Physics Books reviews from Reddit
Summary
We analyzed 149 Reddit reviews across 11 subreddits and 38 posts to rank the best Physics Books brands recommended by redditors, including communities like r/Physics, r/PhysicsStudents, r/AskPhysics, r/cormacmccarthy, r/suggestmeabook. Top-rated brands include Richard Feynman (4.8/5), Young and Freedman (4.2/5), Leonard Susskind (4.4/5).
Stats
Reviews149
Subreddits11
Posts38
Brands74
Products70
149 reviews from
and
By Brand
/By Product
#1
Richard Feynman
4.8
(19)
"Also I found very helpful the Feynman lectures on physics."
"Six Easy Pieces - Richard Feynman (introduces you to general big ideas of physics, overall recommend checking out Feynman's lectures on YouTube)"
"QED by Richard Feynman. It's what got me to fall in love with physics."
"Feyman's Lectures on Physics."
"Might I suggest Feynman's "Lectures on Physics"? It's a classic and covers a wide range of topics at an accessible yet deep level."
"The Feynman Lectures are always worth the time."
"Feynman's university lectures were collected and edited: The Feynman Lectures on Physics by Richard Feynman."
"Six easy pieces by richard feynman is a really good book for getting a basic understanding of physics."
"Feynman's QED, Hawkings Brief History of Time, Kip Thorne's Black Holes and Time Warps."
"And I will second the Feynman lectures on physics."
#2
Young and Freedman
4.2
(10)
"The two I'm using for my first year is Young and Freedman University Physics."
"University Physics w/ Modern Physics Y&F will take you from start to finish."
"A lot of people recommend University Physics by Young and Freedman. This is a very comprehensive book, with a bunch of extra details crammed in, that covers most of the basic areas of physics."
"University physics by freedman generally works for most places but it might be different for you"
"University Physics by Young and Freedman is well-regarded to learn from."
"University Physics with Modern Physics by Young & Freedman"
"Is probably the most common first year physics textbook."
"Young and Freedman's University Phys with Modern Phys is recommended to us at 1st year uni."
"You could read the Young and Freedman university physics, it's clear and easy to follow."
"Young Freedman University Physics."
#3
Leonard Susskind
4.4
(7)
"I would suggest Leonard susskind theoretical minimum series or Sean Carroll "biggest idea in universe"."
"I highly recommend Susskind's Theoretical Minimum series. They're a pleasure to read and highly informative."
"For a more technical review check the Theoretical Minimum books by Lenny Susskind, they are pure gold."
"I recommend The Theoretical Minimum by Leonard Susskind"
"The Black Hole Wars by Leonard Susskind is good as is nearly anything by Brian Greene."
"I would also recommend Susskind and Hravobsky's Theoretical Minimum (classical mechanics)."
""Theoretical minimum " By leonard susskind is better to do once u have got exposure to physics."
#4
David J. Griffiths
4.1
(7)
"Introduction to Electrodynamics by David J. Griffiths is an excellent book for learning E&M."
"Sakurai is more demanding but very rewarding. If you have absolutely no prior knowledge I’d recommend something like Griffiths and maybe then jumping into Sakurai when you got the basics down."
"If you can make your way through that, move on to Griffiths for electro dynamics."
"Electrodynamics by Griffiths."
"In undergrad, for electromagnetism, I used Griffiths."
"Griffith's is the starting place for QM. It is a good textbook that will lead you through the broad strokes of Quantum mechanics."
"And Introduction to Electrodynamics by David J. Griffiths."
#5
Halliday, Resnick, and Walker
4.7
(6)
"Halliday and Resnick's Fundamentals of Physics is a fantastic textbook."
"Fundamentals of physics - David Halliday (probably the most used physics textbook out there for engineers and people who are overall beginning) Has tons of problems and solutions to them."
"Fundamentals of Physics by Halliday and Resnick. Incredible book for introductory physics, and avoids too advanced of math so it’s a very good entry point."
"Resnick & Halliday the illustrations are incredible! Includes everything from units, classical mechanics to optics and nuclear physics."
"Fundamentals of Physics by Halliday, Resnick, and Walker might not be the easiest to learn from, but it works as a pretty good reference book."
"I find Fundamentals of Physics by Halliday, Resnick, and Walker to be a better reference once the material is learned."
#6
Stephen Hawking
4.8
(5)
"Are both great."
"Feynman's QED, Hawkings Brief History of Time, Kip Thorne's Black Holes and Time Warps."
"Just gonna recommend what I loved, in no particular order."
"Just gonna recommend what I loved, in no particular order."
"Hawking - The Universe in a Nutshell is about the only book I own on the subject."
