The Books

My lecture notes are now all grown up and available as a series of books, published by Cambridge University Press. You may wonder why you should buy the books when the lecture notes are freely available. It's a good question. And it has good answers:

The books have loads more content.
And better explanations.
I now spell "Schwarzschild" correctly.
I convinced the publisher to sell the paperbacks at half the price of most other textbooks.
They smell nice.

So far there are four textbooks available: click on the images below to go to the dedicated page for each book.

Don't Just Take My Word For It...

This is what others said about the series.

"David Tong's lecture notes are the backbone of our society"-- Finite Physicist, Twitter

""This is theoretical physics “done right”. The author’s love of the subject and its history, as well as its results, shines through. The definitions and derivations are clean, but never dry. For students of modern physical science, these volumes will be a rich source of instruction, insight - and joy." -- Frank Wilczek, Nobel Laureate, MIT

"David Tong is one of those physicists who comes along only rarely. He unrelentingly dives into all fields of physics, recognizing the often-underappreciated unity of the body of knowledge that exists. He is a master of technical detail along with the essential underlying physical principles. In this series he covers much of the undergraduate and graduate curriculum with clarity and humor, and I often find myself looking up his books or using his efforts to teach better myself." -- Lisa Randall, Harvard

" This is a wonderful set of textbooks. A dynamic and engaging introduction to theoretical physics with a very modern emphasis." -- Juan Maldacena, Institute for Advanced Study

"David Tong's series brilliantly combines deep physical understanding with masterful teaching. Delivering a thorough, wide-ranging, and current view of physics, it effectively updates Landau and Lifshitz's renowned Course of Theoretical Physics. This series is highly recommended as both excellent course material and an essential resource for students and advanced researchers, and I am confident it will achieve classic status." -- Nathan Seiberg, Institute for Advanced Study

"The books in this Lecture Series are destined to become classics, I suspect, and be immensely popular among students and researchers alike. The writing is clear and accessible, the explanations understandable and impeccable, and the style is engaging, funny and witty. One cannot resist a reference to the authoritative and deeply insightful set of books by Landau and Lifshitz. This series, aimed at a broader audience, may well prove to be equally influential, establishing a ``theoretical minimum" to which all physicists, students and practitioners, would aspire. I can't wait for the other volumes to appear." -- Sandip Trivedi, Director Emeritus TIFR, India

" These books are an invaluable gift to physics students of all ages. It's probably impossible for a series of books to cover everything a physicist needs to know, but this is as close as you're going to get. All explained with David Tong's characteristic clarity and verve. I can't recommend them highly enough." -- Sean Carroll, Johns Hopkins University

" These volumes are brilliant gems, lovingly crafted in language that sparkles and enlightens. Moreover, the cross-referencing of topics as well as the prefiguring of advanced concepts allows students to appreciate the unity of theoretical physics in a way no individual textbook could. For the rest of us, the books rekindle the zing we felt when we first encountered these subjects, with numerous shiny new nuggets as a bonus. A Landau and Lifshitz for the 21st century, only more inviting and human this time." -- Rajesh Gopakumar, Director, ICTS, Bangalore