Classical Calculus-based physics textbooks

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Purcell's "Electricity and Magnetism" is highly regarded, while many other books in the Berkeley physics series are considered outdated. The MIT series by French is also viewed as lacking modern relevance. A user seeks recommendations for introductory calculus-based physics textbooks, having a background in mathematics but limited recent physics experience. "Newtonian Mechanics" and "Vibrations and Waves" by French are frequently recommended, though concerns about their age arise. The user questions whether using these older texts would hinder their learning. Another participant suggests "Fundamental University Physics" by Alonso and Finn, praising its clarity and insightful approach, particularly in its later volumes on electromagnetism and quantum mechanics. The discussion emphasizes the importance of finding a textbook that is both readable and suitable for individual learning needs, with additional suggestions including Susskind’s theoretical minimum series for further exploration.
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bcrowell said:
Purcell is great, but most of the rest of the books in the Berkeley physics series are nothing special, and they are half a century out of date at this point. (Purcell is in a third edition, so it doesn't suffer from the problem of being out of date.)

The MIT series by French is likewise extremely out of date.

Hello I am myself trying to find good calculus-based physics textbooks at an introductory level (I majored long time ago in mathematics and took some physics courses at the university but it was a long time ago and never practiced since).

People seemed to recommend "Newtonian mechanics" often though (as well as his
"Vibrations and Waves"), and I was wondering what makes you say it is "extremely out of date"? Would I make myself a disservice learning from this book (which seemed maybe less steep than K&K)?
 
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Fricadelle said:
Hello I am myself trying to find good calculus-based physics textbooks at an introductory level (I majored long time ago in mathematics and took some physics courses at the university but it was a long time ago and never practiced since).

People seemed to recommend "Newtonian mechanics" often though (as well as his
"Vibrations and Waves"), and I was wondering what makes you say it is "extremely out of date"? Would I make myself a disservice learning from this book (which seemed maybe less steep than K&K)?
Alonso and Finn: Fundamental University Physics. I am also math major, and I found this book enjoyable. Brief, well-written, insightful, and clear book. It is not covered by a cluster of diagrams on every page, but when the author makes a diagram, it is clear, self-explanatory, and memorable .Does not shy away from the Calculus. The 2nd volume (EM) and 3rd volume (Quantum/ especially this one) make this book shine...
 
French is a fine choice. Many of today’s freshman texts trace their origins to that time period, i.e., it is not out of date. The goal is to find something readable for YOU.

Afterwords, if you are not driving towards something, you might check out Susskind’s theoretical minimum books and videos.
 
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