Customer Reviews:
 Non pedagogical attempt at an encyclopaedic review of E&M November 8, 2002
30 out of 38 found this review helpful
Professor Jackson's book on electromagnetic theory
(Classical Electrodynamics) serves as an attempt for
a comlete compendium on the subject of electromagnetism
but its usefullness as a graduate level text is dubious.
The book displays very little pedagogy and is more focused
on complete coverage and ad hoc use of specialized mathematical
techniques, than it is on thoughtful, clearly developed
exposition. The only apparent strategy Professor Jackson
had in writing this book, was to cover everything! The "clever student" or the "cookbook student" can find this
text an interesting puzzle. However the "thoughtful student",
or the "careful student" will find this book tedious, confusing
and even overwhelming. I am of the opinion that Professor
Jackson wrote this book for his colleagues and perhaps even for
himself, but not for his students. The book is more for show
(or perhaps more for reference) than it is for study. I have known many in the field (my own students, my own
professors and former colleagues) who have "payed homage" to
the text as remarkably complete and as remarkably (and
unnecessarily) difficult, but have known none who praise it
as a pedagogical tool. As a text book, I find it severely
lacking. Some people have questioned it's usefulness as
a text (one was a friend - a physicist from Cambridge) and
I have known many others (graduate students) complain about
it's pedantic style and lack of "student oriented" exposition.
Those who have praised it, normally refer to it as an excellent
reference source. There are some who, perhaps unfortunately,
hold the text in high regard simply because of it's level of
diffuculty. This is sad because there are many other (lesser
known) texts that cover the same material, but with much greater
clarity. Of course these other texts lack the compendium of
topics that this text contains.
 The Bible of Electromagnetics September 15, 2000
9 out of 11 found this review helpful
Those who have seen the book, know that it is good! Although not precisely at the level of beginners, Jackson gives a full introductory treatment before embarking on an extensive mission on electrodynamics. It is a classic, as the title suggests. Arguably, it is the Bible of Electromagnetic Theory, as some people say.
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