Introduction to Classical Mechanics With Problems and Solutions David Morin Cambridge University Press

After ten years of writing, and after nine years of using successive versions in Physics 16, my classical mechanics textbook is now in the hands of the publisher (Cambridge University Press). It should be available in hardcover in bookstores by December '07. The title is "Introduction to Classical Mechanics, With Problems and Solutions." It is listed on Amazon.com (do a search for: David Morin, classical mechanics) as available for pre-order. And considering what many new books cost nowadays, I'm happy to say that the price is only about $80.

The book contains 250 problems (with included solutions) in addition to all the examples in the text, 350 exercises (without included solutions - for homework assignments), 600 figures, and 50 limericks. There are various things that make this book different from other classical mechanics books, but the most obvious is the number (and range of difficulty) of worked problems. I've always thought that doing problems is the best way to learn, so if you've been searching for a supply to puzzle over, this should keep you busy for a while! This webpage contains a few chapters of the book (not quite the final version, but close). Further information can be found here.

The Preface to the book (contained in the above webpage) gives a description of the intended audience. But in a nutshell: I wrote the book for honors freshman mechanics classes. However, it will also work well in sophomore/junior-level mechanics classes. If the more challenging exercises are chosen for homework assignments, there is certainly no issue about the level of the book being high enough (take a look at some of the problems, and you'll see what I mean). The only issue is that the book might not contain certain topics normally covered in such a class. But a few supplements can easily round things out. At any rate, even if the book doesn't work as the primary text for a given course, it can serve as a fantastic companion "problem book," considering that roughly half of it consists of worked problems.

If you know of any students or teachers who might be interested in the book, please spread the word. With all the worked examples and crazy problems (and limericks!), you really can't go wrong.

David Morin
November '07