Understanding Physics: Volume 1: Motion, Sound and Heat

If you can read English, buy this book. It is a lot of fun. It's full of useless information. It ends with a lucid explanation of Maxwell's demon, which is quite remarkable given the date of it's printing.

Although I took a full year of physics in college, I learned most of my physics from the three books in the Understanding Physics series by Isaac Asimov. As proof, I offer the fact that I scored a respectable 8 on the physics section of the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) that I took before starting the college physics class. My study of physics in preparation for the test began when I purchased and read the three books in the series. When I was in the physics class, I understood all of the ideas; the only part that presented any difficulty was applying calculus to the problems. Asimov has a knack for writing about science in a way that allows for the rapid and complete learning of the concepts. This book covers the basics of classical physics, as relativity is only mentioned in footnotes. Unlike many other authors, Asimov does not hesitate to use equations in his explanations. I commend him for this, as you cannot learn physics without equations and the temptation to avoid them was no doubt strong. If you want to learn the fundamentals of physics, the three-volume Understanding Physics series by Asimov is the best place to start.

Asimov actually explains and makes sense out of physics. I am Physics major, and Asimov explains about as well as anyone. This is way better and more accessible than that dumb Feinman lectures series. Asimov is a very gifted writer and thinker. Although I differ with him on alot of his conclusions about life and existence, pretty much anything he writes is good. A another Good Physics book is Einstein's "Evolution of Physics".

Asimov has used his writing skills to write a book that I can call a scientific masterpiece. This book not only explains basic and advanced physics but it also challenges the logic of scientists from earlier civilizations and shows their falacies. It is a diamond to any book collection.