I was in class XI when I was taken to Universal, the most famous book shop in Lucknow driven around in our Maruti 800, I was but a tiny little teenager, a boy who had dreams, who was excited about entering a new world, a step into the adult world. I was now supposed to prepare for something bigger. And as anyone preparing/has prepared/will prepare for Engg knows that Resnick, Haliday is the bible of Physics (you could even say Bible is the Resnick, Haliday of Christianity depending on your choices). Its the first book you have to read if you want to know what Physics is. Irodovs and Krotovs can wait for later, when you are through with learning!
To this day I remember that iconic cover, the first image which might come to the mind of many engineers around when you talk of Physics. As is case with many course books, nobody might exactly remember the name of the book, instead its the name of the author which defines the name of the book, and almost everybody calls it Resnick, Halliday even though the version people around my age must definitely have Walker as the co-Author. Yet I didnt know his name until I googled out!
The best part about this book which sets it apart from other books is, its not exactly designed like a course book, instead being more of a story book. It started with a very interesting phenomenon or question being introduced to you by a photo.Once you had read that chapter you would understand the phenomenon or answer the question. Even the questions at the end of the book were more like puzzles with real world cases and diagrams used everywhere to mantain the interest, after all they are students of class XI,XII!
Had always read that books are a man’s best friends. Being a normal guy never gave any thought to it. Yet when I look back at the cover of Resnick, Halliday, that red and black design, Fundamentals of Physics, Sixth Edition (which ofcourse was the default edition). I realise that I miss it, now when I want to delve into the world of leptons, the hadrons, when I wanna be charmed by the Strange charm. Just like I would miss a friend when I need a company for a drive to DLF or a quick smoke, a ride to Dhoolpeth or a shopping expedition.
The Legendary Cover
Dec 16, 2009 @ 00:58:15
Was never a big fan of Resnick. HC Verma was good enough for me
Dec 16, 2009 @ 01:03:54
To each his own, would go to HC Verma for questions or if i wanted to read a topic with scarcity of time. yet if you wanted to discover the charm of Physics, it had to be Resnick Halliday for me
Dec 16, 2009 @ 01:24:58
Loved all three of them Resnick Halliday for the lucidity of content and presentation, HC Verma for its compactness ( It didn’t contain an extra word if it was not required ) , Irodov for the challenging questions it posed.
I particularly like the chapter on relativity in Resnick Haliday it was very well explained much better then its contemporaries.
Dec 16, 2009 @ 01:36:57
Modern Physics section of Resnick Halliday was the best ever!!
Dec 16, 2009 @ 03:26:46
We are not suposed to touch this Sixth edition
we were forced to read only 2 edition of resnick and halliday 
( I hate the look of that 2 edition
Dec 16, 2009 @ 09:29:03
My favorite would be Irodov.
And, I still have both Irodov and Resnick Halliday here in college .. thought it’d be of help here. but never touched them in these 3.5 years
Dec 16, 2009 @ 10:07:59
For JEE physics HC Verma and Irodov combo was better but if you read physics out of real interest, nothing came close to Resnick Halliday.
Dec 16, 2009 @ 10:17:13
Every one of them has there merits .
1)Resnick Halliday for getting you interested .
2)HC Verma for good basics .
3)Irodov for pushing you .
4)Krotov for pushing you over the cliff .
