an"0 of # people foudn this review helpful" but what do I care. If You want me to druel over this book then why even bother looking at reviews?
Rating:
Summary: Not perfect, but certainly the best.
Review: I am an undergraduate student,working on a double major in math & physics. Having found classroom teaching unmotivated, I ventured out to teach myself. This is the best I've found. Feynman was a very smart man and I can only wish that I could have had him as a teacher. The concepts are clear (for the most part) and he makes it interesting. Some things are not explained as well as they could, which is why I give it 4 stars instead of 5, but I think that's a shortcoming of the medium and not the author or the text. Some things just have to be learned hands-on, or with a teacher next to you. Reading a book brings you close but it's not the actual thing. Overall, excellent learning experience. Makes me look forward to the bizarre world of physics.
|
