Soviet or Russian Physics and Math textbooks

[The_Brain]

I recently have become aware of some old Soviet/Russian "classics" and am interested in learning more! It seems the style of the books I have found are always comprehensive but precise and to the point, much like Landau's Course in Theoretical Physics, and I appreciate this style.

The ones I have recently become aware of are:

Mathematics
N.S. Piskunov - Differential and Integral Calculus
Y.A. Rozanov - Probability Theory: A Concise Course
The USSR Olympiad Problem Book
N. N. Lebedev, et al - Worked Problems In Applied MathematicsPhysics
S.S. Krotov - Aptitude Test Problems in Physics
I.E. Irodov - Problems in General Physics
Landau's Course in Theoretical Physics

What are some of the other gems of the Russian literature? I have heard of A.A. Pinsky Problems in Physics, L.A. Sena A collection of Questions and Problems in Physics and V. Zubov & V. Shalnov Problems in Physics but that they are superfluous to Krotov and Irodov. Is there a Russian equivalent to something like Alonso and Finn Fundamental University Physics or the Feynman lectures? Is there an Advanced Calculus or Mathematical Methods of Physics books out there on the level of Mathews and Walker or Kaplan?

Please add your knowledge to the list! I think it would be good to have a list somewhere for people to learn about these increasingly hard to find books. I was inspired to do this by the hints of a list at the end of this thread: https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=381014

 

[hitmeoff]

You can always scour the Dover books for good cheap Russian texts, translated to English.

Shilov's "Linear Algebra" and "Elementary Real and Complex Analysis"
Kolmogorov's "Intro to Real Analysis"

are three that immediately come to mind.

 

[The_Brain]

Thanks for the suggestions - I was in fact just reading that Dover thread.

I've read that MIR Publishers Moscow was the big publisher of Russian scientific texts and were the original publisher for a lot of the above books. To find many of them nowadays you have to go through Indian publishers. Does anyone know of an old MIR catalog list or similar?

 

[Sankaku]

You can always scour the Dover books for good cheap Russian texts, translated to English.

Shilov's "Linear Algebra" and "Elementary Real and Complex Analysis"
Kolmogorov's "Intro to Real Analysis"

are three that immediately come to mind.

I like Shilov's Linear Algebra. His Real & Complex Analysis book is decent, but there are better ones. He also has a Functional Analysis book but I haven't looked at it myself.

These also have good reviews but, again, I can't say from experience:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0486409163/?tag=pfamazon01-20

https://www.amazon.com/dp/3540345639/?tag=pfamazon01-20

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0486633179/?tag=pfamazon01-20

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0486414485/?tag=pfamazon01-20

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0486406830/?tag=pfamazon01-20
This is supposedly a less "interpreted" version of Kolmogorov's Analysis book mentioned above.

 

[waht]

"Method of Edge Waves in the Physical Theory of Diffraction" by Ufimtsev

Originally published in early 1960s

http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=AD0733203

This book lays out the foundations of electromagnetic scattering theory off of wedges and other geometrical objects.

Lockheed-Martin engineers discovered this book by accident, and it lead directly to the design of stealth aircraft, namely the F117 and B2 bomber.

 

[The_Brain]

Searching the internet has revealed a number of more books that I may eventually add to the list, but I am unsure of their quality and can't find any reviews.

Does anyone have any experience or has heard anything about M. M. Postnikov's Lectures on Geometry series?

 

[fourier jr]

judging by how many times http://books.google.ca/books?id=aNUQAQAAIAAJ"'s referenced in vol 6 of landau/lifgarbagez and how much people want for it on abe I would say it's probably worth a look. there's also natanson's real analysis text.

 

[Daverz]

A book I've seen referenced several times and have always been curious about is https://www.amazon.com/dp/0080204376/?tag=pfamazon01-20.

 

[Pyrrhus]

I like Russian authors. They are dry and to the point, which is what I prefer in my math books. I like clarity. I own Piskunov calculus, Shilov Linear Algebra, and Shilov Real Analysis. I think they are pretty good textbooks.

 

[The_Brain]

I like Russian authors. They are dry and to the point, which is what I prefer in my math books. I like clarity. I own Piskunov calculus, Shilov Linear Algebra, and Shilov Real Analysis. I think they are pretty good textbooks.

