Introduction to the Basic Concepts of Modern Physics: Special Relativity, Quantum and Statistical Physics, by arlo Maria Becchi and Massimo D’Elia

This is the longest 150 page book you will never read.  It meets all of the qualifications of a “sleep aid” except for the fact that it is far too light to use to knock one’s self unconscious, though if you read this book you just may try it out anyway.  It is difficult to imagine how a book that would seemingly require advanced knowledge of number theory and differential equation could justifiably call itself introductory.  This book is the physics equivalent of calling Beowulf (in the original Old English) an “Introductory” text in literature.  In fact, this is a text that is only introductory in the sense that it could have been a lot more difficult, though it is hard to imagine how a book could less deserve its claimed title.

The only things that are introductory about this book is that it discusses three of the basic elements in modern Physics:  Special Relativity (not, it should be noted, General Relativity, which would have required another couple of hundred pages of terrible prose and obscenely difficult mathematical equations to get through), Quantum Physics (in a fairly simplified form, it must be admitted), and Statistical Physics (which is a consequence of the indeterminacy prevalent in quantum physics).  Three short appendices follow the main text, dealing with Quadrivectors, the Schrodinger Equation in a Central Potential, and Thymodynamics and Entropy.  The appendices are mercifully short, and the most interesting part of the text (other than the first chapter on Special Relativity, which at least has historical cache).

One does not know whether to laugh or cry when one reads text like the following, on pages VI and VII of the preface:  “In order to accomplish the aim of writing a text which is introductory and analytic at the same time, the inclusion of significant collections of problems associated with each chapter has been essential.  We have possibly tried to avoid mixing problems with text complements:  while moving some relevant topics to the exercise collection [which takes up about 1/5 or more of the book’s text] may be tempting in order to streamline the general presentation, it has the bad consequence of leading to excessively long exercises which dissuade the average student from trying to give an answer before looking at the suggested solution scheme.”  To this I can only aid, in order to accomplish the aim of writing a text which is introductory and analytic at the same time, it is necessary to show a great command of the English language and not succumb to the temptation of letting endless series of equations and jargon detract from an explanation of the material in the general presentation.  This book fails–and is a textbook example of terrible textbook writing.