[Physics] Physics book recommendations for transition to PhD study

Question

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Now in the end of my MSc in physics I've been contemplating in enrolling in a Phd in theoretical physics. Before that I think I would do best to re-study some subjects. My question is then, what books should I follow for that? I'm thinking about getting a better understanding of classical mechanics and follow Goldstein's book and then use Griffiths' and Jackson's books for electromagnetism. Are these good books for a student who wants to have a deeper understanding of physics?

Answer 1

Goldstein's and Jackson's are the examples of widely used graduate level textbooks, however it should be used already in your MSc course. Griffith's in the other hand is widely used in physics undergraduate EM course.

I don't know the level of math and physics that you have, but probably it would be good to start studying Landau-Lifshitz's Course on Theoretical Physics. Keep in mind that the level of the book is advanced, hence the authors tend to omit some "obvious" intermediate steps, such that it would take "forever" to follow their derivation. The good side of the books is all the problems inside have solutions given by the authors.

You may also benefit from the consistency of the presentations due to they all written by the same authors.