So often, I find upper-division physics books to be lacking in detailed explanation or relevant analogies to help the reader grasp the topic.  Statistical physics is a VERY abstract topic, and Schroeder does an excellent job of explaining it in human terms.  However, he does not avoid the deep mathematical proofs and work that is required to truly grasp the physics.  He simply does both very well.<br><br>Compared to a Griffiths book (say, EM or QM), Schroeder imparts nearly the same deep understanding, but with a much more easy-to-follow approach.<br><br>If you are the type of person who can read a Griffiths book and work out the problems by yourself with no additional instruction (and Griffiths leaves a LOT to be discovered by the reader), you would likely not enjoy this book.  If you like to be more fully prepared when it comes to working out problems, you will like this book.<br><br>This could honestly be an outstanding self-study book on the topic.