Can you learn Lagrangian mechanics without calculus of variations?

[patrickd]

Does anyone know of a treatment of Lagrangian and/or Hamiltonian mechanics that would be accessible to someone who is (or was, about forty years ago) reasonably fluent in elementary calculus and Newtonian mechanics? I am less interested in a college textbook than in an overview a la Brian Greene on String Theory or Bruce A. Schumm on particle physics. Is there a level of understanding to be had short of mastering the calculus of variations?

 

[denisv]

It's not a book, but you might want to check out Susskind's lectures on classical mechanics. The video lectures are available on youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=6F0AA82DFCD08EF2