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Classical Electrodynamics
This edition refines and improves the first edition. It treats the present experimental limits on the mass of photon and the status of linear superposition, and introduces many other innovations.
832 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1962
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews
April 28, 2015
A soul crushing technical manual written by a sadist that has served as the right of passage for physics PhDs since the dawn of time. Every single one of my professors studied this book, and every single one of them hates it with a passion. While I've no intention of becoming a professor, I still wonder, will my colleagues also inflict this torture on their students? Will the cycle be perpetuated ad infinitum? How many more aspiring physicists will we leave battered and bruised at the gates of insanity before switching to a textbook that seeks to make electrodynamics clear and intuitive rather than a mind-numbing trip through the seventh circle of hell?
November 29, 2015
A lazy, beach read.
November 3, 2018
It's a good textbook. But it is also the densest, most boring thing I had to endure in my undergraduate life. For a first approach it is definitely heavy. Also heavy on the backpack since I think i got scoliosis from carrying about this book from campus to my house and back.
I hated it with a passion.
Both professors that assigned me this book died in 2014. Great guys, not even this book can spoil the good memories i have of them. Martín, Rubén, i hope you are proud of me now for finishing this awful book, wherever you are.
I hated it with a passion.
Both professors that assigned me this book died in 2014. Great guys, not even this book can spoil the good memories i have of them. Martín, Rubén, i hope you are proud of me now for finishing this awful book, wherever you are.
May 2, 2018
Reviewing this book would be like writing a review for my parents on parenting skills. Reading this book will break you and then remake you.
April 17, 2008
the graduate text everyone uses, but you should learn the basics somewhere else.
unless you are very mathematically sophisticated (and much smarter than i am), you won't be able to teach yourself from this text. he skips a lot of steps in his proofs and assumes you've seen it before or can figure it out. i imagine a good lecturer teaching from this book would do great, though.
unless you are very mathematically sophisticated (and much smarter than i am), you won't be able to teach yourself from this text. he skips a lot of steps in his proofs and assumes you've seen it before or can figure it out. i imagine a good lecturer teaching from this book would do great, though.
July 7, 2020
This was my second favorite course in graduate school. It was a two semester course and I found the problems exciting and challenging. I remember working a waveguide problem that took 17 pages. I think the people who write negative comments about this book are missing a chance to view the beauty of mathematical physics. BTW my favorite course in grad school was quantum field theory.
January 11, 2019
Riveting page turner
March 28, 2019
This is the bible textbook of electrodynamics that makes most people run from this religion (field).
July 29, 2018
The is _the book_ for any graduate student in physics who plans to do any form of electromagnetism whatsoever. It does not matter what scale, what frequency, what field, what focus. If you are doing anything remotely related to electromagnetics (statics, dynamics, quasistatics, light-matter interactions, doesn't matter), you have to read this book. If not from cover to cover, then at least the relevant fundamentals. Very dense, but also impossibly enlightening. If you haven't properly engaged with Jackson at the graduate level, are you even a physicist?
July 13, 2007
The first half is really good, but once you get past electrostatics, he starts assuming too much. Derivations which fill three chalk boards and contain one or two very subtle steps are presented in four lines where the subtleties are assumed to be obvious.
April 17, 2009
Terrifying.
December 23, 2015
Killing physics students. One at a time.
September 13, 2025
I want to say that I'm glad to see the partial adoption of the metric system in the first half of the final edition of Jackson's timeless ED text.
Here is some reading advice:
Yes, it is a graduate text and most (of those who encounter Jackson) have probably had a course or few on the matter in their undergrad studies. Still, I feel it's important to say: Please don't make this your first textbook in Electrodynamics, preferably not even the second - also not the last. I suggest carefully reading Purcell's "Electricity and magnetism" first to grasp the nuanced ideas he presents, followed by skimming "Introduction to Electordynamics" by Griffiths to get your hand used to some core mathematical techniques (make sure to enjoy the footnotes, such pedagogical awareness is a true rarity). Only then should you approach Jackson to study it in detail. Once finished digesting Jackson's ED, I suggest going back to Purcell once again, paying attention to the qualitatively presented core ideas with the benefit of mathematical insight presented by Jackson.
Once survived, Jackson is a must have piece of any physicst's personal collection.
