Book Description

Well-suited for the non-statistician, this applications-oriented introductionto multivariate analysis focuses on the fundamental concepts that affect the use of specific techniques rather than the mathematical derivation of the technique.Provides an overview of several techniques and approaches that are available to analysts today — e.g., data warehousing and data mining, neural networks and resampling/bootstrapping. Chapters are organized to provide a practical, logical progression of the phases of analysis and to group similar types of techniques applicable to most situations. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

The Magic Multivariate Book
I've used this book (various editions) since graduate school -- more years ago than I care to admit. It is written in English rather than in "statistics" and gives a terrific conceptual overview of the research techniques. I keep it as a reference and use it regularly. If you want to understand multivariate stats without having to wade through a lot of symbols, this book is great. I also find it very useful when I'm trying to come up with a layman's explanation for management.

A GREAT reference
I took multivariate in Ph.D. school. Our professor didn't have a book (just his notes), so I had no book to be loyal to when I got out. I was given this book once I graduated and consider it to be a fabulous reference. I can't speak to *learning* multivariate techniques out of it because that's not been my experience with this book.

I use it as a reference- to refresh myself on a technique, or to consult when I run into a problem- this book has yet to let me down and has been able to answer any question or solve any problem that I've had.

You see this book cited in academic behavioral research, but the book does a great job of explaining things in a managerial way as well.

Other of these reviews have criticized it for going on too long on an example or a technique- for that I PRAISE this book- I WANT that extra information. I'm reminded of that quote from "Amadeus"- "Too many notes." I WANT as many notes as I can get- that's what makes it so much more helpful.

If you are looking for a great reference book for multivariate techniques, look no further.

A very useful reference in Multivariate Statistical Analysis
The more powerful and advance research techniques becomes, the more easy it is for an average analyst to go astray. This is what the text is aimed for: it helps build a very solid conceptual foundation for researchers when using multivariate analysis. Concepts are clearly delineated and criterias to using / NOT using a certain techique are also fully outlined (Chapter 1&2). Incidentally, this is not a step-by-step or so-called quick-fix manual that guides the readers what buttons to look for in the SPSS/SAS.

An excellent book!
This book is an excellent source of information on multivariate analysis techniques. I especially like the flowcharts used for determining which analysis method to use as well as the flowcharts showing what steps to take for the analysis method chosen. If you have a good basic knowledge of statistics and a good head on your shoulders, you will have no problem understanding the methods presented.

Great book
This is the best applied book on multivariate analysis I know. It clearly explains how to do statistical analyses and how to interpret the output. Clear examples throughout. Syntax supplied for each type of multivariate analysis in both SPSS and SAS, with LISREL notation for CFA. In addition to specific techniques (factor analysis, multiple regression, multiple discriminant analysis, MANOVA, conjoint analysis, canonical correlation, cluster analysis, multidimensional scaling, structural equation modeling/CFA) excellent sections on structuring data, cleaning data, and handling missing data. While mathematical sophistication always helps in stat, this book doesn't require it. No knowledge of matrix algebra needed to understand this book. Few if any formulas. Emphasis is on logic rather than math. ... Read more

Book Description

The sixth edition of this best-selling text balances solid mathematical coverage with a comprehensive overview of mathematical ideas as they relate to varied disciplines. This book provides an appreciation of mathematics, highlighting mathematical history, applications of mathematics to the arts and sciences across cultures, and introduces students to the uses of technology in mathematics.Exercise sets are now organized into Concept/Writing, Practice the Skills, Problem Solving, Challenge Problems/Group Activities, Research Activities. An updated Consumer Math section including updated material on sources of credit and mutual funds.Motivational, chapter-opening material demonstrates connections between math and various other disciplines.KEY MARKET For those who require a general overview of mathematics, especially in the fields of elementary education, the social sciences, business, nursing and allied health fields. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

EXCELLENT REFERENCE FOR BEGINNING & ADVANCED UNDERGRADUATES
I have been teaching out of Angel & Porter for the last three years. It has quite a few good examples, though I agree with the first reviewer's comment that it does need more challenging problems.

Among the topics I have covered are: inductive reasoning, set concepts, symbolic logic, truth tables, algebra, applied geometry, probability, statistics, and mathematics of finance. Though the examples are laid out fairly well for those who are mathematically inclined, the teacher who happens to have quite a few students with weak mathematical skills is often finding himself or herself in situations of having to create ways to become an effective expositor of mathematical theorems and applications. In other words, by trying to explain what the authors are providing in their examples, the instructor is frequently shouldering the added burden of making this book come to life not only from a mathematical perspective but also from a communicative standpoint.

On a positive note, however, there are several excellent applications, and the range of topics is quite broad. Oftentimes there is a gap between the level of advanced high school mathematics and that of a four-year university that is so serious that even a student who performed A's in high school will struggle in the type of college math course he or she is placed in. Fortunately, Angel and Porter have been able to fill in quite a few of the missing pieces.

Idiots
I taught from an earlier edition of this book at Ivy Tech in Bloomington, Indiana while working on a PhD at Indiana University. Ivy Tech had already selected this text. Too bad. While that was around 1994, I can still recall a number of FACTUAL ERRORS. I had to tell my students that the text was wrong. Among the errors: The clear implication (though not explicitly stated) that the algebraic numbers included all the reals - that is they didn't even seem to be aquainted with the transedentals; there was another error regarding conditional probabilities... I can't recall exactly, but I can remember showing the errors to fellow doctoral students (now at UN, Reno and UC, Davis) for a good laugh. What were the reviewers doing? I guess they're a bunch of incompetents as well. To the publisher: Have some real mathematicians review math books.

