This book was supposed to be a Christmas gift... I received it on time yesterday, but the book, new and never used, was missing the first 38 pages!!! I was hoping at least Amazon checked to see if the printing was OK before they ship it! At least open the cover and see if page 1 is there...

Since the Softcover book binding is perfect, I suspect all the books in this batch are printed with missing first 38 pages, therefore I asked for refund.

I never had a quality control problem with Amazon until this one but buyer beware...

Forget the textbook. Forget the lecture notes.

Read this book. As an EE undergraduate, I have had my fair share of teachers who struggle to teach the complex material in a coherent fashion. One of the courses that is the most difficult is that of electromagnetics, and that of Maxwell's Equations. Fliesch does an EXCELLENT job of explaining the core concepts, equation by equation. If you don't understand one aspect, it is all there for you to see and comprehend. Solutions and hints to all problems are online, along with comprehensive podcasts as well.

This boo single-handedly saved me in my E&M course.

Definitely a must get.

Most books of this type assume That you are already at least a novice in the subject and, ergo, skip any and all of the fundimental concepts. This book goes back to the very basic concepts. I would have to say that it is almost perfect! Some terms are still needed. If you need A Student's Guide to Maxwell's Equationsmore info on Vector analysis, vector calculas, or Maxwell; this is your book!

Richard Lee (Oz) Ozenbaugh
Consultant for magnetics and EMI filters
orichard_lee@hotmail.com

This book allowed me to get some really valuable visual conceptualizations of electro-magnetism. After having purchased many books on electromagnetism and Maxwell's Equations, I find for my entry level this book is the best of the lot. It is clear, simple and helpful. I value this so highly that of the many hundreds of books of all kinds that I have purchased from Amazon (including many very good books) this is the first time I have written a review. Yes, five stars for sure!!! My personal thanks go to author Daniel Fleisch.

This book allowed me to get some really valuable visual conceptualizations of electro-magnetism. After having purchased many books on electromagnetism and Maxwell's Equations, I find for my entry level this book is the best of the lot. It is clear, simple and helpful. I value this so highly that of the many hundreds of books of all kinds that I have purchased from Amazon (including many very good books) this is the first time I have written a review. Yes, five stars for sure!!! My personal thanks go to author Daniel Fleisch.

Fleisch's explanation of the vector operators is the most intuitive I've ever seen and his treatment of Maxwell's equations is concise, in the correct order (unlike many texts, which try to present things in historic order), and comprehensive. I especially benefitted from how he clearly distinguished between the two methods of thinking of flux. One being more physically accurate description, and the other being more mathematically useful. Every 3rd year physics student should have this book!

Fleisch's explanation of the vector operators is the most intuitive I've ever seen and his treatment of Maxwell's equations is concise, in the correct order (unlike many texts, which try to present things in historic order), and comprehensive. I especially benefitted from how he clearly distinguished between the two methods of thinking of flux. One being more physically accurate description, and the other being more mathematically useful. Every 3rd year physics student should have this book!

I'm taking an electromagnetics course where we are applying Maxwell's equations. I found Fleisch's book to provide much clearer explanations of the concepts and application of Maxwell's equations than my course text book, and it has been a big help for me in this class. Highly recommended.

I can only echo the praise that others have submitted regarding "A Student's Guide to Maxwell's Equations." My comments are targeted at how it looks on the Kindle Reader.

The text rendering seems crisp and readable throughout, though the imaging of the equations are sometimes too small that the subscripts are difficult to read. (Locations 126-31) The text can be scaled nicely through six choices, but the images of the equations do not.

Tables lack contrast. (Locations 179-182)

The first of many boxed question marks, [?], begin at locations 232-40 and continue. The author presents a problem at Locations 440-50 that reads somewhat like this, at the end of the first sentence, "... extends from spherical angle [?]1 to [?]2 and from [?]1 to [?]2." Obviously the Kindle reader cannot render the element and simply shows [?].

I suspect a student, not familiar with the subject, would favor the old-fashioned "physical" medium to the Kindle medium.

I can only echo the praise that others have submitted regarding "A Student's Guide to Maxwell's Equations." My comments are targeted at how it looks on the Kindle Reader.

The text rendering seems crisp and readable throughout, though the imaging of the equations are sometimes too small that the subscripts are difficult to read. (Locations 126-31) The text can be scaled nicely through six choices, but the images of the equations do not.