Here is some reading advice:
Yes, it is a graduate text and most (of those who encounter Jackson) have probably had a course or few on the matter in their undergrad studies. Still, I feel it's important to say: Please don't make this your first textbook in Electrodynamics, preferably not even the second - also not the last. I suggest carefully reading Purcell's "Electricity and magnetism" first to grasp the nuanced ideas he presents, followed by skimming "Introduction to Electordynamics" by Griffiths to get your hand used to some core mathematical techniques (make sure to enjoy the footnotes, such pedagogical awareness is a true rarity). Only then should you approach Jackson to study it in detail. Once finished digesting Jackson's ED, I suggest going back to Purcell once again, paying attention to the qualitatively presented core ideas with the benefit of mathematical insight presented by Jackson.
Once survived, Jackson is a must have piece of any physicst's personal collection.
February 18, 2025
El que mucho abarca poco aprieta.. gran libro para la electrodinamica
January 4, 2026
hard-ass shit without enough information. no one ever understands this bullshit.
May 7, 2024
Now that I'm done with it, I can say that I've gained an appreciation for it. But the road to that point was arduous and horrific at times. Not sure the "journey before destination" thing counts as much in this case.
April 13, 2021
Jackson's "classic" book, Classical Electrodynamics, is not among the best textbooks for this subject. In fact, there are a lot of ways in which it is a bad book because it fails repeatedly at its primary purpose, which is to teach a subject. In some ways it doesn't fail, it just doesn't do as good a job as dozens of other books. And the reason it sometimes performs so poorly at its primary purpose is because it is also designed with a secondary purpose in mind, which at times supplants its primary purpose.
John Jackson comes from the oldschool of physics, and I respect the oldschool of physics tremendously. It's how I was taught physics. His view was that physics used to be a calling, it was a subject of study for the select few, the gifted, the high-powered intellects who were born for science, who could devote themselves to it fully. He was not interested in making the world of hard science a soft place for soft intellects, for casual visitors, where the hand must be held every step of the way, and delicate people with delicate minds would be given access to labs and computers and resources they would be utterly incapable of making scientific advancements with. And his book, in his own words, is a stalwart devotee of that mindset. I think this is the right way to think about physics. I appreciate the book for that reason. John was right to act as gatekeeper. Gatekeeping was the secondary purpose of this book. But his gatekeeping sometimes got in the way of the textbook's utility. This is why its primary purpose, education, is not always so well realized. And there are many gifted and intelligent physicists out there who find the book disappointing.
For everything the book does poorly, there is something it does well, and for which it should be commended. It's a great reference book. If you've learned any part of EM properly, that is, you've learned it somewhere else first, then Jackson's book makes a really good resource for reminding you of the general mathematical formulations and low-level ideas, or expanding on certain concepts that may not have been treated elsewhere. It dives deep into corners of EM you'll probably never explore again, and it goes hard at them.
I used its section on Cerenkov radiation and a few related parts for my PhD research. I referenced it at the first job I had out of school. I even return to it occasionally now, usually for the same reason I return to most of my physics textbooks: to admire them, flip through them, read chunks of them, float down memory river, and sink into a world of beautiful science, away from the nauseating world of ideologically fueled ideas completely divorced from the kind of thinking that makes science the superior enterprise.
Another good thing about this and certain other textbooks is that if you've used them in school you will have little patience for someone who complains about being "forced" to read anything they were "forced" to read in school.
John Jackson comes from the oldschool of physics, and I respect the oldschool of physics tremendously. It's how I was taught physics. His view was that physics used to be a calling, it was a subject of study for the select few, the gifted, the high-powered intellects who were born for science, who could devote themselves to it fully. He was not interested in making the world of hard science a soft place for soft intellects, for casual visitors, where the hand must be held every step of the way, and delicate people with delicate minds would be given access to labs and computers and resources they would be utterly incapable of making scientific advancements with. And his book, in his own words, is a stalwart devotee of that mindset. I think this is the right way to think about physics. I appreciate the book for that reason. John was right to act as gatekeeper. Gatekeeping was the secondary purpose of this book. But his gatekeeping sometimes got in the way of the textbook's utility. This is why its primary purpose, education, is not always so well realized. And there are many gifted and intelligent physicists out there who find the book disappointing.
For everything the book does poorly, there is something it does well, and for which it should be commended. It's a great reference book. If you've learned any part of EM properly, that is, you've learned it somewhere else first, then Jackson's book makes a really good resource for reminding you of the general mathematical formulations and low-level ideas, or expanding on certain concepts that may not have been treated elsewhere. It dives deep into corners of EM you'll probably never explore again, and it goes hard at them.