Could use some more problems
This book does the job of teaching some mathematics to those with liberal-arts majors. However, over at Wayne State, we are constantly bemoaning the lack of extra problems for students to practice what they have learned (especially in light of the fact that we cover only half of the chapters of this book in a single one semester course). This is especially apparent with the probability and statistics chapters. Overall I can see this text being a commendable effort on the part of Angel and Porter to bring mathematics to those who would normally shun it. ... Read more

Reviews (15)

The best math book for economists!
The book does not merely provide a sequence of theorems, but helps to develops mathematical intuition which is really critical for economists. I don't have any hesitation to strongly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn the essential mathematics for economics. One of the best economics books I've ever read!

The best mathematics for economists book ever written
The text is a phenomenon. A book written not only for economists, but also for applied mathemeticians, finance professionals, and others interested in applying mathematics to economics and business problems. It provides solid math fundamentals to students of economics and finance and can easily rival any advanced calculus, linear algebra, or optimization text. Unlike lecture notes, its approach is complete and balanced. It's a text with character, flow, and content. I've read it several times.

Mathematics for Economists
Where is the Comparitve Statics section? Dynamic Analysis? Difference equations? Calculus of Variations? Optimal Control? Etc.

Excellent but incomplete
Excellent description on mathematics needed in economic analysis especially in advanced level. But it do not include some topics such as dynamic optimization, integraion.

The "must" item for all Econ. students.
I recommend this book to all Econ. students. It helps me apply the theories I have learned, also, it enhances my ability on problem solving. Straight forward explainations and practical exercises. ... Read more

Book Description

Renowned for thoroughness and accessibility, this book offers a challenging and enjoyable study of linear algebra that is infused with an abundance of applications. Balancing coverage of mathematical theory and applied topics, concepts are explained with precision so that all readers can understand the material. Worked examples are heavily integrated into each chapter. The book stresses the important role geometry and visualization play in understanding the subject.

Reviews (13)

Proofs: Simple, but not rigorous
Background: Electrical engineering grad student. Lots of math. Prior linear algebra course.

Reason to read book: Wanted a text to review proofs of many of the important theorems that are used in the matrix formulation of quantum mechanics. Stuff like why Hermitian matrices provide orthogonal eigenvectors and real eigenvalues. Also, wanted a review of vector spaces, basis sets, etc. That means pretty much most of the book.

How much of the book I've studied: Most of the proofs in the entire book. Some of the worked problems. None of the exercises.

Analysis: The book provides a comprehensive list of the useful proofs. However, the proofs are simple but not rigorous. They give you good insight on why the theorems are what they are, but they don't remove all doubt as to their validity.

Good Book for the Most Part
Overall, I thought was well laid out. I would probably like to see more practical application of linear algebra to real world problems.

don't waste your money
If you buy this book then get used to phrases such as: "It can easly be seen that...." and "It can be shown that..." and let us not forget everyone's favorite "...which is left as an exercise for the reader." You will see at least one of these phrases in every section (yes section not chapter). ... For [the money] I think Leon could work out just 1 example in detail. Fortunately there is enough information on the internet you won't need to read this book, instead just carry it around so your professor thinks your using it (although it makes a great door stop when you done with the class). Overall I think that 1 star is too much for this but Amazon won't let me give it 0 stars.

Starts Off Great, Wears Down
My background: Computer science / mathematics undergraduate with experience in calculus, discrete mathematics, and differential equations

Leon's text on linear algebra isn't bad, but there is room for improvement. Chapters 1, 2, and 3 do a good job of introducing the basic concepts of linear algebra, including matrix row operations, determinants, and linear independence. The book seems to lose clarity beginning in Chapter 4. The concepts become more abstract and Leon's notation interferes with the ability to clearly understand what he is talking about when it comes to linear transformations and issues regarding R(A) and orthogonality. Very important results are frequently understated as well. In a few cases, there aren't enough examples to go around - especially in Chapters 4 and 5. It is ironic compared to the relative overexplanation found in Chapter 1, for example.

Another qualm I have with this text is the chapter review sections, which are limited to MATLAB exercises and simple true/false questions. I think these sections need actual math problems devoted to them that force the reader to combine and use concepts learned in the preceeding chapter, rather than overly simple true/false questions.

On the other hand, the homework problems the book offers for each section are fairly worded and interesting to solve. There is an answer section, of course, for the odd numbered exercises. Also, there are several "Application" sections that demonstrate how linear algebra is used in real-life scenarios that provide a relevance to this study, just so the casual student doesn't wind up wondering "Where am I ever going to use this?"

The book is just okay, but it needs a really good professor to go along with it and elaborate on the concepts Leon either understates or fails to present clearly. On a side note, my book is only two years old (I bought it like new) and the binding is already falling apart.

Flawed, but conceptually complete.
I used this Linear Algebra text in an undergraduate Linear Algebra course. Before I get to the problems of the text (and there are numerous) let me just say that it is conceptually complete, in that every topic in linear algebra is given very close attention. (Eigenvectors/Eignenvalues were given a very elegant treatment, as an example) All the concepts are well organized and also some applications are thrown in to the mix.

