B. K. Ridley

A solid (if four decades old) account of the basics of physics from a senior academic. Almost certainly outdated now, some readers may still find it useful as a series of ten essays building up a picture of what underpins classical and quantum physics.

However, it is not really pitched at the general reader but at someone who already has an inkling of the language behind the physical sciences. It is not an easy read for someone at a lower level and the first year undergraduate or bright final show more year school student will now need a more recent text. show less

Near as I can tell, Ridley is a self-loathing physicist. In the first half, he can't stop referring to such things as faith, mysticism, spirituality, magic (especially magic), theology, limits of reductionism, science as a religion, and (worst of all) "scientism." The second half is relatively clean, but annoyances are sprinkled there too.

Very basic, short intro to concepts of modern fundamental physics.