---
product_id: 208681436
title: "The Theoretical Minimum: What You Need to Know to Start Doing Physics"
price: "911 DH"
currency: MAD
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 12
url: https://www.desertcart.ma/products/208681436-the-theoretical-minimum-what-you-need-to-know-to-start
store_origin: MA
region: Morocco
---

# The Theoretical Minimum: What You Need to Know to Start Doing Physics

**Price:** 911 DH
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

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- **What is this?** The Theoretical Minimum: What You Need to Know to Start Doing Physics
- **How much does it cost?** 911 DH with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.ma](https://www.desertcart.ma/products/208681436-the-theoretical-minimum-what-you-need-to-know-to-start)

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## Description

Buy The Theoretical Minimum: What You Need to Know to Start Doing Physics Illustrated by Hrabovsky, George, Hrabovsky, George, Susskind, Leonard, Susskind, Leonard (ISBN: 9780465075683) from desertcart's Book Store. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.

Review: An excellent readable account of all that a student of physics ... - An excellent readable account of all that a student of physics would expect from Leonard Susskind, an eminent physicist. The author explains and gives credit of the title of his book to the famous Russian physicist, Lev Landau. Theoretical Minimum "in Russia meant everything a student needed to know to work under Landau himself". The mathematical content gradually becomes demanding and assumes a level that is beyond the first year undergraduate level. Susskind, however, is most adept at explaining new mathematical concepts, and deals with partial derivatives and axiomatic treatment of mechanics which would greatly benefit a second year university student of single honours in physics. Susskind finally introduces Lagrangian and Hamilton's Principle of Least Action, and demonstrates how Newton's Laws of Motion could be derived from concepts of energy and action, and explains how the Law of Conservation of Energy could be derived from the Lagrangian of a system. In the final chapters of the book, Susskind introduces Poisson Brackets and prepares ground for his next book, Quantum Mechanics - The Theoretical Minimum.
Review: The best Physics book ever. No question. - I have read, or tried to read, many physics books at all levels. This is simply the best. It is a distillation of Prof. Susskind's lectures on YouTube, which are equally superb. It is aimed at the serious amateur physicist who can cope with a little math but maybe struggles over giant leaps of intellect. It starts at the very beginning and works methodically through the ideas of phase-space and the Lagrangian/Hamiltonian concepts of energy, conservation laws, symmetry and equations of motion. It finishes with an exploration of the Electric and Magnetic fields from the point of view of the Action principle. Actually, it's a bit of a cliff-hanger. The book is basically classical physics and doesn't cover Quantum Mechanics or Relativity, String theory, Black holes, 'Branes, Entanglement and all the other juicy bits we've heard off but don't quite understand. I know the author posted more lectures on all these topics and there's a hint in the preface that this is Volume 1 of several to come. Personally, I can't wait.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | 414,342 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) 396 in Teaching Adult Education 403 in Popular Science Physics 4,054 in Scientific, Technical & Medical |
| Customer reviews | 4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars (1,034) |
| Dimensions  | 14.1 x 2.16 x 20.83 cm |
| Edition  | Illustrated |
| Grade level  | 8 and up |
| ISBN-10  | 0465075681 |
| ISBN-13  | 978-0465075683 |
| Item weight  | 1.05 kg |
| Language  | English |
| Part of series  | The Theoretical Minimum |
| Print length  | 256 pages |
| Publication date  | 22 April 2014 |
| Publisher  | Basic Books |
| Reading age  | 13 years and up |

## Images

![The Theoretical Minimum: What You Need to Know to Start Doing Physics - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61PvzEV45BL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ An excellent readable account of all that a student of physics ...
*by A***I on 9 January 2016*

An excellent readable account of all that a student of physics would expect from Leonard Susskind, an eminent physicist. The author explains and gives credit of the title of his book to the famous Russian physicist, Lev Landau. Theoretical Minimum "in Russia meant everything a student needed to know to work under Landau himself". The mathematical content gradually becomes demanding and assumes a level that is beyond the first year undergraduate level. Susskind, however, is most adept at explaining new mathematical concepts, and deals with partial derivatives and axiomatic treatment of mechanics which would greatly benefit a second year university student of single honours in physics. Susskind finally introduces Lagrangian and Hamilton's Principle of Least Action, and demonstrates how Newton's Laws of Motion could be derived from concepts of energy and action, and explains how the Law of Conservation of Energy could be derived from the Lagrangian of a system. In the final chapters of the book, Susskind introduces Poisson Brackets and prepares ground for his next book, Quantum Mechanics - The Theoretical Minimum.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The best Physics book ever. No question.
*by M***Y on 4 August 2013*

I have read, or tried to read, many physics books at all levels. This is simply the best. It is a distillation of Prof. Susskind's lectures on YouTube, which are equally superb. It is aimed at the serious amateur physicist who can cope with a little math but maybe struggles over giant leaps of intellect. It starts at the very beginning and works methodically through the ideas of phase-space and the Lagrangian/Hamiltonian concepts of energy, conservation laws, symmetry and equations of motion. It finishes with an exploration of the Electric and Magnetic fields from the point of view of the Action principle. Actually, it's a bit of a cliff-hanger. The book is basically classical physics and doesn't cover Quantum Mechanics or Relativity, String theory, Black holes, 'Branes, Entanglement and all the other juicy bits we've heard off but don't quite understand. I know the author posted more lectures on all these topics and there's a hint in the preface that this is Volume 1 of several to come. Personally, I can't wait.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Only 4 distinct books, not 5!
*by K***R on 20 November 2025*

This is listed as 1 of a 5 book The Theoretical Minimum series which I purchased as a whole. In fact there are only 4 distinct books: this one (What You Need to Know to Start Doing Physics) and the book Classical Mechanics are actually ALTERNATIVE TITLES OF THE SAME BOOK! The actual content of this and the other books in the series is fine. It's just the misleading description of there being 5 books that is objectionable.

## Frequently Bought Together

- The Theoretical Minimum: What You Need to Know to Start Doing Physics
- Quantum Mechanics: The Theoretical Minimum
- Special Relativity and Classical Field Theory: The Theoretical Minimum

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*Product available on Desertcart Morocco*
*Store origin: MA*
*Last updated: 2026-03-06*