Isaac Newton seems to have been, generally, all ill tempered and and arrogant professor at Trinity College, Cambridge, University.  Despite those considerable shortcomings, he did produce absolutely top rate mathematics and physics.  His volume, Principia, not only reported the best thinking of the day, it remained the latest word, in some sense, on cutting edge mathematical physics until the abrupt transition from 1906 to 1926, when realtivity and quantum theory became credible.<br><br>This book is a gem.  The author seems to be a very decent person and not wildly arrogant.  While Cambridge and Trinity College, in particular, are certainly wonderful institutions, he comes from still a better one, namely Oxford.  It reports, in a non-trivial form, both a broad and a deep view of all the important mathematical physics of our day.  The literature is so voluminous, that this can only be thought of as an extremely intelligent and coherent summary.  There is a very complete and correct bibliography with notes to guide the reader to further study as necessary.  While this is unlikely to hold sway for centuries, as did the monumental book by Penrose's crusty precursor, it is certainly the Principia of the day and a treasure for everyone truly interested in any aspect of modern physics.