Request: advice on a book on learning physics.

[SwissTony]

Hi, I'm a semi-retired statistician and I'm interested in beefing up my knowledge of physics. I last studied physics in the late 60s - so I'm probably old enough to be your dad - and, hey, get off my lawn!!!!

Physics was always a second love to me. I could quite easily have majored in it, but I chose stats and have no regrets.

Now, in my old age, I'm seeking to rekindle my affection for physics. I'm thinking about buying two books, one on classical physics and one on modern physics. I've pretty well decided on the modern one (Modern physics for scientists and engineers, by Morrison) but am having some problems with the more classical stuff. So, I'm looking for some advice as to a suitable text books. The one I'm thinking of is Sears and Zimansky. I'm pretty sure S & Z was what I used way back when, but my copy left home some time ago without saying goodbye (that's what friends and family are for, aren't they?)

So, my question to you, good people, is "Is S & Z a good way to go?". I can get a good condition second-hand copy for 30 bucks (both 10th and 11th editions), so it's not a major investment. And the list of topics in S & Z is just what I want...viz...

Mechanics
Thermodynamics
Waves/acoustics
Electromagnetism
Optics
Modern physics (which I'll ignore and go with Morrison)
Answers to odd-numbered problems

Some comments on Amazon suggest that S & Z are more high school level than undergraduate university. My maths background is pretty strong, so (basic/not so basic) calculus, line integrals, Fourier transforms etc etc are fine, so I'd appreciate a book on that level.

Any advice would be gratefully received...and get off my lawn!!!!!

Cheers