Books or papers on statistical mechanics, given information theory background?

Question

What are some good books or papers on statistical mechanics, for someone who:

• is familiar with information theory and statistics
• has a relatively weak physics background (1~2 year undergrad level)
• wants to learn key techniques in the stat mech literature
• doesn't care much about physical interpretations of such techniques

Answer 1

A good and readable book :
S. Lokanathan & R.S. Gambhir, Statistical and Thermal Physics an Introduction, Prentice-Hall India, 1991.

Answer 2

I would recommend Statistical Mechanics: Theory and Molecular Simulation from Tuckerman.

It is a good introductory book and it is easy to read. It complements the theory parts with chapters about the numerical algorithms that are used in statistical mechanics.

You will realize soon that only a handful of problems in statistical mechanics can be solved analytically.