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Comparison of books on the historical development of quantum mechanics

Physics Asked by Mathew Mehrian on January 6, 2021

I am looking for a good book on the historical development of quantum mechanics. I have come across quite a few, but do not know which to read. I have a graduate background in physics, and so I am hoping for a (at least somewhat) technical review. Not a text book, but not a pop science level read. I have come across the following and would appreciate any information on how technical or mathematical the books are and your general opinion on them (especially if you could compare any of the books) or recommend other I have not listed.

Books I am interested in:

  • Quantum: Einstein, Bohr and the Great Debate About the Nature of Reality by Manjit Kumar
  • The Conceptual Development of Quantum Mechanics by Max Jammer
  • Quantum Generations: A History of Physics in the Twentieth Century by Helge Kragh

Other books I’ve come across but are not what I’m looking for:

  • The Historical Development of Quantum Theory multivolume series by Mehra and Rechenberg
    • This seems like a wonderful read, but very long
  • The Old Quantum Theory by Ter Haar
    • I plan to read this eventually
  • Letters on Wave Mechanics: Correspondence with H. A. Lorentz, Max Planck, and Erwin Schrödinger

I know there are many collections of the actual source material as well as biographies of individual quantum physicists, but those are not what I am looking for at the moment.

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