With the above statement, it seems that this book has everything going for it to be a fantastic linear algebra book. Unfortunately, it hits some pitfalls. Although its conceptually complete, it is very dense. ( a common math textbook pitfall) Places where explanations could have been expanded quite a bit are not. Being a very dense math textbook leads to the next problem. Leon's notation is unneccasarily formal for an introductory linear algebra text. It is quite fustrating getting used to notation before you get to the key concepts. (His notation is not often explained well enough.) Although I got passed the overlyformal notation and got to the meaty concepts, I can completely sympathize with others who get stuck on it and have absolutely *NO* clue what the author is trying to say. Let's face it, not everyone taking Linear Algebra is a math major (I for one am a physics major and there were quite a few engineering majors in my class.)

Another pitfall of this book is the absolute decrepid writing style. Do not laugh when [someone] states that this book is boring and well "Just not fun..." because that statement is the truth! The writing style has a very sleep-inducing tone, which is a shame because linear algebra is a very important topic and an interesting one. (With far reaching applications.) It is very difficult to describe... get through the book without much trouble and you will see what we mean. The only concrete example I could think of is the mind-numbingly dry explanation of vector spaces in the third chapter.

In closing, this book does not need much to become a great linear algebra book. All the concepts are there, so the hard part is done. Hopefully Leon in the 6th edition will clean up the notation a bit and add some life into the explanations and writing style, this book could be an undergraduate linear algebra standard. ... Read more

Book Description

The product of a unique collaboration among four leading scientists in academic research and industry, Numerical Recipes is a complete text and reference book on scientific computing.In a self-contained manner it proceeds from mathematical and theoretical considerations to actual practical computer routines. With over 100 new routines bringing the total to well over 300, plus upgraded versions of the original routines, the new edition remains the most practical, comprehensive handbook of scientific computing available today. ... Read more

Reviews (33)

good book, bad policy
This is a very useful book for scientists and engineers, it collects codes for many most-often-encountered numerical problems, and the discussion is lucid, frank and helpful. However, the author adopted a very bad policy: they do not permit users to distribute their code. So suppose you write an application program which uses lots of integrations, linear algebra and differential equation routines, you would naturally like to use the numerical recipe routines for these basic tasks, but if you want to make your code freely available to others, you find you can't, because the numerical recipes routines are copyrighted and the authors forbid you to distribute even part of them with your code(except for a few public domain routines). They suggest you use the Netlib code which is freely available, however, since there is no systematic documentation, it is more difficult to use the netlib code. In any case, what is the point of having this book and its code if you have to use netlib code? this is really a trouble for the readers and users of this book. On the other hand, the authors provided their book online free of charge, but this is of little use--most readers would buy the book anyway, and prefer to have the code free.

Check GNU Scientific Library first
I give the book 4 stars to maintain the current level. I own a Fortran copy of NR, but like the other authors, I like NR for the explanations of algorithms, but not for the code.

There is a VERY good alternative to Numerical Recipes in C, namely GNU Scientific Library. You can find the source code and manual from:

http://sources.redhat.com/gsl/

or

http://www.gnu.org/software/gsl

As typical GNU software, GSL is licensed under GNU General Public License, so it is ABSOLUTELY free ! You can download it, modify it, linked it with your own code, without feeling guilty of copyright violation (Not in the case of NR, NR comes with a copyright license to prohibit modification and linking).

GSL is written in C from scratch by its author. The design is modern, much better than NR in C, and also allowed linking with C++ or modern scripting language like Python. Some of the leading authors have background in theoretical physics and astrophysics, just like NR authors.

Check it out. You lose nothing to check GSL first, you may ended up saving some $$$.

Excellent reference, but poor writing style and license
I had to endure reading this book for 2 long semesters, and I've come to know some parts of it pretty well. I'll try to be short and say that the book is an excellent reference for the practicioner (and for the poor student:) - however, the ill-placed "jokes" have terribly annoyed me and my fellow class mates. Entire pagagraphs in almost every section dedicated to some second-tier humor were not so helpful in solving numerical problems.

The license for the code is just bad and I found it rather pointless, given the cost of the book (for me it's expensive; and I know it's downloadable). The authors should maybe reconsider this at a later stage...

PS: The GNU Scientific Library implements most, if not all, of the NR routines. It might be worth checking out, since it's also in plain C.

Proprietary source the Achilles' heel for non-students
I first bought the FORTRAN version of this text in 1994 while doing scientific programming for graduate school work. I've been able to do a lot of basic research quickly with NR codes, and I still occasionally use NR's routines. The authors have certainly done a good job assimilating a lot of material in the NR series. Since other reviewers have done well to highlight the importance and utility of this landmark series, there is no need to repeat those sentiments here. I also agree with earlier reviewers applauding this title more as a survey or reference work and less as a library of source code. However, to this title's detriment, the authors actually consider the NR series to be a proprietary library of source code more valuable than the explanatory text surrounding it (one can in fact download the text on-line from the publisher though it's hardly worth the hassle). This perception is ironic since the authors confess that "the lineage of many programs in common circulation is often unclear," and many details of presentation, ideas, and algorithms are clearly "borrowed" from other excellent (some now out-of-print) numerical methods books or journals.

Unfortunately, much of the source code in the 1993 C edition appears FORTRANish and is not very efficient as far as the C language goes (one would hope that improvements are coming in the new C edition, ISBN 0521574382). However, even the original FORTRAN NR routines occasionally adopted bizarre and/or obviously inefficient programming structures - over time I decided that this was probably done to make these algorithms appear as so not to obviously plagerize other published material.

