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Rating: 
Summary: Best Dynamics book I've found
Review: I was trying to learn dynamics on my own and looked through the local university library at several texts, trying to find one that would illuminate the Lagrangian method. They all cover it, but usually in ways I couldn't easily figure out from the text. Finally I stumbled on this fabulous book by James Williams of MIT. I immediately purchased my own copy and have been happily referring to it often. Prof. Williams really takes pains to explain every step. It is obviously the result of many years of teaching, because he really knows how to convey the material to those who have not yet mastered it. (It seems to me math & physics texts are often written with maximum brevity to impress colleagues who already understand it all!). There are many examples, all worked out in detail. And many additional problems for practice. There is also an interesting section on the history of science at the start -- some may find this out of place, but I think its great. One more note I found interesting and unusual about this book. On page 179 Prof. Williams introduces the "indirect" methods of analyzing dynamics: the Lagrangian & Hamiltonian approaches. He writes "We shall take Hamilton's principle as the fundamental law for deriving the equations of motion of dynamic systems... While this perspecitve is not unique, it is unconventional, since many writers designate Newton's laws as the fundamental principles of mechanical dynamics... Indeed, many writers begin with Newton's laws and then proceed to 'derive' Hamilton's principle, a process we feel is philosophically and technically inappropriate." In other words, he doesn't try to justify the Hamiltonian methods, he just takes them as facts of nature as fundamental as F = m a. I admire this approach, but at the same time I crave some additional insight into why these methods work so well -- it is astonishing magic to see the answers pop out. Perhaps those insights are in the text -- I've yet to read it all. (...)
Rating:
Summary: Best Dynamics book I've found
Review: I was trying to learn dynamics on my own and looked through the local university library at several texts, trying to find one that would illuminate the Lagrangian method. They all cover it, but usually in ways I couldn't easily figure out from the text. Finally I stumbled on this fabulous book by James Williams of MIT. I immediately purchased my own copy and have been happily referring to it often. Prof. Williams really takes pains to explain every step. It is obviously the result of many years of teaching, because he really knows how to convey the material to those who have not yet mastered it. (It seems to me math & physics texts are often written with maximum brevity to impress colleagues who already understand it all!). There are many examples, all worked out in detail. And many additional problems for practice. There is also an interesting section on the history of science at the start -- some may find this out of place, but I think its great. One more note I found interesting and unusual about this book. On page 179 Prof. Williams introduces the "indirect" methods of analyzing dynamics: the Lagrangian & Hamiltonian approaches. He writes "We shall take Hamilton's principle as the fundamental law for deriving the equations of motion of dynamic systems... While this perspecitve is not unique, it is unconventional, since many writers designate Newton's laws as the fundamental principles of mechanical dynamics... Indeed, many writers begin with Newton's laws and then proceed to 'derive' Hamilton's principle, a process we feel is philosophically and technically inappropriate." In other words, he doesn't try to justify the Hamiltonian methods, he just takes them as facts of nature as fundamental as F = m a. I admire this approach, but at the same time I crave some additional insight into why these methods work so well -- it is astonishing magic to see the answers pop out. Perhaps those insights are in the text -- I've yet to read it all. (...)
Rating:
Summary: Dyanmics Applied at its Best
Review: This applied dynamics book is the most well-written dynamics text book I've ever read. In addition to explaining ALL the steps that are normally left to the reader to supply, it gives credit to the originators of all major concepts. Dr. Williams explains why there are direct and indirect methods for calculating the equations of motions. Most people I polled had never seen it as well explained. (It seems rather simple now, and we wonder why no one else has taken the time to really get down on the student's thinking level.) I collect physics/math books. This is the best I've seen.
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