Quantum Theory: Concepts and Methods

Quantum Theory: Concepts and Methods is a 1993 quantum physics textbook by Asher Peres.

Reception

Physicist Leslie E. Ballentine gave the textbook a positive review, declaring it a good introduction to quantum foundations and ongoing research therein. John C. Baez also gave the book a positive assessment, calling it "clear-headed" and finding that it contained "a lot of gems that I hadn't seen", such as the Wigner–Araki–Yanase theorem.

N. David Mermin wrote that Peres had bridged the "textual gap" between conceptually-oriented books, aimed at understanding what quantum physics implies about the nature of the world, and more practical books intended to teach how to apply quantum mechanics. Mermin found the book praiseworthy, noting that he had "only a few complaints". He wrote,

Peres is careless in discriminating among the various kinds of assumptions one needs to prove the impossibility of a no-hidden-variables theory that reproduces the statistical predictions of quantum mechanics. I would guess that this is because even though he is a master practitioner of this particular art form, deep in his heart he is so firmly convinced that hidden variables cannot capture the essence of quantum mechanics, that he is simply not interested in precisely what you need to assume to prove that they cannot.

Meinhard E. Mayer declared that he would "recommend it to anyone teaching or studying quantum mechanics", finding Part II the most interesting of the book. While he noted some disappointment with Peres' choice of topics to include in the chapter on measurement, he reserved most of his negativity for the publisher, saying (as Ballentine also did) that they had priced the book beyond the reach of graduate students.

Such pricing practices are not justified when one considers that many publishers provide very little copyediting or typesetting any more, as is obvious from the "TeX"-ish look of most books published recently, this one included.