Many programmers try to get around this by reworking the NR codes. Apparently the authors consider modification of their sometimes inefficient code "derivative works" (even bug fixes) which cannot be legally redistributed or even used on more than one machine at a time without purchasing a new license or book. As a student, NR's legal disclaimers regarding derivative works never bothered me and I was willing to overlook the sometimes unpolished source code insofar as it functioned properly. But as a professional, I now find the lack of fair-use provisions on uncompiled, derivative source way too restrictive to rely on them in good conscience. I have since expanded my numerical methods library to other references supporting true public-domain codes. With an expanded basis of comparison, I regret to say that I am becoming less and less impressed with NR's implementations and explanations. I am finding some of NR's algorithms to be inefficient or unnecessarily approximate, and - on rare occasion - buggy. There have been quite a few bugs uncovered over the years, although the NR web site has done a good job of keeping track of them.

In closing, this book is excellent for students wanting a good reference for quick and dirty types of analyses or scientific computing. Professional programmers, scientists, engineers, specialists or analysts performing research would be well advised to reference this title, but ultimately they will likely need to rely other resources if they require efficient and/or unrestricted (public-domain) source codes for their work.

Useful for fourier optics simulations
I have completed numerous fourier transform algorithms (as well a FFT ones too) and this little book has been very helpful with most of its functions. I use it all the time to train my interns. Very good to get started... but beware that for advanced computing you might need a more complicated book. ... Read more

Book Description

This is the most widely used mathematical statistics text at the top 200 universities in the United States. Premiere authors Dennis Wackerly, William Mendenhall, and Richard L. Scheaffer present a solid undergraduate foundation in statistical theory while conveying the relevance and importance of the theory in solving practical problems in the real world. The authors' use of practical applications and excellent exercises helps students discover the nature of statistics and understand its essential role in scientific research. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Solid Presentation But Lacking Concision
The sixth edition of Math. Statistics w/ Applications is a solid book with good information. However, the form of presentation was not for me. The authors have chosen an explicative style which tends to be overly wordy.

When I begin to read a chapter, I tend to get frustrated and impatient because they either try to show you all the subtleties at once or give you a long-ass paragraph that can be said with one sentence. Thus, The most important stuff is buried in a mountain of over-whelming text.

I have ditched this book in favor of Ghahramani's "Fundamentals of Probability, Second Edition" for my Math Stat I class.

Best statistics book for econometricians
This book is a book on mathematical statistics and hence goes further than most entry-level statistics books, which mostly deal with business statistics. This book does not reinvent the wheel, but is goes further where other books end. You will find a mathematical explanation and theorems are proved as well. Soms more advanced topics are moment generating functions and power tests. The consequention is that the learning curve is steeper. At my university, econometrics students use this book, and they couldn't have made a better choice. Logically, since econometricians don't have enough on a book with only a minor focus on formulas.

Worst stat book ever
I work as an actuary, and I have passed the first actuarial exam (the calculus and stat exam with a <30% pass ratio). My friend uses this book for her stat class, and I have found it to be a terrible book.

I hope that any teacher reads this, and looks at the book before assigning it to a class.

There are very few examples of problems, very little discussion of theory, and it is structured in a way that does not allow you to easily reference other texts.

If you want a good text for challenging problems and relevant examples, try Hogg and Tanis.

A great book!
This is definitely one of the best introductory statistical books around. The writing is lucid and masterly, and includes a wide variety of topics. The authors have included an abundant number of well-chosen exercises and these cover a wide spectrum showing the application of statistics to the engineering, biological, etc., sciences. My only complaints are that there is not enough on residuals and influence in the chapter on regression; the use of the hat matrix in this context would have been most beneficial, in my opinion. Also I would have very much liked to see the Fisher information in inference and the Smith-Satterthwaite procedure in hypothesis testing included. Nonethless both students and instructors will find the book extremely useful and it gets my highest recommendations!

Three standard deviations from the mean...
As a student in Engineering Science at the University of Toronto who used "Introduction to Mathematical Statistics" by Rice as a textbook for a course on Probability and Statistics, I must say that my life would have been so much easier had I owned a copy of Wackerly's text. It is a concise, easy to follow, practical textbook that covers the material thoroughly while still presenting it in a most digestible form. ... Read more

Book Description

A revision of the market leader, Kreyszig is known for its comprehensive coverage, careful and correct mathematics, outstanding exercises, helpful worked examples, and self-contained subject-matter parts for maximum teaching flexibility. The new edition provides invitations - not requirements - to use technology, as well as new conceptual problems, and new projects that focus on writing and working in teams. ... Read more

Reviews (59)

To Many Nice Figures and So Little Explanation.
When I started using this textbook for a graduate level engineering mathematics I thought I would "see the light" and had finally come across an author that would help me understand advanced mathematics and its application to real-world problems. Needless to say I was let down. Kreysig offers no explanation for many new and complex concepts and often leaves out helpful background (theory/proofs) necessary to have a full undestanding and skill level necessary to apply the concepts. A case in point is his handling of the Legendre Transforms/Polynomials and Sturm-Liouville Theory. Did I mention that I think it is a bad idea to cover matrices and linear algebra in differnt chapters of the book

When I took ODE/PDE in undergraduate we used the text, Advanced Engineering mathematics by O'neil and at the time I thought this book was difficult and confusing. Althought it was not filled with color figures and graphs it contained many proofs and theorems to explain the concepts. I'm starting to use this book as a reference for those concepts that aren't covered thoroughly enough by Kreysig and now appreciate the O'Neil book more and more everyday.

