Physics for Entertainment

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1. rramadassJul 2026
   Not the person you asked the question of;

   I thought everybody knew of this site especially Indians since it was started and is lovingly maintained by an Indian :-) A lot of hard work has gone into it with not just scanning of the books but also typesetting some of them in latex for better rendering and reading. The website author deserves all the credit/acclaim he can get.

   All of the books are hosted on internet archive which you can browse here - https://archive.org/details/mir-titles

   Many of the titles are also published in hard copy form by low-cost Indian publishers on Amazon India.

   Some recommendations which are not typical textbooks;

   1) Little Mathematics Library series - https://mirtitles.org/2024/05/11/little-mathematics-library-...

   2) Books by Lev Tarasov. Some of these books are structured as a dialogue and thus walks you through the conceptual process. Titles are on Calculus, Probability, Quantum Mechanics, Physics Q/A etc. All worth reading; some of them are latex remastered versions - https://mirtitles.org/?s=Tarasov

   3) Higher Math for Beginners(with Yaglom) and Elements of Applied Mathematics(with Myskis) by Zeldovich - https://mirtitles.org/?s=zeldovich

   4) Mathematical Handbook (two vols); Elementary Mathematics and Higher Mathematics by M.Vygodsky. - https://mirtitles.org/?s=vygodsky

   5) Handbook of Physics by Yavorsky and Detlaf - https://mirtitles.org/?s=Handbook+of+Physics

   6) Fundamentals of Physics by Ivanov - https://mirtitles.org/2018/04/21/fundamentals-of-physics-iva...

   7) Ever popular Science/Maths books by Yakov Perelman viz. Physics for Entertainment, Mathematics can be Fun etc. - https://mirtitles.org/?s=Yakov+Perelman

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2. rramadassJul 2026
   Some classic soviet-era physics books which one can use as a good supplement to the listed textbooks.

   1) Physics for Entertainment by Yakov Perelman (2 vols) - https://mirtitles.org/?s=physics+for+entertainment Great to motivate oneself and learn to think in physics terms.

   2) Fundamentals of Physics by B.N.Ivanov - https://mirtitles.org/2018/04/21/fundamentals-of-physics-iva... Nice overview which approaches physics "from atoms to matter".

   3) Physics for Everyone by Landau and Kitaigorodsky (4 vols) - https://mirtitles.org/?s=Physics+for+Everyone A nice overview of all the major domains in physics.

   4) General Methods for Solving Physics Problems by B.S.Belikov - https://mirtitles.org/2015/12/07/general-methods-for-solving... This is a great book which teaches you by walking through the solutions of various physics problems using a general methodological framework.

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3. rramadassDec 2025
   One of the best ways to learn to think Scientifically i.e. in terms of Physics/Chemistry/Mathematics/Biology is to start with the classic Soviet era books by Yakov Perelman - https://mirtitles.org/?s=yakov+perelman

   Specifically; start with the 2-vol Physics for Entertainment (the breadth of coverage is really good) followed by Mathematics can be Fun, Algebra can be Fun etc.

   Note: Do not be misled by the words "Entertainment"/"Fun" etc. in the title. As is typical of Soviet era books these are serious works with precise, succinct and focused topics quite unlike most current "pop science" books.

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4. rramadassDec 2024
   There is also Guesstimation 2.0 by the same authors which is a sequel to Guesstimation and is just as good.

   Also see Maths on the Back of an Envelope: Clever ways to (roughly) calculate anything. by Rob Eastaway - https://aperiodical.com/2019/11/review-maths-on-the-back-of-...

   Related is How to Read Numbers: A Guide to Statistics in the News (and Knowing When to Trust Them) by Tom Chivers and David Chivers - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_to_Read_Numbers

   Finally, the old Soviet books by Yakov Perelman (https://mirtitles.org/?s=Yakov+Perelman) named Physics for Entertainment, Mathematics for Fun etc. also fall under the same category and are a good read.

   Bonus: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back-of-the-envelope_calculati... Follow other links like "Guesstimate" from the "See also" section.

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5. rramadassOct 2024
   Fiction:

   1) The Sherlock Holmes Canon - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canon_of_Sherlock_Holmes

   My first exposure was through "The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes" and it made such a huge impression on me with its focus on the use of step-by-step logical reasoning to solving problems that in a sense it taught me to "think rationally" in real life. I then set about acquiring the complete canon and have read them all so many times that i can quote entire dialogues/passages from memory. The language used is also elegant and beautiful with lots of memorable phrases/quotes/quips etc. Every kid should be asked to read the complete canon and then discuss takeaways from them.

   2) Charles Dickens - Started with Oliver Twist, Great Expectations

   These books (read the unabridged versions) were my introduction to the "Human Condition/Human Values" faced by people from different economic strata. His books span different genres but always end with a positive note. The writing style is beautiful with a healthy dose of Melodrama, Humour, Vivid descriptions etc. which draw you in and keep you engaged. Here is a good essay on his narrative technique - https://www.lsj.org/literature/essays/dickens

   Non-Fiction:

   1) Physics for Entertainment by Yakov Perelman - You can get scans of all his and other Soviet authors books at - https://mirtitles.org/

   In those days (80s in India) American/British books were generally not available and too costly but Soviet books were easily available and very affordable. My dad bought me this 2-vol set and that motivated my lifelong interest in Science. An example: I was enamoured of the protagonist in "The Invisible Man" by H.G.Wells but Perelman uses it as a scientific case study and shows that instead of being a most powerful man (because he is invisible) he would be the most powerless/pathetic man. Read the book to find out why :-) It also kick-started my collection of Soviet Science books eg. "Science For Everyone" and "Little Mathematics Library" series. Teachers/Students should take a look at these books and use them productively in the classroom/self-study. They are concise, precise with no fluff and a high s/n ratio.

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6. yantramsMay 2024
   This one is new to me. I still have my copies of Physics for Entertainment and Mathematics can be fun by the same author - Yakov Perelman. I owe my superfast stereogram decoding skills ( < 2 seconds most of the times ) to him :)

   Here's an interesting tidbit from his wikipedia page - He is not related to the Russian mathematician Grigori Perelman, who was born in 1966 to a different Yakov Perelman. However, Grigori Perelman told The New Yorker that his father gave him Physics for Entertainment, and it inspired his interest in mathematics

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