Quantum Field Theory

I've used three different QFT books, and this books stands out, at least in some ways. The theory at the beginning of the book is especially good, as it's treatment of creation and annihilation operators is sufficiently general. By contrast, Peskin and Schroeder introduce these operators with the Klein Gordon Equation, which is not general enough because particles only satisfy the KG equation when they are on shell, and free particles. Despite formulating these operators for one special case only, they are used throughout the book. Srednicki does not make this mistake, and his introduction of ladder operators is appropriate for all theories it is used for in the book.Further, Srednicki is very well laid out, and each chapter makes sense where it is. Even if you disagree with some of the chapter placement, the book is written in a modular way, so it's pretty easy to mix and match material. (Comparing it to P&S again, P&S is not written in either a logically sound way nor is it modular). Path integrals are introduced earlier, which I believe is the easier way to learn how to derive Feynman rules. The book also anticipates renormalization from the beginning, so it's not a huge surprise when it finally happens.However, the books main scalar theory of choice is phi^3, which is an uncommon theory in other textbooks/classes. Because of this, it's not always the best reference, since most classes expect you to understand phi^4 instead, so homework assignments will be closer to Phi^4. So when it's time to get your hands dirty and really work something out, it is the case (at least for me) that a different book is in order. Of course, if your professor wants to stick close to the book, or if you are studying on your own, neither of these are a problem.Finally, the homework problems are actually pretty good. They're short enough to be reasonable (unlike some other textbooks) but at the same time they are interesting and cover a lot of material. As mentioned by another reviewer, there is a field redefinition problem that is exceptionally good.

I was at Caltech 1984-86 in Phd. theoretical physics program and they were still using Bjorken & Drell and then Ramond for the final quarter - I fell behind when we hit chapter 8 renormalization never caught up and to my regret dropped out and became a professional high limit poker player. Every few years I would buy another QFT text - I tried them all (Peskin & Schroeder, Ryder, kaku, Weinberg, Itzykson & Zuber, Hatfield, Zee)- learn a little but still never felt confortable with the subject. Then I discovered Prof. Srednicki's book on the internet and realized this is the book I have been waiting for. The subject is presented logically and coherently from a theorist point of view.Renormalization, path integrals etc. are all treated from the beginning with a toy phi-cubed theory. What other field theory book actually shows you the double taylor expansion as in 9.11 page 60 and then clearly explains all the symmetry factors and numerical factors that lead to the final feynman diagrams.The best part of the book is the problems - they are neither trivial nor research projects - so far I have worked almost every problem in part 1 (scalar fields)- and they are all instructive and doable. I particularly liked problem 10.5 on field redefinition - when you solve this one you know you understand the material on feynman diagrams and scattering amplitudes.The treatment of scalar fields followed by spinor fields and then gauge fields enables one to learn the subject and gain confidence without overwhelming you with all the technical details and indices at once.The only other book that compares with this one are Weinberg's which I would recommend tackling after Srednicki. I would also recommend Zee's nutshell book for those like myself who read QFT books for fun.

Quantum Field Theory by Mark Srednicki is a true gem. He posts a (beta)pdf of the text on his website so you can see for yourself. However, In the words of John Baez: "nothing beats sitting in a cafe with a friend, notebooks open, and working together on a regular basis." So get the book, work through the problems, and (as much as possible) discuss them with a buddy over coffee. Cheers to good physics.

If you have the match and the physics and want to know about Quantum Fields then you need to read this book. But be forewarned you need to have the background or be self taught as I am to understand the book.

Srednicki's book seems like an obvious next step after reading much of Ryder's book Quantum Field Theory, especially since both books employ the Feynman integral approach to quantum field theory. One topic that is addressed by Srednicki that many QTF books ignore or gloss over is that of the dotted and undotted spinor notation. Srednicki's treatment of dotted and undotted spinors is also made more understandable by first reading Ryder's treatment of this topic. An understanding of dotted and undotted spinors is particularly useful if you want to read advanced treatments that address the the Spin Statistics Theorem such as those of Streater and Wightman's PCT, Spin and Statistics, and All That and Haag's Local Quantum Physics: Fields, Particles, Algebras (Theoretical and Mathematical Physics). Srednicki also deserves credit in making the pdf file for his book available on his University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB) web site for no charge. He also lists his book's typos on that web site.

it also arrange its chapters by different spins, and I love his logic. You can read it together with peskin, but you need to be careful about the notation, they are different in these two books