R. I. G. Hughes

Good, but not great

This book was recommended to me as a very nice introduction to quantum mechanics for the mathematically-inclined. It looks like I'll be awaiting the publication of the new edition of Sudbery's text instead, because, at least for me, this book didn't quite end up filling the bill. It's true that, unlike so many popular introductions to quantum theory, Hughes' book doesn't shy away from mathematics. The mathematics for me was fine (although I wonder what a person who'd had "only high school algebra" would make of the derivatives and integrals that show up unannounced). It's in trying to make sense of what the mathematics is supposed to be modelling that I felt that this book lost a star. (How much of the problem is due to the author's exposition and how much is due to my shortcomings as a reader is something I'm not prepared to judge.)

Again, this is a good book, but I have no idea where people are coming from when they write "this is not only the best book ever written, but also the best book that ever will be written".… (plus d'informations)