Recommendation for rigorous intro books to mechanics and E&M

[Elvis 123456789]

Hey guys I'm a sophomore in college currently taking physics 2(intro E&M), Multivariable calculus, and Differential Equations. I was hoping some of you guys could recommend some good books for intro mechanics and E&M. I'm currently using University Physics by Young in my E&M class, and I used that book for my last semester physics 1 class also; this book is too wordy, not rigorous enough, and a bit too easy in my opinion. Also it is ginormous.

I've looked around and found that the two best intro E&M books are probably Intro to "Electrodynamics by Griffiths" and "E&M by Purcell and Morin". For mechanics I've read that "Intro to Mechanics by Morin" , "Classical Mechanics by Taylor", and "Intro to Mechanics by Klepnner and Kolenkow" are all great books. I read about a lot of other physics books as well, but most seemed to be at the same level of rigor as Young's book.

Which do you guys believe is suitable for an eager student who is up for a challenge? Also, do you guys believe that the two E&M books I mentioned are appropriate to learn from while taking Multivariable calculus concurrently?

 

[Andreol263]

I would recommend Griffith only if in your course in multivariable calculus have vector calculus in it, because Classic E.M is simply vectorial calculus and i REALLY recommend you to learn something about PDEs too..

 

[Elvis 123456789]

I would recommend Griffith only if in your course in multivariable calculus have vector calculus in it, because Classic E.M is simply vectorial calculus and i REALLY recommend you to learn something about PDEs too..

Yes my calculus course has been formalizing everything in terms of vectors. Are the PDEs something that you believe a beginning student can learn while working through the book or something they must have had prior to starting?

 

[beamie564]

I would strongly recommend Griffiths for EM theory. He clearly explains the concepts, you just can't get bored.. For mechanics Kleppner is quite good. The problems in this book are generally quite hard, but it'll gradually raise your level too.. Both of these books require a rigorous understanding of calculus. Why don't you see if you could borrow these books from somewhere for a week or two and then assess them, that's what I usually do.

 

[Elvis 123456789]

I would strongly recommend Griffiths for EM theory. He clearly explains the concepts, you just can't get bored.. For mechanics Kleppner is quite good. The problems in this book are generally quite hard, but it'll gradually raise your level too.. Both of these books require a rigorous understanding of calculus. Why don't you see if you could borrow these books from somewhere for a week or two and then assess them, that's what I usually do.

my understanding of single variable calculUs is pretty solid. I'm just starting to learn multivariable/vector calculUs, though it's not that much of a step up from single variable. So do you not recommend the books by Morin and Taylor, or do you feel that they're too advanced for my level?

 

[beamie564]

I haven't gone through Morin page by page. I've only looked at the problems in the book, some of which were quite hard( back then I thought it would be too much for me to cope with). About Taylor, I have no idea. I've never read it... Again I suggest that you borrow these books from a library, go through them and see which one suits to your level.. All these books are pretty good, so you won't make a mistake getting anyone of them.