VERY SOUND! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
It is not unusual for those who failed to pass (or understand) their courses to look for cheap scapegoats. Some have blamed their lecturers, and some have blamed their textbooks. But I am not swayed!
Thus, despite all the negative rantings some reviewers have labelled against this "Advanced Engineering Mathematics", I will advise you to see for yourself. This book is superb! Erwin Kreyszig should be honoured with a twenty-one gun salute, for compiling this outstanding compendium.
The way this book dissected Numerical Methods, Differential Equation, and Vector Calculus, will rouse envy in many academic circles. The same applies to its unsurpassed analyses of Oscillation Matrices, Quantum Symmetries, and Linear Algebra. I wonder why all those condemnations! In fact, I will advise those complainants to go back to primary school.
As its name depicts, this text is an advanced book, and not an introductory one. Still, its author took the necessary pains in tabling an uncomplicated presentation. I will, with great pleasure, recommend it to any Engineering or Science student who needs an advanced mathematics textbook.

Good Reference Guide
This book does provide students, who have taken a first course in differential equations, a good look at Fourier Analysis, Boundary Value Problems, and partial differential equations; however, you might wish to obtain a working knowledge of linear algebra before using this book for the before-mentioned reasons - the chapters dealing with linear algebra (six and seven) are awesome for review, but horrible for the beginning student.
Other than that, the book is a good resource when it comes to the review chapters on ordinary differential equations, multivariable calculus, probability, etc...
This is a recommended book for the engineer who likes to review math on those boring summer days...

Terrible Book
Kreyszig obviously knows what he is talking about, but lacks showing it. It is hard to beleive that Mathematics book so thick has examples that miss complex steps, simply because these steps are deemed 'elementry' by Kreyszig's mathematic standards. The examples are workable, but they only take a few hours of analysing and calculating the multiple lines of mathematics he Kreyszig didn't feel like entering

Excellent
I'm Civilian Engineering and I should admit I love this book. My thesis advisor owns one and I've used it several times. This is not a book for Mathematics, it's for engineers; you'll find whatever you're looking for, but don't expect a whole theory about topics, just the essentials of them. You can find topics from Calculus, Linear Algebra, Probability and so on.

I recomend this book to engineers as a consult book, you'll find quick answer to your problems. For students is a must-have which will help you really a lot. ... Read more

Book Description

This classic book provides a rigorous introduction to basic probability theory and statistical inference that is motivated by interesting, relevant applications. It assumes readers have a background in calculus, and offers a unique balance of theory and methodology.Chapter topics cover an introduction to statistics and data analysis, probability, random variables and probability distributions, mathematical expectation, some discrete probability distributions, some continuous probability distributions, functions of random variables, fundamental sampling distributions and data descriptions, one- and two-sample estimation problems, one- and two-sample tests of hypotheses, simple linear regression and correlation, multiple linear regression and certain nonlinear regression models, one factor experiments: general, factorial experiments (two or more factors), 2k factorial experiments and fractions, nonparametric statistics, and statistical quality control.For individuals trying to apply statistical concepts to real-life, and analyze and interpret data. ... Read more

Reviews (14)

Good book for those who know what they're doing
I really enjoy using this as a reference book when I need to look something up about inference. Everything in the book is highlighted well and gives clear and concise answer. If you're a straight A student in Math, there should be nothing confusing about this text.

Worked a lot better for me than the others
I thought this was a pretty good text for an introduction to statistics with a modicum of calculus (I used the 5th edition). I am a biologist and had taken statistics without calculus (VERY cookbook approach the first time through) so maybe knowing where the math was eventually taking me was the difference. I am very (brutally) applied in my interest in statistics (use it daily to model fish populations, estimate critter abundance, etc.) so I could see where I would not agree with the mathematician who said it killed the beauty of the subject (although I am not gifted enough in math to see the beauty of statistics; I honestly would like to be). Also I did cover the text in two classes (1st up through calculating a confidence interval, 2nd on the general linear model) so that may have made a difference as well - if the others were forced to march through all of the material in the book in 18 weeks. I notice that a lot of the reviewers are computer scientists (ones in my class hated the subject matter - I was not sure why it was a required course for them anyway) or mathematicians. Anyone else out there from the natural or physical sciences (e.g., biology, chemistry, geology) that had experience with this book? Finally - I don't recall the plethora of errata that the others refer to - although I had previously heard this complaint about earlier editions of this book.

Buy Hayter instead
Not worth the paper it's printed on or the ink used to print...poor trees! =(

This is not a great book...
I am a math major currently taking probability in my last year of college in NYC. I don't like this book!! The examples in the chapters make sense... but many of the exercises at the end of each section are not fair (hehe)... you need to make a lot of conclusions and jumps about what you read in the chapter that I am not able to make on my own. If the chapters were more in-depth or more detailed, then things would be different. But I feel like the chapters give examples that are much too simple compared to the exercises you are asked to do on your own. For instance, in the second chapter there is a section on permutations and combinations and all that good stuff... it was all good... but then when I got to the exercises at the end of the section, I found that there was no way I could have answered many of them without any previous knowledge on the subject (of which I had none.) There is no way that I could ever use this book to teach myself... you really need a good teacher or someone who understands the topic to help you (a lot!) if this is your first try at probability. I am a straight A student in math, so I feel that my beliefs on this book are pretty credible... and it seems that I am in good company!!!

This is a difficult book from which to teach yourself
I'm a second year computer science student taking a course on probability, and this is the book we are using. Why, I don't know, because it's not a very good book. I'm not a note-taker, and have a difficult time paying attention in math classes, so I usually teach myself from the book. With a 3.6 GPA, I'd say it usually works. Not so with this book.

