I want to understand compactifications , Dualities , D-branes , M-branes etc. What's the easiest way to do so provided I have the necessary knowledge in algebraic geometry , Algebraic topology, analysis and differential geometry
I have the following book and deals with all the topics you mentioned in addition to Conformal Field Theory for a layman's perspective.
http://books.google.com/books/about/String_Theory_Demystified.html?id=S4JyPgw4ZlAC
