Use it to go along with the lectures on Yale's open course of same name. As others have noted, Shankar is clarity itself and distills a great deal of physics into his work.  However, it should also be noted that this is for the very top section at Yale.  He is assuming differential and integral calculus and s solid foundation in high school physics. While he does not assume calculus of several variables or linear algebra, he just as well could have, if only in the degree of sophistication and fluency needed to really follow some very concise discussions. This is NOT a matter of material; it is a matter of mathematical maturity. The other thing to note is that he pushes the envelope in terms of material for a physics course at the supposedly first year college level.  Here, I do not simply mean the inclusion of special relativity and quantum mechanics.  Any current textbook with "modern" physics seems to feel the need to at least mention these topics (sometimes every other page!), although here Shankar goes the extra step in his explanations.  I think of something like rotational dynamics, three important chapters, in which the third chapter will introduce rotation in 3d.  Now I am sure you can find this at this level elsewhere, but this certainly used to considered food for another course at the next level.  He only introduces it, but the pattern is pretty clear.  If a big topic has 3 chapters, the third chapter will push into the next level. This, of course, is wonderful for those who hate to have some topic pounded into the ground but the student should be aware that there is not much slack here.  In fact, there is no slack here.  Still, a great book for a great course, if you know in advance what you are getting into.  Think of it as the Spivack (his calculus) for fundamental physics.