Books to help with math in Jackson and group theory

[creepypasta13]

So I'm currently self-studying Jackson's Electrodynamics. The math for my undergrad physics was no problem at all for me as I had a strong background in DEs, PDEs, linear algebra, etc. I haven't looked too much into Jackson so far, but it seems I'm having the most difficulty is just keeping up with all the tedious vector manipulations and special functions. Would I need a book like Arfken's to help a lot with this later on? I don't think Boas would help much since the last time I saw it, it seemed to basic for me. But I didn't see the special functions section of it.

Also, I'm hoping to be able to self study some group theory this summer as well. I have no background in it and have very little knowledge of Abstract Algebra (I audited a course in it for a few weeks, but this was years ago). I don't know yet if I want to go into QFT, solid-state, etc. I heard Tinkham is good for beginners, but its based for solid state physics.

 

[Pengwuino]

Arfken will definitely help for Jackson.

 

[Meir Achuz]

You may want to look at Franklin, "Classical Electromagnetism", which covers the Jackson material, but includes the math background in the text.

You may want to wait with Group Theory, to study it in the context of a physics course.
Math GT is quite different than its use in physics.
What you seem to need most is math in the context of physics.