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Rating: 
Summary: Unique development, but lacking in a few key areas
Review: Cheng's logical development of electromagnetics is indeed novel, but the only real way to appreciate it is to first have had a decently rigorous course on electromagnetism or have read another electromagnetics book. The reason why I say this is because at the onset of the book, Cheng puts forth his electromagnetic model, but there is absolutely almost no motivation for this model. It seems completely arbitrary, although it does yield familiar results. No basis for the model based on experiment is provided; therefore, I suggest that one first read a book that takes one through the historical path of development -- leading from experiment to generalization. Also, I have found a major error in the theory of the book. In Chapter 6 when Cheng is talking about potential functions, he correctly derives a formula for the curl of a potential function. Now, the basis of the book is that one can develop electromagnetics in an orderly fashion by specifying both the divergence and the curl of a vector. So, in order to fully develop the potential vector field, he says "we are still at liberty to choose the divergence of A." He then states a formula known as the Lorentz condition for potentials and motivates it simply because it simplifies another equation. However, this is logically incorrect. Just because one knows the curl of a vector field does not mean one is at liberty to state its divergence. Again, Cheng is completely arbitrary here and provides no basis for why he does this other than the fact that it simplifies an equation. Many other books correctly deal with this matter -- even on the introductory level. What really happens is that the Lorentz condition is a result of the relation between electromagnetics and the theory of relativity; when electromagnetic theory and relativity are combined, the Lorentz condition follows logically. Sadiku's Elements of Electromagnetics correctly states this, as do other texts. The reason why this is so important is that this is the crucial link between showing that electromagnetic fields that vary through time are represented as waves! This violates the nature of the book -- that it should be logically consistent, orderly, and non-abrubt in its reasoning. Finally, I would like to say that Cheng's book Field and Wave Electromagnetics has the same downfall. However, I believe every serious student, engineer, and even scientist should read through Cheng's Field and Wave Electromagnetics because it is more rigorous. What Cheng has done is really interesting, but I simply cannot recommend this for any first time student. And, do not buy this book; buy his Field and Wave Electromagnetics because it is superior. Last and final note: the development of transformers is much inferior to most books (including his own Field and Wave Eletromagnetics). Check out my review on his other text.
Rating:
Summary: too brief
Review: I liked this book because of it's elegance and the fact that there are hardly any errors. But, I thought it expected the student to make too many assumptions in order to do the problems. This is frustrating for a first course (or any course) in electromagnetics when you're just gettting used to using vector calculus and are new to Maxwell's equations. Another problem I had is the lack of down-to-earth descriptions. To derive a formula and add one sentence at the end does not convey what is physically going on. I thought "Fundamentals of Applied Electromagnetics" by Fawwz T. Ulaby was much more accessible for a first course in electromagnetics.
Rating: 
Summary: This book is no good
Review: It's a condenced version of another one of Mr. Cheng's books and every example has you flipping back and forth between 5 different pages no less then 10 pages apart. The "Preface" says, "Much of the material has been adapted and reduced from my larger book, Field and Wave Electromagnetics..." Examples do not explain the work, I found these reviews while looking for a substitute book to help me through this class.
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