This book lacks sufficient examples and the definitions and explanations of theorems are confusing. To its credit, it has odd answers in the back, but that's standard for math books. However, it lacks any answers to the review exercises at the end of each chapter, making the review exercises nearly worthless. ... Read more

Book Description

Through four editions, Arfken and Weber's best-selling Mathematical Methods for Physicists has provided upper-level undergraduate and graduate students with the paramount coverage of the mathematics necessary for advanced study in physics and engineering. It provides the essential mathematical methods that aspiring physicists are likely to encounter as students or beginning researchers. Appropriate for a physics service course, as well as for more advanced coursework, this is the book of choice in the field.

* Provides the essential mathematical methods that aspiring physicists are likely to encounter as students or beginning researchers
* *Serves as both text and useful reference for students of physics and applied mathematics
* *Throughout the text the physical relevance of the mathematics is constantly reinforced ... Read more

Reviews (37)

A physicists handbook for mathematics -- not a textbook
The lecturer of our undergraduate Mathematical Methods for Physics course said that he recommends Arfken's book because it will be useful also later as a reference book. Hearing those words, I could not help but to think "this is one of *those* books". And indeed, although Arfken's and Weber's book covers quite a wide range of mathematics, it does so by being very concise, e.g. there is usually only one example per topic. This is one example of why it is not a good textbook. Not following Arfken's course, I will give another example: there are no answers and no solutions for any of the problems, making it very undesirable from the viewpoint of the person who cannot attend all the lectures. Finally, text itself is quite concise, and often it stops at telling the things rather than explaining them also. I guess I have to admit that I am not one of the excellent students mentioned by a reviewer, for I liked Kreyszig's Advanced Engineering Mathematics much more. As a contrast to Arfken's book, it offered many examples and helped to understand what the thing was all about. Unfortunately, it does not cover nearly all of the topics covered by Mathematical Methods for Physicists. If Mathematical Methods for Physicists is going to be your first introductory text to these topics and if you are not supported by very good lectures I can only say that may God have mercy on your soul.

Needs elaboration: Add 5 pages per page.
I am convinced that the author of this book has made the assumption that the reader has had pretty significant exposure to most of this already. Therefore, this is nothing more than a "all in once place" reference on math methods for physicists. The reason for the diverse range of opinions on this book is due to the various backgrounds of students. For most physic undergrads now taking a grad level math methods course, our exposure to differential eqns, complex functions, tensors, group theory, etc. is superficial. Here is a good entrepreneurial idea for an accomplished physicist that can relate to us mere mortals. For each page that Arfken has provided on a topic, ELABORATE (add 5 pages per page to it and now you have a useful textbook that every graduate student in physics should have). It would save us a fortune in buying the many additional supplemental texts required if you are stuck with Arfken.

Not good to learn from
I used this book in a Math Methods 1st year Graduate Physics course, and I dont think I really learned anything from it.
It doesnt do well at TEACHING you anything, you'll have to buy another book with examples or find them somewhere, and that itself can be difficult.

I found myself referring to Mary Boas' book for a few examples if I wanted to learn anything, but when you get to Group Theory you'll end up lost because the professor will run right over the material and textbooks on that subject arent that great.

If i'm looking for an equation or a mathematical rule, this book is great. Ive used it for Quantum and Jackson E&M quite a bit.

A salad of typos
I have had the misfortune to teach from several editions of this pathetic textbook. The later printings of the 3d edition, by Arfken alone, were quite free of mistakes and of typos. But the early printings of the 5th edition by Arfken and Weber are loaded with typos and have some errors. Most of these typos are in equations that were correct in the 3d edition.

My students have had a hard time learning from this book.

Also, the binding of this $99 book is cheap cardboard -- the hardcover edition does not really have a hard cover. All in all,
this is a typical Elsevier product: inferior and expensive.

Great text for reference and learning
I noticed that most student reviews seemed to disparage this book as a textbook, so I am writing this to provide an alternative veiwpoint. My intermediate Math Methods class used this book and I have not yet enountered a math problem in any of my grad classes that I couldn't use this book as an aide to solve. The book is clear yet concise, which allows for a large breadth of material to be covered in one semester effectively. Yes, some material is not covered with great depth, but I think that Mathematical Methods Books by design are not meant to be thourough, mathematically rigourous books but rather books that will present the method of solving, if not the exact solution, of most problems one might encounter in the physical sciences.

I reccomend this book. Like all other Math Methods books I have seen it will require other texts as supplements if one wants a reference for every problem one could encounter. ... Read more

Book Description

This book will appeal to both graduate students and practitioners. Students will value the Excel spreadsheets allowing them to develop their knowledge of modelling in finance, using a step-by-step approach accompanied by explanations using elementary mathematical statistics and probability. Practitioners will value the VBA functions as a source of up-to-date and efficient programs that can be easily used from Excel.

Standard material covered includes:

• portfolio theory and efficient frontiers
• the Capital Asset Pricing Model, beta and variance-covariance matrices
• performance measurement
• the Black-Scholes option pricing formula
• binomial trees for options on equities and bonds
• Monte Carlo simulation
• bond yield-to-maturity, duration and convexity
• term structure models from Vasicek and Cox, Ingersoll and Ross

Book Description

*Retaining its comprehensive yet accessible and user-friendly style, this edition incorporates new examples and techniques *Includes excellent applications sections with a variety of engineering problems *contains software-based examples and engineering-oriented problems ... Read more

Reviews (10)

Absolutely marvelous
The strongest point in favor of this book is the fact that authors seems to have taken an effort to see the problems from students viewpoint: i.e. from a viewpoint of a person who does not know Numerical Methods and want to learn them without facing unnecessary complications. Topics are comprehensive and clear. Excellent resource for students at undergraduate or graduate level. No wonder it won ASEE Meriam/Wiley award. Highly recommended. (NOTE: As with the case with many textbook readers, I did not read the book cover-to-cover. The review is based on a few sections that I read. )

Book wasn't hardback like promised
The book from this company stated that they were sending a hardbound book and it wasn't even close

Wonderful Book in very good condition.
This book is a good one with depth in numerical analysis and the condition was very good.I felt as if i got a new book.I think people who buy from babonee are always satisfied with what they get.