#7
Sean Carroll
5.0
(4)
"I like Sean Carrolls book Spacetime and Geometry"
"His recent Something Deeply Hidden is a great layman's intro to quantum mechanics."
"General Relativity: Carroll."
"He is a very entertaining writer, poetic, and deep."
#8
Jackson
4.5
(4)
"You will love the jackson electrodynamics book."
"Jackson is also good; it goes on to more advanced stuff than Griffiths, and is probably harder to start with."
"Jackson electrodynamics."
#9
Serway
4.3
(4)
"Well, a book that is accessible for ones who just got out of high school is Serway's Physics for Scientists and Engineers."
"It's the textbook used by the introductory physics class at my university."
"Physics for Scientists and Engineers is a good review."
#10
Brian Greene
4.7
(3)
"Are both great."
"Just gonna recommend what I loved, in no particular order."
"Since your “starting” tour physics journey you might want to ease into it with Brian Greene"
#11
Max Tegmark
4.3
(3)
"Max Tegmark - Our Mathematical Universe"
"Max Tegmark's Our Mathematical Universe gives an entry-level guide to theoretical physics."
"I can still recommend it in good conscience."
#12
Knight
4.3
(3)
"Knight-Physics for scientists and engineers a strategic approach."
"I use Knight A strategic Approach and love it."
"I think Knight is also Algebra based but not sure."
#13
Halliday and Resnick
4.3
(3)
"I think this book is very good 😊"
"Also recommend Holliday and Resnick"
"Halliday and Resnick's physics textbook will serve you well."
#14
Randall D. Knight
5.0
(2)
"I used Physics for Scientists and Engineers by Randall D. Knight."
"For me it was Knight's physics for scientists and engineers 3rd edition."
#15
Douglas Giancoli
4.5
(2)
"Physics for scientists and engineers and Douglas giancoli. I am a junior majoring in physics, I am a TA at my college for physics and for calculus. I have personally read this book from cover to cover."
"Algebra based - Giancoli"
#16
Halliday, Resnick, Walker
4.5
(2)
"The book isn't too heavy on the maths and provides an intuitive understanding."
"Start with a general physics textbook, either Fundamentals of Physics (Halliday, Resnick, Walker) or University Physics (Young and Freedman)."
#17
Brian Cox
4.5
(2)
"Just gonna recommend what I loved, in no particular order."
"Black Holes (Brian Cox). Very little maths, lots of diagrams."
#18
Giancoli
4.5
(2)
"Clear examples, well organized, lots of questions."
"I used Giancoli in AP physics and really wished I had a copy."
#19
Steven Weinberg
4.0
(2)
"I liked "dreams of a final theory" by Weinberg."
"Weinberg's 'Dreams of a Final Theory' or Lisa Randall's 'Knocking on Heaven's Door' could be good options."
#20
Roger Penrose
4.0
(2)
"Not a textbook, but it does have a lot of mathematics. The Road to Reality, Roger Penrose."
"It sits in that border of 'heavy pop-sci' and 'overly chatty textbook'."
#21
Kleppner and Kolenkow
4.0
(2)
"If you already went through AP physics... I recommend 'An Introduction to Mechanics' by Kleppner and Kolenkow."
"I quite liked Kleppner and Kolenkow."
#22
Halliday, Resnick, and Krane
4.0
(2)
"Halliday Resnick Krane"
"Resnick Halliday krane then read the feynman lectures in physics you will then have a very good foundation of physics"
#23
I.E. Irodov
3.5
(2)
"I believe General problems in Physics by I.E. Irodov is a great calc based introductory book"
"Irodov is not basic by any stretch of the imagination"
#24
Riley, Hobson and Bence
5.0
(1)
"Is widely used in many physics undergraduate programs."
#25
Etkina, Van Huevelen
5.0
(1)
"College Physics by Etkina, Van Huevelen"
#26
A. N. Matveev
5.0
(1)
"There is a great series of General Physics books by Matveev."
#27
Physics Trial and Error
5.0
(1)
"Lists for undergraduate and graduate textbooks."
#28
Knight Physics for Scientists and Engineers
5.0
(1)
"Physics for Scientists and Engineers is a banger."
#29
Halliday and Resnick Physics Textbook
5.0
(1)
"Intro physics? halliday and resnick."
#30
Adam Becker
5.0
(1)
"Splendid book."
#31
HC Verma
5.0
(1)
#32
Simon Singh
5.0
(1)
"Just gonna recommend what I loved, in no particular order."
#33
Landau & Lifshitz
5.0
(1)
"These provide a complete coverage of Graduate level physics."
#34
Alonso Finn
5.0
(1)
"Is my personal favorite."
#35
Rey d inverno
5.0
(1)
"It’s intuitive, easy to read and great for an introduction to relativity"
#36
Walter Lewin
5.0
(1)
"Just gonna recommend what I loved, in no particular order."