Tables lack contrast. (Locations 179-182)

The first of many boxed question marks, [?], begin at locations 232-40 and continue. The author presents a problem at Locations 440-50 that reads somewhat like this, at the end of the first sentence, "... extends from spherical angle [?]1 to [?]2 and from [?]1 to [?]2." Obviously the Kindle reader cannot render the element and simply shows [?].

I suspect a student, not familiar with the subject, would favor the old-fashioned "physical" medium to the Kindle medium.

For me this book is a great review. I took advantage of both the pod casts and problem solutions. I prefer this authors notations to many of the other EM texts I have read.

When I saw some positive reviews about this book online, I decided to buy it. The book arrived sooner and I started reading. So far, it has been a rewarding experience for me. The author gives physical meaning to terms in each equation in plain language. In addition, the explanations are mathematically non-confusing, but describe the reason behind each terms. I wish I had the book few years back when I was taking Physics and electromagnetic charaterization of materials class. As of now, it rekindles my interests again.

If you have any need or interest in Maxwell's equations you have to get this book. The explanations are easy to understand, the graphics are good, and there's just enough equations to get the point across.

I've already read it twice. By the end of the year I'll have read it again two more times probably.

It's so well presented and sensible that a person could imagine memorizing and fully understanding Maxwell's equations. Hey, makes you popular at parties. All you have to due is bone up on Greens theorem, and such, refresh your divergence and curl memory and this book becomes an easy read. It's a refreshing change over the normal textbook.

It's nice to cut through all the pesky details like...... modern technology, and just focus on the fundamentals.

Fleisch's Maxwell's Equations is the mother of all "wish I had this book when I was taking ..." books. Too many books are written with the aim, as one author put it in his preface, "to make the reader think that the author is superman". Now, I appreciate elegantly written physics and math books as much as anyone, but particularly egregious in textbooks, it seems that too often the author is out to show how smart he is. Fleisch, in teaching EM, probably observed the need for a book like this Student's Guide, and for this subject, which requires a first footing in basic concepts before the appreciation of the equations can begin, this book is a gem.

As an undergrad physics major, my toughest challenge was electromagnetism; many of my non-physics major friends are surprised that it's not quantum that was the hardest, or general relativity. Nope, it was good ol' E&M.

I am now just starting my PhD physics courses, so I was on Amazon looking for supplements to Jackson's book on electrodynamics. I came across this book and had thought it would have been a great help in my undergrad course, but probably too elementary for the upcoming PhD course...but when I noticed Fleisch had podcasts for every section in every chapter, I became intrigued. After reading the positive reviews, looking at some excerpts, and sampling a few of the podcasts, I knew this was no ordinary book on electromagnetism: Fleisch might be the first guy in history to say, "Maybe E&M is presented to students a bit too strongly at first; let's slow it down and break it apart piece by piece so the student can actually understand what's going on instead of fumbling in the dark."

I went over most of this book before classes began this semester and I truly feel it solidified the basics enough that I confidently face the graduate text.

In short: I recommend it.

A new category of Pulitzer Prizes now must be established so that its first recipient can be Daniel Fleisch, who deserves it for the impressively clear mathematical exposition presented in this book.

This "Guide to Maxwell's Equations" alone proves that there is no need for mathematical explanations to be enigmatic and obscure to the point of being incomprehensible simply because the concepts are abstract and difficult. What this exposition suggests is that it takes one kind of talent to understand abstract mathematics and an entirely different type to be able to explain complex and abstract ideas, simply.

And as is always the case with great minds like Fleisch's, they begin simply: by explaining clearly the function of each mathematical term in an equation, and then showing how they all go together to explain larger more abstract concepts.

If there is a clearer explanation of complex mathematics than this, I have yet to see it.

The bonus of the book of course is not just that it allows one to understand perhaps the most important four equations known to man (even more important than Einstein's E=MC^2, since it is derivable directly from Maxwell's Equations) but that all of this understanding is transferable to other mathematical contexts.

Now when I am reading other complex mathematics -- especially where the surface, or line integrals are used. Or when I forget the conceptual difference between the curl and the divergent, I just pull out this little book, review the concepts in context and then transfer that conceptual understanding to the new problem. I did not even need to consult the website to get a pretty much full understanding of the equations. But once I did, it just nailed down all remaining doubts.