Brighten the darkness
This is the book that I used when I first time learning numerical methods. It has very clear explanations which could open my eyes, brighten the darkness of my numerical knowledge. Now I am using it as a textbook for numerical class that I teach. Highly recommended for the beginners.

Examples Examples Examples....
YES!! There are lots of examples and pseusocodes for programs Examples include from Excel, Matlab..also a seperate appendix for MATLAB. I like it!!! ... Read more

Book Description

This popular text, publishing Spring 1999 in its Second Edition, introduces the mathematics underlying the pricing of derivatives. The increase of interest in dynamic pricing models stems from their applicability to practical situations: with the freeing of exchange, interest rates, and capital controls, the market for derivative products has matured and pricing models have become more accurate. Professor Neftci's book answers the need for a resource targeting professionals, Ph.D. students, and advanced MBA students who are specifically interested in these financial products. The Second Edition is designed to make the book the main text in first year masters and Ph.D. programs for certain courses, and will continue to be an important manual for market professionals. ... Read more

Reviews (48)

The best intro book ever!
Students of derivative pricing techniques are often in a dilemma: Coming from their MBA or undergrad course, they have just build a "brealy-myers" type of intuition on options. Moving towards Hull then allows a deeper understanding. But any serious (eg PhD, Wall Street Analyst) student of derivatives needs to undertstand the math behind modern derivatives pricing. Essentially, this research divides into two streams: Solving Partial differential equations and developing equivalent Martingales. Without a rigorous pre-education (Maths, Physics), most students fail to understand (let alone learn to use) these methods. Nefci is the only book that does not assume lots of prior knowledge, as compared to Merton (1992) or Duffie (who is so bold to write "for mathematical preparation little beyong undergraduate analysis...is assumed" -ask PhD Students how easy this book reads! The answer is its tough!!). In Short, Neftci's book is a true blessing for all "normal" people. Can't wait to get the second edition!

Good explanations, with serious hand-waving
I used this book to teach a Financial Mathematics course, and found its explanations to be generally clear and good. However, part of the reason the text seems so clear is that it doesn't explain much of what's really going on. It covers the right material, but not really in such a way that the reader can then go on to apply the knowledge gained.This is evidenced by the complete (and almost unforgiveable) lack of exercises in the book. It is very easy to feel you understand this sort of material, only to be completely lost when you actually have to solve a problem. Neftci will not help in this regard. I understand that it is difficult to create good exercises, but their absence almost makes me wonder if Neftci realized he was not explaining things in enough detail to let the student actually work with the knowledge. Exercises are the only way to really learn this subject.A basic problem with all these texts is that, try as they might, they cannot impart true understanding unless the student can grasp real analysis at, say, an undergraduate level typically reached by students at a good engineering school. This text tries to avoid the problem by failing to mention any of the analysis...that's not likely to work.

Good Book
I've read Hull, Wilmott and Baxter books but definitely like this book better - particularly for entry (but not easy) level derivative math. Can't say much since English is not my first language. But if you want to learn about Derivative Math and don't have strong background in Math (I'm a Porfolio Manager and have pretty good background in Calculus, Differential Equation, Econometrics) this book is certainly worth considering. I give 4 stars due to the lack of practice problems.

Good book for the right audience
It is amazing that people are not willing to take it what it is, an 'introduction' to mathematics of financial derivatives. The 'reader from New York' of 'notation challenged' seemed to have wanted a rigourous treatment of SDE, yet is sorely disappointed not to find it in this book. IMO it gives an extremely clear exposition of the various tools of SDE and having read it has allowed me to progress to books in which mathematical rigor is stressed over intuition. So in a nutshell this book achieved its stated goal of offering an intuitive and heuristic explanation of mathematics of derivatives to the novices taking their first steps in the financial engineering land.

Notation Challenged
As Yogi might have said: "If you understand this book, you don't need this book.".

If you have a good grip on the industry conventions relative to notation, and have seen the material before, you might understand this book. If not, you won't.

Notation is: 1) frequently wrong; 2) used inconsistently; 3) used out of context (i.e., without foundation); 4) glued in as a concluding argument in a logically non-convex way.

The absence, misuse, abuse of time subscripts makes some of the arguments incomprehensible.

Some arguments pursue a change of reasoning in probability space, then make a jump to an S.D.E. with industry standard notation, but so far out of scope, that the connections are not clear. As one example, if you: 1) know the underlying S.D.E., and if you ; 2) understand the connection between risk-neutral probability and risk-free measure , and if you; 3) understand why a state variable is allowed to commute through an expectations operator because it is no longer stochastic (though why that might be so is not explained), then you will have a chance of understanding the author's argument connecting the transformation of synthetic probabilities to a standard S.D.E.

