Which text books would you recommend?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around recommendations for essential textbooks in mathematics and physics. Participants share their personal insights on books that have significantly contributed to their understanding of various topics, despite acknowledging the general nature of the question.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant suggests that the question is too broad and recommends making it more specific to receive better answers.
  • Another participant expresses a desire for a variety of book recommendations across different topics, despite the generality of the question.
  • A participant proposes that if each contributor shares just one book, the discussion could be more manageable.
  • Several participants list their favorite textbooks, including Taylor's Classical Mechanics, Sakurai's Quantum Mechanics, Ross's Differential Equations, and Spivak's Calculus, noting their insights and value.
  • Another participant recommends Landau-Lifshitz volumes 1 and 2, along with Whittaker-Watson's Modern Analysis for advanced and basic levels, respectively.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree that the question is too broad, yet they still engage in sharing book recommendations. There is no consensus on a specific list of must-read textbooks, as multiple personal favorites are presented.

Contextual Notes

The discussion reflects a variety of perspectives on what constitutes essential reading, with no clear criteria established for the recommendations. The responses depend on individual experiences and interpretations of what is considered insightful.

Who May Find This Useful

Readers interested in mathematics and physics who are seeking diverse textbook recommendations for various levels of study.

Hunus
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For any mathematician or physicist, what textbooks do you consider a must read?

Also, what books do you remember reading that gave you great insight into a topic which you previously did not have?
 
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hi, and welcome to the forum. this is theoretically a good question, but from a practical standpoint its too general. please check the thread on recommended books, and then make a more precise question. you will get better answers. i know you don't mean it this way, but this question cannot be answered unless the answerer does more work on it than you yourself have done in asking it. that isn't workable. also read my who wants to be a math... thread for a huge list of recommended books.

best wishes
 
Thanks for the reply Mathwonk.

I know that this thread is very general, but I hope for replies with books on many different topics.

Also, I have read your How to be a Mathematician thread several times over.

I hoped for people to post just a few of the books that they really thought were great books regardless of the specific topic. I understand this is a very general question, but I intended for it to be, just to see what people had to say.
 
well maybe if each person just posts one book it could work.

I would post one but it would be repetitive.
 
It's hard to narrow it down but my three favorite textbooks (at this moment) are Taylor Classical Mechanics, Sakurai Quantum Mechanics and Ross Differential equations (this is a great LD diff eq book).

I found all of those insightful and good reads.
 
Spivak's calculus is a wonderful book.
 
Hunus said:
For any mathematician or physicist, what textbooks do you consider a must read?

At advanced level there can be many but at more basic level I would recommend landau-lifgarbagez volumes 1 and 2, and whittaker-watson modern analysis.
 

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