I received Piskunov in the mail last week and I have been extremely impressed. For the record, I own both Apostol and Spivak and am familiar with Courant, and I think I prefer Piskunov!

 

[Pyrrhus]

I received Piskunov in the mail last week and I have been extremely impressed. For the record, I own both Apostol and Spivak and am familiar with Courant, and I think I prefer Piskunov!

Piskunov is a bridge to Mathematical Analysis. It is an advanced calculus book. The cool thing about Piskunov is that it has chapters uncommon to other calculus book. Thus, Piskunov doesn't assume anything of its students, and do not cover topics just to cover them like Stewart.

 

[fourier jr]

gradshteyn & ryzhik is another good one... well it's not really a textbook though

 

[vici10]

There is an excellent, classic Soviet calculus book. The author is G.M. Fikhtengolts. Russian version has three volumes. English version has two volumes and titled “Fundamentals of Mathematical Analysis”.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0080100597/?tag=pfamazon01-20

I know that there was a German translation in three volumes published by Berlin Deutscher Verlag der Wissenschaften and called “Differential- und Integralrechnung”.

 

[The_Brain]

The library has a couple of these books, so I looked into Davydov's Quantum Mechanics and Fikhtengolts' Fundamentals of Mathematical Analysis today. These were just quick comparisons for curiosity, but I came away with the following observations:

-Davydov's QM is very similar but a little more thorough and modern than Landau and Lifgarbagez's book, which makes sense as Davydov was first published at least 5 years after Landau and Lifgarbagez. However, they are remarkably similar in both content and exposition.

-The same thing can be said with regards to Piskunov's Calculus and Fikhtengolts' Mathematical Analysis, where in this case Piskunov is the more modern and thorough text.

 

[Acut]

I was one of the posters in the original thread https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=502022.

A year after that thread was open, I've bought most books mentioned in that thread (except for Zubov&Shalnov, that was too expensive and Verma, that didn't seem very useful). What I can tell is that Pinsky and Sena are good books! Have you actually bought Irodov and Krotov? If you haven't, I'd recommend you did so. If it turns out that Irodov and Krotov are too hard for you, then buy Pinsky, Sena, Kosel or Saraeva - all of them are excellent problem books, with nice questions.

I did make a list of MIR's books last year, but I've since lost it. I know there's an online project listing and finding MIR books, in order to preserve them for future generations when they get into the public domain - but I haven't found their website. I can, however, list some of the books that were in my list:

Physics Problem Books (from hardest to easier, roughly)
Krotov
Irodov
Saraeva - the same book is also found under Bujovtsev
Kosel
Mesherski - mechanics only.
Savchenko
Volkenshtein
Tarasov, Tarasova

I've also found Chertov and Savelev, but I could only find them in Russian, so I don't know how good they are.

Other books
Perelman - for fun!
Piskounov - a classic
Tarasov - Quantum mechanics. I've never read it, I don't know how good it is.
Kletenik - Analytical mechanics. I've never read it.
Litvinenko - I've never read it, but I've hear it is good.
Shariguin - geometry

Russian publishers only publish some of those books. Try finding them through Abebooks.com or Amazon.com (or some other website that sells used books). Beware that those books can be as expensive as they are rare, and it is worthy waiting a few months to see if there is a seller willing to sell them at a lower price if the book is too expensive - I saved a lot of money doing that. Also, if you can read Spanish, try to find MIR books in that language - there are some books that I found in Spanish, but not in English. I think MIR also published in French...

Is there a Russian equivalent to something like Alonso and Finn Fundamental University Physics or the Feynman lectures?

As you can tell by that original thread and my list above, my main interest was on Physics Problem books, not textbooks. I know that Irodov - yes, the same author of that problem book - has written wonderful books in Mechanics and Electrodynamics. I have both of those books, one in English and the other in Spanish, but I have never actually read them from cover to cover. What I can tell you is that I've found things in those books I haven't seen anywhere else, and those books clearly AREN'T for absolute beginners (they cover roughly what the Feynman lectures cover, but in a very elegant way). However, you seem to have a fairly good background in Physics, so I don't know how much those books will add to your knowledge.

I will edit this post in the next few days if I remember any other books published by MIR. There are TONS of books published by MIR, but I should warn you that some are too specific and not really worthy buying (especially when they cost 50+ dollars). Do some research before investing your money in some of their books.