#37
Bill Bryson
5.0
(1)
"Its just brilliant, got me obsessed with science since I was 14."
#38
Resnick, Halliday and Krane
5.0
(1)
"That's the way"
#39
John Stoddard
4.0
(1)
"I really liked John Stoddard's books, and they are on Kindle Unlimited if you have that"
#40
Crawford
4.0
(1)
"Two books on waves that are more general include Crawford (Bekeley Physics Course)."
#41
Cindy Schwarz
4.0
(1)
"If you’re looking for a basic introduction to particle physics, check out “A Tour of the Subatomic Zoo” by Cindy Schwarz."
#42
John Wheeler
4.0
(1)
"A Journey Through Spacetime and Gravity, John Wheeler"
#43
Serway and Jewett
4.0
(1)
"I would maybe start with a survey textbook like Serway and Jewett. It will give you some mechanics, electromagnetism, thermo, and special relativity."
#44
Taylor
4.0
(1)
"And Taylor for classical mechanics."
#45
Paul Hewitt
4.0
(1)
"Only concepts - Paul Hewitt"
#46
University Physics, Serway, Haliday Resnick
4.0
(1)
"Calculus based - University Physics, Serway, Haliday Resnick"
#47
Sakurai and Napolitano
4.0
(1)
"For quantum mechanics, I used Sakurai & Napolitano. Not sure how it compares to others, but it seems good and has most of the topics you'd want in the first two ish QM courses"
#48
Elmore and Heald
4.0
(1)
"Elmore & Heald (Dover reprint). Lyle Roelofs in his 2001 AJP comparative review of waves textbooks thought highly of both."
#49
Focardi
4.0
(1)
"I don't know if there is an English translation... but I'm loving it: it explains every little step in detail."
#50
David Bohm
4.0
(1)
"Read some David bohm books."
#51
Halliday
4.0
(1)
"I personally like Halliday's text because it incorporates a lot of real world examples."
#52
Jim Baggott
4.0
(1)
"As a corrective I would suggest Jim Baggott's Farewell to Reality."
#53
Anthony Rizzi
4.0
(1)
"If you're interested in a novel approach to understanding physics, check out Anthony Rizzi's books."
#54
Tipler
4.0
(1)
"Tipler is a good broad overview of the first few years of an undergraduate degree."
#55
Fundamentals of Physics
4.0
(1)
"I suggest Fundamentals of Physics Extended, 10th Edition."
#56
College Physics Textbook
4.0
(1)
"Literally any college physics textbook."
#57
Stewart Calculus
4.0
(1)
"I would recommend stewart Calculus."
#58
Susan Rigetti Reading List
4.0
(1)
"[This reading list](https://www.susanrigetti.com/physics) is a good place to start."
#59
Various Physics Books
4.0
(1)
"One suggestion would be to read *The Physics of Superheros*, and *The Physics of Star Trek*."
#60
In Search of Schrodinger’s Cat
4.0
(1)
"For quantum I would suggest *In Search of Schrodinger’s Cat*."
#61
Halliday, Resnick and Krane Physics 5th Edition
4.0
(1)
"He shares his own experience and recommends Halliday, Resnick and Krane “Physics”, 5th edition."
#62
Seven Brief Lessons On Physics
4.0
(1)
"Seven Brief Lessons On Physics is a great book in my opinion."
#63
Carlo Rovelli Various Works
4.0
(1)
"All of Carlo rovellis works."
#64
Brian Greene The Elegant Universe
4.0
(1)
"Feynman Lectures, !!!The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene."
#65
Resnick Introduction to Special Relativity
4.0
(1)
"*Introduction to Special Relativity* - Resnick."
#66
Griffiths Unknown
4.0
(1)
"Griffiths."
#67
Serway & Jewitt First-Year Textbook
4.0
(1)
"The first-year text I used (Serway & Jewitt) might have covered differential and integral calculus."
#68
Benjamin Lebatut
4.0
(1)
"When We Cease to Understand the World by Benjamin Lebatut is more about the figures than the science, but it includes both."
#69
Carlo Rovelli
4.0
(1)
"Carlo Rovelli's 'Reality is Not What it Seems' was a great read on the build up to loop quantum gravity."
#70
Landau and Lifshitz
4.0
(1)
"Landau and lifshitz's classical mechanics book would be good for you."
#71
Mary L. Boas
4.0
(1)
"Good imo and helps cover broad range of basic math in physics"
#72
Purcell
4.0
(1)
"It provides a very rigorous, comprehensive study of E & M."
#73
Neil deGrasse Tyson
4.0
(1)
#74
Messiah
3.0
(1)
"Apparently Messiah is also pretty nice but I never read that."
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