What an incredible find! Fifty stars

I've studied quite a few textbooks (Jackson, Griffith, etc) and supplementary material ("Div, Grad, Curl,...", Feynman Lectures, etc) on classical electromagnetism over the years and I can say without a doubt that for clarity and explanatory power, this book is in a class by itself! The folks that choose the course materials for university physics curriculums need to be made aware of the existence and quality of this booklet. It's a shame there aren't more out there of this caliber. It isn't a replacement for the usual textbooks on the subject. But, it definitely is a much needed supplement to any of them since it lays out the foundational concepts and mathematical framework in a much more understandable and memorable (!) manner than any textbook has ever done; at least, any that I'm aware of.

dh

The first class in Electricity and Magnetism is often difficult for undergraduates. The course material brings together diverse concepts in Physics and Mathematics in a way that can challenge some students. This book is a useful primer for undergraduates. The book focuses on the mechanics of applying the four equations attributed to Maxwell. There is little or no discussion of the engineering or physics involved in applying these equations. The author presents each equation in a separate chapter and shows the different forms, e.g. integral, differential, in which they are written. The step by step identification of each and every term and operation can get boring but it provides a good explanation for the new student. It is a quick read and can be a useful reference during a class. The problems at the end of each chapter are good ones and I particularly liked the approach of providing solutions to all problems on a website.

I took a graduate course in electromagnetics, and there was so much material that I sometimes had a feeling I had lost site of the basics. I have completed only the first section in the book, on Guass's law for electric charge, but that is enough to get a flavor of the whole book. The material is well organized, easy to understand without being too simplified. A unique feature, which I have never seen before, is the printing of the fundamental equations in large type, with arrows with text explanations for each and every part of the symbol. I have found in my math and physics studies it is essential to frequently ask oneself "what exactly does this equation mean?" It is easy to get wrapped up in or bogged down in symbolism and forget what exactly is being talked about. Many textbooks help to foster this disconnect by being overly cryptic and making statements like "it obviously follows that ... " while skipping over the three pages of calculations needed to make the statement "obvious"! The author of "A Students Guide" never does this, taking care to explain in detail what each part of the equation means both mathematically and physically. Finally, I like the problem sets at the end of each section. You can work the problems, then find the completely worked out solutions on the web. If you get stuck part way through, the website even provides hints to keep you going. By the way, if you are serious about learning the material, ALWAYS work through the problem sets. This is the only way to really get a grasp on the material. I am looking forward to going through the rest of the book!

Students studying electromagnetism for the first time usually find Maxwell's equations (and the subject as a whole) rather mysterious. This little book will go a long way to help them understand, appreciate and remember the four great equations. The audio podcasts on the Cambridge website will help to reinforce the message. I sincerely that this will start a trend of similar books on other topics such as fluid mechaincs, quantum mechanics and signal processing.

Like most practicing engineers, my understanding of EM is based more on experience rather than rigorous mathematical theory.
I'm sure many of us can remember being exposed to vector calculus as applied to EM as undergraduates, but regarding it as an academic hurdle to be overcome, rather than something that might actually be useful later in a professional career.
The situation is worsened latterly by the evolution of EM modeling tools, which do all the donkey work for you - further reducing the requirement for a sound understanding of Maxwell.
But one day, you run into a problem that needs a bit more than the stock solutions - what now ? You rush to your text books, and you than discover that you have forgotten everything from your college days, and without your friendly old professor on hand, everything looks like gobbledegook !
I always been amazed that such an important subject is always presented so poorly, even in well regarded text books. In my opinion, a book should convey understanding - not just regurgitate facts.
Fleisch does an excellent job of conveying the concepts of div,grad and curl. The influence of the late Prof Kraus is clearly evident in his style (ref Electomagnetics, Kraus). Fleisch uses analogy to help the reader get an intuitive feel for the problem before diving into the maths. Personally, I fully endorse this approach - Fleisch is also diligent enough to highlight the limits of the analogous approach, which should keep the purists happy.
My only minor criticism of this book has already been stated by another reviewer, a tabular summary of equations covered in each chapter would be helpful. Also having the word 'student' in the title means I have to keep it stowed in my draw when not in use to avoid embarrassment ;)
So just own up - you're just like me - you never really understood Maxwell, and have been afraid to ask ! Get this book and sort your EM life out.

The best book clearly I have read in the last year; it combines simple calculus and EM physics into a readable book. Because I already knew Stokes theory, the divergence theorem and all the other math, I was able to read this book in about a week. You get the solutions to the problems on the website and great podcasts also. I would like to see more from this author on other subjects like quantum physics in this format; the technology is out there to provide podcasts, and maybe even do videos of some experiments to clarify the results.

This is the best overview of Maxwell's equations I have ever come across. I cannot praise it enough for it's brilliant clarity.

