User:Pratik.mallya/books

Having gone through a (supposedly) broad-based undergraduate education, I have had the (mis)fortune of having taken courses in subjects widely differing from my major (Computer Science). Here, I shall list the books that I believe are gems in their respective field; the criteria for selection has been my discretion alone. In particular, I looked for books where:
 * 1) less words conveyed more meaning
 * 2) Clear explanations, especially motivation and definitions
 * 3) author was convinced that the subject written about is beautiful, and was trying to convey that feeling to others

I think that the last reason is extremely important; any subject is interesting if you deal with the most challenging problems it has to offer. Although I believe that each one of us ultimately should learn/work in only that area that makes us happy, it is also important to appreciate that others feel the same feeling about their work as well.

Another important reason for compiling this list has been the fact that in today's world, the ease with which one can publish has lead to the appearance of a multitude of books on every imaginable topic/subtopic. Understandably, a single person cannot be expected to read all of them. He cannot even be expected to read all the good ones (a painful realization that came to me after a long time). This list is to help those desiring a clear understanding in any of the fields mentioned, perhaps not in the quickest time possible, but in the most enjoyable and elegant way possible.

I invite others who may be viewing this page to contribute. However, please note that this is NOT a compendium of 'Useful' books to pass any exams. Also, please contribute sparingly and thoughtfully: my aim is to help others who want to get a thorough understanding of the fundamentals with the least amount of pain. Also, the list will be restricted to scientific/mathematical books only.

(note that this is a work in progress, and is currently just started).

Mathematics

 * 1) Lecture Notes on Elementary Topology and Geometry by I.M Singer and J.A Thorpe - A nice introduction to the mentioned topics.
 * 2)  Algebra by Michael Artin- perhaps one of the best introductions; very elegant.
 * 3)  Topics in Algebra by I.N Herstein- Standard textbook; I used it as reference along with Artin.

Physics
A Beautiful book; must read for every mathematician and physicist.
 * 1) The Variational Principles of Mechanics by Cornelius Lanczos (1970) Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0-8020-1743-6.

Electrical Engineering

 * 1) Principles of Electric Machines and Power Electronics by Paresh C Sen, John Wiley.
 * One of the only books that will introduce the basic concepts behind the design of electric machines in an elegant and consistent way. Highly recommended as an introductory book.
 * 1) Modern Control Systems by Richard C. Dorf and Robert H. Bishop, Pearson education.
 * I believe this book is quite populary used; the only book on control systems that I understood properly.

Mechanical Engineering

 * 1) An Introduction to Mechanics of Solids by Stephen H. Crandall et al., McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York, (1959)
 * A beautiful and thorough introduction. Especially notable for the careful use of mathematics and approximations.