Analytical Dynamics of Particles and Rigid Bodies

A Treatise on the Analytical Dynamics of Particles and Rigid Bodies

Cover of 1989 printing
Author	E. T. Whittaker
Country	England
Language	English
Subject	Mathematical physics Analytical dynamics
Genre	Non-fiction Academic history Scientific writing
Publisher	Cambridge University Press
Publication date	1904 (1st ed.) 1917 (2nd ed.) 1927 (3rd ed.) 1937 (4th ed.)
Pages	456
ISBN	0-521-35883-3
OCLC	629676472
Dewey Decimal	531
LC Class	QA845
Identifiers refer to the 1989 reprint of the fourth edition unless otherwise noted

A Treatise on the Analytical Dynamics of Particles and Rigid Bodies is a treatise and textbook on analytical dynamics by British mathematician Sir Edmund Taylor Whittaker. Initially published in 1904 by the Cambridge University Press, the book focuses heavily on the three-body problem and has since gone through four editions and has been translated to German and Russian. Considered a landmark book in English mathematics and physics, the treatise presented what was the state-of-the-art at the time of publication and, remaining in print for more than a hundred years, it is considered a classic textbook in the subject.^[1] In addition to the original editions published in 1904, 1917, 1927, and 1937, a reprint of the fourth edition was released in 1989 with a new foreword by William Hunter McCrea.

The book was very successful and received many positive reviews.^[1] A 2014 "biography" of the book's development wrote that it had "remarkable longevity" and noted that the book remains more than historically influential.^[1] Among many others, G. H. Bryan, E. B. Wilson, P. Jourdain, G. D. Birkhoff, T. M. Cherry, and R. Thiele have reviewed the book. The 1904 review of the first edition by G. H. Bryan, who wrote reviews for the first two editions, sparked controversy among Cambridge University professors related to the use of Cambridge Tripos problems in textbooks. The book is mentioned in other textbooks as well, including Classical Mechanics, where Herbert Goldstein argued in 1980 that, although the book is outdated, it remains "a practically unique source for the discussion of many specialized topics."^[2]