Issac Asimov's Understanding Physics is an extensive three volume survey of the subject but it is not s formal textbook.
The copies that I have were published by George Allen and Unwin Ltd, London in 1966.
It is, rather, an informal, even anecdotal inquiry into this central branch of science. Its purpose is to communicate in a lively, readable manner the basic principles of physics; the author's chief tools are English language, of which he is a master, and his well established ability to transform even the most complicated concepts, into clear, precise prose. These volumes will enable the student to approach his official textbook with a new understanding and will offer those who turn ti physics from other disciplines, whether students or not, access the subject and proof that it can be made interesting and exciting.
The three volumes cover the major areas of physics.
Volume 1
Motion, Sound and Heat
This volume considers physics from an essentially Newtonian viewpoint. Beginning with the study of Newton's synthesis of the laws of motion and lets this lead him to the unifying laws of universal gravitation; to the great conservation laws of momentum, angular momentum and energy; to sound as oscillating motions of particles; and to heat as random motions of particles.
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Volume 2
Light, Magnetism and Electricity
This volume considers physics form the viewpoint that was central in the nineteenth century. The properties of light and colour explored, and light, as an electro-magnetic radiation, leads to a discussion of the fascinating aspects of the electric and magnetic fields and their manifold applications in the devices that make use of electric currents. Also included is an examination of the less familiar and more exotic realm of Einstein's relativity and Planck's quantum theories, which helped initiate the Second Scientific Revolution at the turn of the century.
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Volume 3
The Electron, Proton and Neutron
This volume considers the physics peculiar to the twentieth century and deals with the world of infinitesimally small. Beginning with the slow working out of the theory of atomism, Dr. Asimov proceeds to the discovery of the structure within the atom. The various aspects of subatomic physics from radioactivity to fission, from the laser to the hydrogen bomb, are explored; and the book concludes with a consideration of matters that agitate the frontiers of physics today: the elusive electron, the mysterious muon, and the puzzling multiplicity of baryons.
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