Physics for Scientists and Engineers Volume I, Extended Version

Regardless of what the engineering undergrads say, this textbook is great. Previously an engineering undergrad myself - turned physics, this is by far the best physics textbook i've come in contact with. Higher physics textbooks are usually very dry, but this book makes entry level physics fun to learn. The reason all of the engineering undergrads have a problem with this book is because they are used to plugging numbers into equations. If you seek to get an actual UNDERSTANDING of the concepts and wish to brush up on your calculus, this is an excellent book for you. If you don't, I wouldn't recommend this or any other physics textbook.

Unfortunately, more than half the intro students at university are not up to the calibre required by university. These are the type of students who wouldn't like a CALCULUS RALTED introductory to physics textbook (or course for that matter). If you are well versed in physics and calculus from highschool, you should find this book to be very good. It gives u proofs for everything. If you're into plugging formulas into numbers and just solving problems using simple algebra, I suggest you take a look at the WILSON BUFFA textbooks on COLLEGE PHYSICS. If you up to the task of tackling university, this book is very good.

An outstanding book! Although I've only read about half of it, I've been thoroughly impressed with each and every chapter. The authors don't just tell "what", they tell "why", the latter often constituting the greater part of any discussion. Every significant equation, concept, or what have you, is fully derived and explained, usually along with a brief history of each. Rich in theory, the content is engaging, and should please those with even the most insatiable curiousities about physics. What strikes me most, though, is the authors' obvious enjoyment of and devotion to the subject. It became pretty evident to me after just a few pages! I do, however, sympathize with other readers' criticisms of the end-of-the-chapter exercises; they are often far more difficult than any of the examples in the chapter, and on more than one occasion I've had to run screaming to my professor for help. A good working knowledge of calculus is absolutely essential to solving most of these problems. But I have to say, after solving nearly two hundred of them, my understanding of the subject has improved tremendously. In short, the problems themselves are excellent, despite being of a slightly higher caliber than the chapter prepares you for.I strongly recommend this book to those who desire a solid understanding of physics, as well as to those who enjoy studying physics just for the sake of studying physics. Though not perfect, it's an excellent guide to a most difficult subject.

I'm not suprised that so many angry readers (mostly 1st year undergrads, I suspect) wrote bad reviews about this book. Physics is hard. I know that is may seem like a cruel awakening from the sleepy years of high school, but it's true. The things that you really need to know in order to actually do things (do calculations, predict events, design things, etc.) require nit-picky attention to detail. This book provides just that. The information is presented in the best possible manner I can think of, and the writing is excellent. If you're planning to be a physics major, just wait until you move on to the higher level books. They'll seem like nightmares compared to this book. As a note, if you haven't taken Calculus (usally three semesters worth), this book will be very difficult for you. Make sure that you first take the Calculus! It will make the book fun to read. If you don't you'll probably write similar reviews to those previously written.

As a doctoral student studying Clinical Neuroscience, I have studied a lot of statistics and data analysis methods, and I wanted to learn more about physics. With a knowledge of math up through differential equations and the luxury of self-study time, I wanted a comprehensive and calculus-based introduction to physics text that I could learn from on my own, with plenty of examples. I orginally began studying Halliday-Resnick-Walker, which provides many excellent examples, but teaches physics in rather a "cookbook" fashion. Having now completed 6 chapters of text and odd-numbered exercises in Fishbane et al. 2nd ed. Extended, I would say that Fishbane et al. is more detailed, rigourous, and comprehensive; it can be challenging at times to understand some of the concepts presented and one needs to take some time and think deeply about what they mean, but that is the nature of science. Many of the exercises can be challenging, but once you figure them out and complete them, you feel that you really know something solid. Fishbane et al. came bundled with LOGAL's Physic's CD, which is absolutely outstanding as an interactive learning tool; the "experiments" with function parameters and the animation really bring the physics concepts and mathematics to life. I feel that Fishbane et al. teaches physics in a thorough and thought provoking manner. I only wish that they would have kept in all those derivations from the last edition.