If you have taken or are taking an electromagnetism or vector calculus course, you may have run into the classic problem of not being able to see the forest through the trees. These courses can be very dense, and anything that can help give a sense of perspective can be very helpful. Daniel Fleisch's book is just such a tool. It provides a thorough overview of Maxwell's equations with stunning clarity. Each equation is broken down into it's component parts, and the physical significance of each part is thoroughly explained. In this way, not only are the core concepts of Maxwell's equations made clear, but many concepts from vector calculus are also brought out in crystal clarity, (I got much more out of this book than I did the often recommended "Div, Grad, Curl"). It will help you see the "forest through the trees".

Also of note are the problem sets at the end of each chapter. The problems work very well to reinforce the concepts from each chapter. They are not overly difficult or too simplistic. They are geared specifically at reinforcing concepts. The author has also posted on his web site a set of solutions for every problem, and each of the problems is thoroughly worked out with clear explanations. This is a HUGE plus for anyone picking up this book for self-study.

In my mind this book is a perfect compliment to an electromagnetism or a vector calculus class (or as a review after having taken such a class). Although the writing is clear enough that one could probably get a lot even without having had a vector calculus class, ideally one would have had at least some minimal exposure to vector calculus. It's not that you need to be an expert in vector calculus; all the concepts are explained very well in the book and the actual calculus you need for solving the problems is minimal, but in my mind the book will work best for those with some exposure to vector calculus.

My only suggestion to the author would be to include a table summarizing Maxwell's equations, (and perhaps a table of some basic constants). Other than that, this is a perfect book. It is THE standard by which other self-study books ought to be compared.


[Side note to author: I believe the solution to problem 2.3 for surfaces 'A' and 'B' should include a factor of 1/2 since the area is a triangle; I did not see a feedback form on the website, or I would have posted there.]

This is the best overview of Maxwell's equations I have ever come across. I cannot praise it enough for it's brilliant clarity.

I'm an electrical engineer, and took electromagnetism almost 20 years ago. How I passed that class I'll never know. I learned to push numbers well enough, but I certainly didn't come away with a clear understanding of electromagnetism. It is the classic case of not being able to see the forest through the trees. I've often wanted to revist electromagnetism to gain that high level view that eluded me in my EM class, but every text I picked up over the years was either far to simplistic, or so dense I was not likely to gain that high level view I was seeking.

But then along comes Daniel Fleish's book and everything changed. It provides a thorough overview of Maxwell's equations with stunning clarity. Each equation is broken down into it's component parts, and the physical significance of each part is thoroughly explained. In this way, not only are the core concepts of Maxwell's equations made clear, but many concepts from vector calculus are also brought out in crystal clarity, (I got much more out of this book than I did the often recommended "Div, Grad, Curl").

Also of note are the problem sets at the end of each chapter. The problems work very well to reinforce the concepts from each chapter. They are not overly difficult or too simplistic. They are geared specifically at reinforcing concepts. The author has also posted on his web site a set of solutions for every problem, and each of the problems is thoroughly worked out with clear explanations. This is a HUGE plus for anyone picking up this book for self-study.

In my mind this book is a perfect compliment to an electromagnetism or a vector calculus class (for which this book would provide an excellent set of practical uses of vector calculus), or, as in my case, a review after having taken such a class. Although the writing is clear enough that one could probably get a lot even without having had a vector calculus class, ideally one would have had at least some minimal exposure to vector calculus. It's not that you need to be an expert in vector calculus; all the concepts are explained very well in the book and the actual calculus you need for solving the problems is minimal, but in my mind the book will work best for those with some exposure to vector calculus.

My only suggestion to the author would be to include a table summarizing Maxwell's equations, and a table of basic constants. Other than that, this is a perfect book. It is THE standard by which other self-study books ought to be compared.

Maxwell's equations represent a comprehensive and descriptive condensation of (once believed to be disparate) electromagnetic phenomena, into a gloriously concise set of self-consistent (albeit arcane) mathematical statements. Daniel Fleisch has lucidly crafted explanations both of Maxwell's equations that describe EM phenomena, while simultaneously employing the latter to motivate, justify, and describe the vector calculus of the former with great clarity--the perfect synthesis. The author addresses chapters to each of the four equations in turn: (1) Gauss's law for electric fields, (2) Gauss's law for magnetic fields, (3) Faraday's law, and (4) the Ampere-Maxwell law; describing each first in its integral then differential forms, with brief expansion of the utilities for each form. The final chapter concludes elaborating the true nature of light as part of the greater EM spectrum, culminating in motivation of the wave equation and determination of c, the speed of light. I wish I had a shelf full of similar pithy, fun-reading, and revelatory books on other like topics!