Green's Functions for Solid State Physicists

Rating:
Summary: good companion
Review: I liked this book a lot because it teaches this stuff through examples of when some seemingly abstract quantities are actually observables, but this approach is not always as lucid as a formal text because the general results need sometimes be distilled from the examples. I think it makes a great companion (esp. since it's not terribly expensive) to like a Fetter/Walecka or Abrikosov et al. or whatever more general text you like.

Rating:
Summary: Good for a grasp of the essential physics.
Review: When I was learning many body physics course one years ago, I found this book is very hopeful because it is clearly written and is focused on essential physics instead of rigorous mathematics.
Of cause Mahan¡¯s book is better for a big reference book. And Fetter¡¯s book is better if you want more mathematics.