 

[fourier jr]

this site has lots of old soviet books for sale
http://urss.ru/

here's a blog with lists of titles of mir books
http://mirtitles.wordpress.com/

 

[fourier jr]

I've found I really like http://books.google.ca/books?id=DYCOCBCBwoIC" (source of many of the problems in the english version).

 

[vici10]

Another classic calculus problem solving textbook is Demidovich, "Problems in mathematical analysis". https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0007DO6UU/?tag=pfamazon01-20

For complex analysis, the book by Markushevich, "Theory of Functions of a Complex Variable" is very good, although maybe not for a beginner.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/082183780X/?tag=pfamazon01-20
Sorry, I just noticed that fourier_jr mentioned Markishevich in previous post. I studied from this book (English edition). It is very comprehensive and very well written.

 

[mishima]

I read this recently

http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?ttype=2&tid=4332

 

[khil_phys]

I've gone through "Fundamentals of Physics" by A.A.Pinsky and B.M. Yavorsky, which is excellent for understanding the theory of the subjects.

 

[khil_phys]

Hey, can anyone suggest Russian books for Trigonometry for the high-school and Undergrad level?

 

[fourier jr]

that reminds me, Gelfand's math school by correspondence had high-school-level textbooks on various subjects, including trig:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0817639144/?tag=pfamazon01-20

There are others on functions & graphs (aka analytic geometry), the method of coordinates (how to convert geometric figures into formulas), algebra, geometry, calculus & combinatorics

I haven't looked at most of them but the method of coordinates is really good, & user-friendly. check out their reviews on amazon.

 

[khil_phys]

I checked it out, and was really impressed. But, how would you compare it with Plane Trigonometry by S.L. Loney? Most of my colleagues use it.

And would anyone tell me from where I would get volume 2 of Fundamentals of Physics by Yavorsky and Pinsky? I have vol. 1 and am really comfortable with it.

 

[osnarf]

Vladimir Arnol'd has a ton of books, I've only got a chance to take a look at 1 but I hear they're all excellent.

 

[khil_phys]

Arnold's works don't include trig.

 

[khil_phys]

I believe some of you must have heard of Problems in Mathematics by V Govorov, P.Dybov, N.Miroshin, S.Smirnova. Any comments on it?

And I still did not get a satisfactory reply to my previous post on the trig and Pinsky books.

Thanks.

 

[zonk]

I see these books by Irodov available very cheaply: Fundamentals of Physics, Fundamental Laws of Mechanics, and Basic Laws of Electromagnetism.

I can't find a TOC for fundamentals of physics, but I would like the equivalent of a US sophomore in Physics. Will this cover waves, optics, thermodynamics, and relativity. Or should I buy the latter two books? If so, can you guys supplement them with additional books of the Soviet style?

 

[khil_phys]

I'm not looking for Irodov, as I already have it. I'm looking for vol. 2 of Yavorsky and Pinsky's book, which I can't find anywhere.

What's a TOC? Maybe we can suggest you better if we can know that.

Anyways, HRW is a classic book.

 

[fourier jr]

What's a TOC?

I usually read it as table of contents which is usually on google books or amazon, but not for that book.

 

[zonk]

What about Halliday, Resnick, Krane? Some people here say it's better. Fundamentals of Physics vs Physics.

I really want a book that will complement Krotov's Aptitude test. I wouldn't mind a book that presumes you understand differential equations.

 

[khil_phys]

Nor would I. By the way, if you have used Irodov, how would you campare his problems book to that of Krotov?

 

[vici10]

As I understood, Yavorsky and Pinsky's book is for high school. What are the Soviet physics books for 1st and 2nd year University?

 

[zonk]

I haven't used Iridov, but I see both problem books available. I am thinking of getting Krotov's book, but I need to compliment it with a theory book. I found out it's actually Fundamentals of Physics by I E Ivanov, but since I see no table of contents, I have emailed them and asked the sellers to provide me with one.

 

[khil_phys]

As I understood, Yavorsky and Pinsky's book is for high school.

Which is precisely why I want vol.2 of that that book. But, it's not available anywhere, as far as I know.

 

[khil_phys]

I haven't used Iridov, but I see both problem books available.

I have used Irodov, and I would like to check Krotov, but these MIR books are not available anywhere I know.