A while back, Lukeprog set up an article to list the best textbooks in every subject. It currently contains a fairly large list of books in a variety of subjects.
I just got an e-mail from Amazon advertising "Up to 90% off textbooks" and I thought "This seems like a good opportunity to check out a bunch of cheap, good textbooks in subjects I want to learn about!"
When I went over to Luke's post, I discovered recommendations for philosophy, psychology, all sorts of math, but almost none in basic science.
I assume that someone here must have read one or a few basic textbooks on physics, biology, and chemistry. If so, what were they? How were they? Would I be better off just trying to take a basic lecture course in the subject, or going through Khan Academy?
Thank you! Ironically I am substantially less interested in physics than chemistry and biology, but I'll look into the books you mentioned.
I'm a graduate student in mathematics, but I haven't taken physics since high school. This makes me nervous about approaching most physics textbooks since I want real basics in some ways but sophistication in others.