The Quantum Theory of Fields Volume I Foundations

7th printing
Why another book on quantum field theory? Today the student of
quantum field theory can choose from among a score of excellent books,
several of them quite up-to-date. Another book will be worth while only
if it offers something new in content or perspective.
As to content, although this book contains a good amount of new ma-
terial, I suppose the most distinctive thing about it is its generality; I have
tried throughout to discuss matters in a context that is as general as pos-
sible. This is in part because quantum field theory has found applications
far removed from the scene of its old successes, quantum electrodynamics,
but even more because I think that this generality will help to keep the
important points from being submerged in the technicalities of specific
theories. Of course, specific examples are frequently used to illustrate gen-
eral points, examples that are chosen from contemporary particle physics
or nuclear physics as well as from quantum electrodynamics.