- Hardcover: 536 pages
- Publisher: Princeton University Press; illustrated edition edition (10 Mar 2003)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0691010196
- ISBN-13: 978-0691010199
- Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 16 x 4.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 618,848 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
Quantum Field Theory in a Nutshell
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Review
Zee's book is written in the colloquial style of a good blackboard lecture, with gems of wisdom and amusing but relevant anecdotes scattered throughout. Zee has an infectious enthusiasm and a remarkable talent for slicing through technical mumbo jumbo to arrive at the heart of a problem. Quantum Field Theory in a Nutshell is quite simply a triumph. I have not had this much fun with a physics book since reading The Feynman Lectures on Physics. . . . The purpose of Zee's book is not to turn students into experts--it is to make them fall in love with the subject. And Zee succeeds brilliantly. Moreover, there is nothing superficial about the depth of understanding or the choice of topics in Zee's book. The author speaks with the clarity and authority that come only from a leading practitioner in the field. . . . [I]t is for anyone who wishes to experience the sheer beauty and elegance of quantum field theory.
(Zvi Bern Physics Today )
(Zvi Bern Physics Today )
Review
Quantum field theory is an extraordinarily beautiful subject, but it can be an intimidating one. The profound and deeply physical concepts it embodies can get lost, to the beginner, amidst its technicalities. In this book, Zee imparts the wisdom of an experienced and remarkably creative practitioner in a user-friendly style. I wish something like it had been available when I was a student.
(Frank Wilczek, Massachusetts Institute of Technology )
(Frank Wilczek, Massachusetts Institute of Technology )
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
Quantum field theory arose out of our need to describe the ephemeral nature of life. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Quantum field theory arose out of our need to describe the ephemeral nature of life. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I wish more technical books could be written like this. Its emphasis is understanding, not getting bogged down in the calculations. An excellent book to get clear answers.
HOWEVER, be careful!!! If you are learning quantum field theory for the first time then you might learn perturbation theory either in terms the Hamiltonian picture or the path integral picture. This book takes the path integral picture and if you don't know anything about path integrals you might want to do some background reading into Feynman and Hibbs etc. Also, I you are learning the Hamiltonian perturbation then this book might confuse at first and won't aid your studies directly at first.
Let me say again, after reading this book you will really feel like you have learned without too much effort. It won't be such an uphill struggle as some books are (Peskin and Shroeder). If you don't mind starting with learning QFT in terms of path integrals (which is the fun way I think) then this is the book for you but if you are buying this to supplement a course at university then check first which picture you are going to learn about and maybe stick to that picture... at first.
(MSci student completing a project on Path Integrals)
HOWEVER, be careful!!! If you are learning quantum field theory for the first time then you might learn perturbation theory either in terms the Hamiltonian picture or the path integral picture. This book takes the path integral picture and if you don't know anything about path integrals you might want to do some background reading into Feynman and Hibbs etc. Also, I you are learning the Hamiltonian perturbation then this book might confuse at first and won't aid your studies directly at first.
Let me say again, after reading this book you will really feel like you have learned without too much effort. It won't be such an uphill struggle as some books are (Peskin and Shroeder). If you don't mind starting with learning QFT in terms of path integrals (which is the fun way I think) then this is the book for you but if you are buying this to supplement a course at university then check first which picture you are going to learn about and maybe stick to that picture... at first.
(MSci student completing a project on Path Integrals)
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I've studied Quantum Field Theory from a variety of texts, notably Srednicki, Peskin&Schroeder and Weinberg I & II (and my lecture notes from university). I firmly believe that QFT in a Nutshell is not suitable for learning (most of) the techniques and methods that were crucial in the development of QFT and its experimental applications.
There is, however, no other book that enables one to look back at what one has studied with a wide-angle lens to appreciate the foundations and consequences of these developments. I would personally recommend QFT in a Nutshell as a "review guide", encompassing all of the most important results and aspects in a simplified (but nonetheless complete) form. After a long study session I would often find myself reading the relevant section in 'Nutshell' to see what Professor Zee has to say on one topic or another. In addition to reviewing the material, more often than not I would find a deeply enlightening argument written in the author's trademark colloquial style.
Also, the book excels at introducing modern concepts relevant to students of QFT (such as its applications in solid state physics or the modern numerical techniques presented in section N of the book) at just the right level for future investigation through primary source material.
The only complaint I have about the book is that an insufficient number of references to primary sources is given for the main content of the book, in case an interested reader wishes to delve further into a particular technical problem or a phenomenological consequence. However, there are references in the footnotes every few pages about particularly difficult or interesting topics.
There is, however, no other book that enables one to look back at what one has studied with a wide-angle lens to appreciate the foundations and consequences of these developments. I would personally recommend QFT in a Nutshell as a "review guide", encompassing all of the most important results and aspects in a simplified (but nonetheless complete) form. After a long study session I would often find myself reading the relevant section in 'Nutshell' to see what Professor Zee has to say on one topic or another. In addition to reviewing the material, more often than not I would find a deeply enlightening argument written in the author's trademark colloquial style.
Also, the book excels at introducing modern concepts relevant to students of QFT (such as its applications in solid state physics or the modern numerical techniques presented in section N of the book) at just the right level for future investigation through primary source material.
The only complaint I have about the book is that an insufficient number of references to primary sources is given for the main content of the book, in case an interested reader wishes to delve further into a particular technical problem or a phenomenological consequence. However, there are references in the footnotes every few pages about particularly difficult or interesting topics.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The amazon.com listing for this text has many more reviews and should be visited if you are thinking about purchasing this book.
There are many modern textbooks on this subject and students tackling QFT for the first time often find difficulty in reading them. Zee is commonly recommended for students who are coming out of a good quantum mechanics introduction. The 'Nutshell' title does not imply that the material is lacking in rigour or breadth.
Those who find this book 'incomprehensible' probably do not have the necessary prerequisite knowledge and should be studying more elementary subjects to prepare for QFT.
There are many modern textbooks on this subject and students tackling QFT for the first time often find difficulty in reading them. Zee is commonly recommended for students who are coming out of a good quantum mechanics introduction. The 'Nutshell' title does not imply that the material is lacking in rigour or breadth.
Those who find this book 'incomprehensible' probably do not have the necessary prerequisite knowledge and should be studying more elementary subjects to prepare for QFT.
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