I used its section on Cerenkov radiation and a few related parts for my PhD research. I referenced it at the first job I had out of school. I even return to it occasionally now, usually for the same reason I return to most of my physics textbooks: to admire them, flip through them, read chunks of them, float down memory river, and sink into a world of beautiful science, away from the nauseating world of ideologically fueled ideas completely divorced from the kind of thinking that makes science the superior enterprise.
Another good thing about this and certain other textbooks is that if you've used them in school you will have little patience for someone who complains about being "forced" to read anything they were "forced" to read in school.
November 21, 2012
The classic book that every graduate EM professor forces on their students because they had to suffer through it when they were in grad school. At the end of the day though, I am happy for that. It has the right level of sophistication without drowning too much of the physics in math and also covers the breadth of knowledge expected out of graduate students and eventually PhDs in physics. Bonus for us kids is that the majority of the 3rd edition is now in SI units, yay! I'm sure I along with many of my superiors will eventually be annoyed with that but it makes the transition from Griffiths a little smoother.
July 23, 2015
Standard textbook in graduate electrodynamics - boot camp for first year students. Actually a course in mathematical physics more than electromagnetism, many different mathematical techniques are presented throughout. Unnecessarily complex presentation. Use of non-standard CGS unit system adds a touch of sadism to an already difficult text; this is the only place in a physics career where you will see it.
November 15, 2012
This is the standard text upon which a graduate student's love of the subject will be crushed. A formidable book, with little elegance. Which is all the more tragic for the special elegance of the subject. A. O. Barut is highly recommended over this tome for electrodynamics (if you have a choice in the matter). Waves and Green's functions are probably better treated by a dozen or so authors.
January 23, 2021
Quite possibly one of the finest physics textbooks ever written (at least 20 C). Succinct and to the point. No blathering, like some substitutes. And not as hard as it’s reputation. But what do I know? I’m a mathematician. My two other (classical, as opposed to quantum) favorites are Goldstein’s Classical Mechanics and the wonderful (undergraduate text) Spacetime Physics.
June 12, 2007
There has got to be a better EM text out there. Why is this one the standard?
December 20, 2007
this book is pain.
March 8, 2010
Even though this is the standard, I could not get past the style. I prefer Griffith's, even though I am sure Jackson is much more comprehensive.
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February 4, 2013Of all of the graduate-level physics books, I have heard the most horror stories about this one. Now it is my turn to see how many sleepless nights result!
April 15, 2020
If anyone can solve all the exercises in this book, that person must be God.
August 28, 2021
Covers all of the key elements of electrodynamics in a clear manner without avoiding the complexities of the topic.
It is a good standard for a graduate course and I continued to use it throughout my PhD so it worked out to be good value. Many of my other graduate texts just weren't useful at the PhD level.
I am shocked to see comments indicating this has been used in undergraduate courses. Those professors must not have an understanding of how to teach as this is completely inappropriate for an undergraduate audience.
It is a good standard for a graduate course and I continued to use it throughout my PhD so it worked out to be good value. Many of my other graduate texts just weren't useful at the PhD level.
I am shocked to see comments indicating this has been used in undergraduate courses. Those professors must not have an understanding of how to teach as this is completely inappropriate for an undergraduate audience.
June 11, 2019
A modern day messiah for Advanced Undergraduate and Graduate level courses on the subject, this book is boring, yet challenging and not for the same reasons.
This book lacks the physical insight compared to its contemporary alternatives and is rather difficult to follow because it leaves almost everything up to the reader.
The problems on the other hand are devastatingly difficult and provide quite the interesting, yet heartbreaking challenge to the ones attempting them.
This book lacks the physical insight compared to its contemporary alternatives and is rather difficult to follow because it leaves almost everything up to the reader.
The problems on the other hand are devastatingly difficult and provide quite the interesting, yet heartbreaking challenge to the ones attempting them.
January 29, 2025
Got assigned this in undergrad for theoretical electrodynamics. Years later, now that I passed that course and many others which allowed me to develop some intuition it is a great reference when you want to look stuff up and not read too much.
Back then it was too dense and I stared at single pages for hours to make sense of them.
Back then it was too dense and I stared at single pages for hours to make sense of them.
December 11, 2022
Dense but insightful treated of Classical Electromagnetism. Practice problems are good and contribute to deeper understanding. I wish that it was 2 (or 3) volumes so that author could further flesh many other interesting topics.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews