Classic Science Books

This list is for more "meaty" math and science books. For easier reading, see the Motivational Math and Science Books list.

James Newman "The World of Mathematics"

A four volume collection of classic and original math source documents. It's large, but easy to read piecemeal: just find something in the table of contents which sounds interesting and enjoy that article for a while.

Euclid's Elements

The definitive work on Geometry and Logic. Amazingly it remains as relevant today as it was over 2000 years ago.

This website enhances the books with interactive geometry widgets and links to commentary: http://aleph0.clarku.edu/~djoyce/java/elements/elements.html

Archimedes "The Sand Reckoner"

1700 years before Copernicus and Columbus, Archimedes casually mentions as accepted facts that the sun is the center of the universe and the earth is round. Then he goes on to do some fascinating math.

Richard Feynmann "Six Easy Pieces"

This contains the six least technical chapters from the "Lectures on Physics". Excellent reading by itself, and a good introduction to get a taste of what the larger work contains.

Richard Feynmann "Lectures on Physics"

This is one of those rare textbooks which actually is a classic. 3 volumes of college level physics course material. It would be a complete physics course, but it does not include any practice problems.

(If anyone knows of a source for practice problems to go along with this book, please let me know.)

Blaise Pascal "On the Arithmetic Triangle"

The math is not difficult, and familiarity with Pascal's triangle will make probability and statistics much easier. It has enormous applications in those fields, and it is always a good example to keep in mind while studying those things.

Richard A. Muller Physics for Future Presidents

What is really important to know about physics and science in our daily lives? That is what Professor Muller teaches, either in book form or webcast media.