Is it possible to find a copy of Feynman and Hibbs?

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The discussion centers around the scarcity and high prices of a specific book, likely Feynman and Hibbs' work, which seems to have only had a single printing in 1965. Participants express disbelief at the exorbitant prices ranging from $300 to $1200 for copies. Some members confirm owning the book, noting its limited usefulness compared to other resources, such as Dyson's notes and Schulman's work, which cover path integration. There is a consensus that Dover Publications is expected to release a corrected and affordable edition, which has recently become available on Amazon for around $13.57. The conversation also touches on the presence of errata in the original text and the potential value of first editions, although opinions vary on their worth due to numerous typos. Suggestions for accessing the book include checking libraries and used bookstores, particularly near universities.
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I swear this book does not actually exist. Well, unless I'm willing to spend between $300 and $1200 (no, that's not a typo).

Am I correct in my suspicion that there was only a single printing of the text back in '65? Does anyone actually have a copy?
 
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I can't imagine that this won't be reprinted. The physics section at any bookstore seems to be about half Feynmaniana these days.
 
franznietzsche said:
I swear this book does not actually exist. Well, unless I'm willing to spend between $300 and $1200 (no, that's not a typo).

Am I correct in my suspicion that there was only a single printing of the text back in '65? Does anyone actually have a copy?

I do have a copy, and NO! it's not for sale! I had to order it from my local book store (Kroch's and Brentano's in Chicago, long gone) twenty years ago, and it cost me around $60 which I thought an arm and a leg back then. Except as an example of the great man's ipsissima verba it's not very useful. You'd do better with Dyson's early notes, which are now online.
 
franznietzsche said:
I swear this book does not actually exist. Well, unless I'm willing to spend between $300 and $1200 (no, that's not a typo).

Am I correct in my suspicion that there was only a single printing of the text back in '65? Does anyone actually have a copy?

I just checked on bookfinder.com, and there seem to be quite a few over-priced copies available.

I typed Hibbs into the Author field and path into the title field.
 
I had to photocopy it back in the early '90's when i wnated to get it. It wasn't too usefull and I found other books since then to learn path integration from.
 
I've used Shulman a couple of times (public library where I used to live had a copy - go figure!). It covers different applications of PI, but I didn't find it a good introduction. I still haven't found anything I like better than Raymond's Field Theory: a Modern Primer, which lives up to its name. It does do a lot of math in the process of explaining, but I think that's an advantage over the "memorize and use" approach of so many other textbooks.
 
I have a copy. You can have it for $5,000,000 dollars.
 
  • #10
I've actually read Feynman's original paper, and I find it to be a pretty solid introduction to the subject. I was also going to throw out Schulman because it is a very solid book.

I should imagine that Dover would republish Feynman/Hibbs, but they seem to be taking their precious time on it. I would also hope they'd reprint Baym in a few years, but again, that doesn't seem to be happening.
 
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  • #12
StatMechGuy said:
I would also hope they'd reprint Baym in a few years, but again, that doesn't seem to be happening.

Which Baym? Gordon Baym's Lectures on Quantum Mechanics is still in print.
 
  • #13
Daverz said:
Which Baym? Gordon Baym's Lectures on Quantum Mechanics is still in print.

For some reason I was under the impression that Gordon Baym's book was out of print. I guess Amazon begs to differ...oh well.

I actually sent an e-mail to Dover Publications asking about Feynman and Hibbs' book. Sending an e-mail through http://store.doverpublications.com/customercarecenter.html asking for this might help move them in the direction of publishing this stuff, which would be nice.
 
  • #15
The Dover edition of Feynman & Hibbs is now in stock at amazon.com, at the price of $13.57. :bugeye: It popped up in Amazon's "recommendations" for me when I visited them just now. It's at the link that physiker_192 posted above.
 
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  • #16
umm, since he was willing to offer $1200, maybe he wants the original printing. Anyways, what's so valuable about the first one? Did Richard Feynman sign all of them?
 
  • #17
There's no value to the original, especially given how many typos there are. At any rate, I did buy the new Dover edition since why not it was pretty cheap. You might as well for that price.
 

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