Dec 16, 2009 @ 10:19:33
I could never reach the krotov level
Dec 16, 2009 @ 10:18:11
I imported a whole pack of resnick book along with CDs… it cost me around 4K… but it was totally worth it
Dec 16, 2009 @ 10:18:50
The version I had was colorful.. the one you get otherwise in bookshops is black n white n grey
Dec 16, 2009 @ 11:12:07
@ Cherry : 2nd edition :O :O thats blasphemy man
@ Ahsan : In collg life you never need anything except good friends
@ Sushant : Completely agree
@ Aksay : same feeling although never reached the Krotov level nor even saw it once
@ Pankaj : Thats cool but I would definitely think 10 times b4 spending 4k on a book
Dec 16, 2009 @ 19:42:09
@Himank : Oh.. Books are sth I spend a lot of money on
… worth every penny 
Dec 16, 2009 @ 22:06:33
well yeah but i am of the breed which generally doesnt spend much on books
Dec 16, 2009 @ 11:32:42
Do anyone remember class 10th solar system, stars taking birth and ending their life in black holes, white dwarfs and all. I think all interest started from there where everyone (who had interest in physics)started thinking of becoming astronaut or going into NASA …and then this Resnick Halliday, HCV , Irodov and Krotov made us to think as if we will become something which we all are not now at present. ..:D
Dec 16, 2009 @ 11:53:52
Don’t you think you got a little too carried away for a book
. Having said that, I remember the names of these authors so well.. all the memories from 11th and 12th came flooding back. Interesting choice of topic.
Dec 16, 2009 @ 12:31:06
@ Amit : Well never dreamed about getting into NASA but yeah used to think about getting into Aerospace Engineering when I was young
@ Namrata : Why not get carried away??
After all books are supposed to be a man’s best friend aren’t they? The book was one of my prized possession in those days, I must have read the modern physics section of the book quite a few times 
And of course when you are writing you always have that creative freedom
Dec 16, 2009 @ 14:53:13
what a post! physics books still scare the hell out of me
I remember having resnick, halliday (it might still be lying in some corner in my house) and I never never read it!
Dec 16, 2009 @ 16:47:27
U never READ Resnick Halliday?? :O and u were preparing for IIT??? :O Am shocked.. Was HC Verma the only source of your Physics preparation?
Dec 16, 2009 @ 21:52:47
thought i was good in physics. Tum log to pundit nikle!
Maine to koi book nahin padhi ! FIITJEE ki booklet solve karta tha bas.
But got 48 in JEE 2005 Physics!
So in ur face u all
Dec 16, 2009 @ 22:00:37
abe Resnick Halliday was never meant to score marks in IIT
Its just for the joy of reading.. U wont know it until you read it 
Dec 17, 2009 @ 00:31:02
It was a lovely book. I was so insipred then that I used to dream that I will also write a good concept book on physics someday….for the concepts in physics were never crystal clear in any book besides Resnick and Halliday.
Dec 17, 2009 @ 23:32:27
I never read Resnick Halliday.
Dec 18, 2009 @ 09:13:44
To my own disbelief, saw the cover page for the first time on this blog
Mann, my mom should kill me
Dec 21, 2009 @ 12:30:47
Resnick Halliday was god… just like Morrison and Boyd for Organic Chem… And Krotov man! hats off to people who solved it … I could never go beyond Irodov…
Jul 22, 2010 @ 12:21:26
Halliday/Resnick/Walker Physics for IIT-JEE – Vol II (In Color)
By David Halliday, Robert Resnick, Jearl Walker, and Manish K Singhal
ISBN13: 978-81-265-2003-9
Price: INR 899/-
Pages: 766
In Four Color
http://highereducationbooksblog.wordpress.com/2010/06/24/hallidayresnickwalker-physics-for-iit-jee-%e2%80%93-vol-ii/
Dec 10, 2012 @ 18:32:28
well, first of all…amazing post…. I am still in my XIth grade and i know what RHW means to me…. Resnick Halliday is an amazing book… Amazing explanations…but I have been spending some time (about 5-6 months) reading The Feynman lectures on Physics ,and really, I would never ever find a book better than that one….Its a classic…
May 16, 2013 @ 18:25:16
Without a second thought, Halliday Resnick is one hell of a physics book. It not only aids in enjoying physics but also cracking tough mind-bending competitions. I started reading halliday resnick while I was in class IX and trust me, after reading that I started to see physics in a new light ! But I wanted to put forward my opinion, you may say it as a matter of personal preference, but I love the 2nd edition of this book more than any subsequent editions. The level of problems has really gone down after that edition. I still own a copy of the 2nd edition that was earlier studied by my father!