physics

I don't like this book very much. As my first contact with Solid State Physics it proved, above all, disorganized. Sometimes you have to reread a paragraph (or a whole section) because the explanation to the beginning is in the end of it. I also felt a serious lack of physical intuition over the phenomena at stake. Sometimes two (would be) comparable graphics were side by side with totally different scales and looks, rendering the comparison difficult. Maybe as a reference it could be used, mostly because of the many tables encountered throughout it. But they are present in other (better) books too... As a comparison, I liked Ashcroft & Mermin's "Solid State Physics" a lot more. I am a student of Physics.

I used this book in a Senior-level Solid State course, and believe it is OK, but not as great as Thermal Physics by Kittel. Though the homework problems at the end of the chapter are the same level of difficulty, i.e., easy.

His proofs are a bit lacking on clarity and there really arent many of them, so you might want Ashcroft & Mermin instead if you like to see them.

However, the course I took wasnt big on the math, and was more conceptual, and here Kittel does things simply enough for you to learn the material and make a good grade.

But if this is your research area, you probably wont like this book.

It covers more stuff than the other books I read. But there are too many conclusions without clear explanations. It's not a good book for the newcomers in this field. It's tough to read. It may help you get something new if you've already studied SS. I think Ashcroft&Mermin and Ibach&Luth's books are much much better.