Some words are capitalized to emphasize, rather than being defined. Sort of like going to a foreign country and shouting more loudly as a communication strategy ... Read more

Book Description

This self-teaching volume provides extremely readable coverage of the principles of finite mathematics and their applications in business, social science, and the life sciences. Topics are presented in a straight-forward, interesting manner (with topics from elementary mathematics reviewed as the need for them arises), and an abundance of worked examples with computational details, practice problems, exercises, chapter self-assessment tests, and reviews of fundamental concepts allow readers to work through the material confidently at their own pace. Contains many examples similar to those found on CPA, GMAT, and GRE Economics exams. Features optional, explicitly detailed use of graphing calculators, electronic spreadsheets, and mathematical software, wherever relevant.Linear Equations and Straight Lines. Matrices. Linear Programming, A Geometric Approach. The Simplex Method. Sets and Counting. Probability. Probability and Statistics. Markov Processes. The Theory of Games. The Mathematics of Finance. Difference Equations and Mathematical Models. Logic. Graphs.For anyone who needs to get up to speed with the applications of mathematics in business, social sciences, or life sciences. ... Read more

Book Description

Designed to form the basis of an undergraduate course in mathematical finance, this book builds on mathematical models of bond and stock prices and covers three major areas of mathematical finance that all have an enormous impact on the way modern financial markets operate, namely: Black-Scholes' arbitrage pricing of options and other derivative securities; Markowitz portfolio optimization theory and the Capital Asset Pricing Model; and interest rates and their term structure. Assuming only a basic knowledge of probability and calculus, it covers the material in a mathematically rigorous and complete way at a level accessible to second or third year undergraduate students. The text is interspersed with a multitude of worked examples and exercises, so it is ideal for self-study and suitable not only for students of mathematics, but also students of business management, finance and economics, and anyone with an interest in finance who needs to understand the underlying theory. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

A very good book
This is a very good book for teaching financial mathematics. The only snag is the absence of Black-Scholes equations. The discussion of Portfolio analysis is an excellent addition.

A great introduction to financial engineering
This is a great book at a great price. As an undegraduate student reading for a degree in mathematics with financial management, I've found this textbook to be of great help in the derivative securities and portfolio theory modules I am doing this year. There is a nice balance between examples, theory, and exercises (all complete with solutions). The examples and excercises have been particularly helpful to me - they don't just illustrate and consolidate the various topics, but most importantly prepare the ground for the exciting new ideas to come. Compared to other books recommended for my mudules in mathematical finance, this is by far the most readable. What seems to be daunting mathematical theory full of unnesessary abstractions in the other books I have tried, this one has somehow managed to appear easy, indeedd almost obvious when you come to think of it (just look at pricing American options, for example!).

There are a few typos in various places and it is well worth visiting the book's web page at www.springeronline.com/1-85233-330-8 (and click on the accompanying website) for a list of corrections. At the same place, I have also located some nice Excel files that can be downloaed, with numerical solutions to case studies and excercises in the more advanced chapters - these are neatly designed and are of great help in following the text. I just wish there was even more material covered in similar Excel files.

In all respects, a great book this, and well worth spending under 20 quid.

an excellent introduction
Absolutely fantastic introduction to Financial Engineering. The first thing that strikes me about this gem is that it is very readable: the authors' writing style is straight-forward and concise, and at the same time manages to explain the concepts very well: no lecturing, no wordiness. There is a prevailing pattern of presentation to ideas: introduction, example, theorem, proof, excercise, and it works out wonderfully. The text is well integrated with equations. Well worth the money. ... Read more

Book Description

Robert J. Lang, one of the world's foremost origami artists and scientists, presents the never-before-described mathematical and geometric principles that allow anyone to design original origami, something once restricted to an elite few. From the theoretical underpinnings to detailed step-by-step folding sequences, this book takes a modern look at the heart of the centuries-old art of origami.

Origami novices will appreciate the organization of the book, which begins with easy techniques and progresses to deep and powerful tools for design, all based on simple, intuitive concepts like grafting, circle packing, and assembly of tiles.

Both novices and aficionados will find detailed, step-by-step instructions for previously unpublished models, including the famous "Black Forest Cuckoo Clock." ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Insightful and Inspiring
I approached this book with a beginner/intermediate appreciation of origami, having dabbled in basic and moderately difficult forms occasionally through the years. I haven't seen any of the reviews yet highlight the greatest asset of this book; that it teaches you to gain an insightful eye into how models are constructed from the elementary bases. Most importantly, it liberates the casual origami hobbyist from merely following instructions, and leaves the reader equipped with the folding methods and techniques to create his own models.

The unique aspect of the book's organization is that each folding technique is taught in a "top-down" hierarchy, beginning with the sheet of paper, and highlighting how "limbs" and "extensions" evolve from the folds. The more intricate methods are then re-illustrated, in the other direction, starting with the finished form, and reverse engineering how desired traits impact the pattern of creases on the unfolded piece of paper. This approach suites people of all learning disciplines, from those who prefer to see their models evolve as they are folded, to those who begin with an image of the final creation, and work backwards.

Several ingenious techniques are described for understanding the underpinning structure of a model, including an analysis of the creases made on the unfolded paper, how cutting and grafting can prove whether desired models are technically feasible, and how angles and edges limit the number of extended "limbs" that can be made. All of this is described in a straight-forward and colloquial prose, supplemented with an engaging historical account of the evolution of origami into a scientific discipline.

All told, this book is a masterpiece in aesthetic/scientific literature, which truly engages and inspires the reader. I highly recommend this book for artists and engineers alike, and anyone seeking to understand how beauty and complexity emerges from simplicity.

This is how every instructional book should be written
Just two days ago, I had a very casual interest in origami. The primary reason being that I have no patience to simply follow instructions folding paper, and not seeing where all this paper folding is leading to till the last 1-2 steps. And, even then, why the precise sequence of folds has to be followed doesn't become clearer when you have completed your figure.

But, after getting this book, my entire perspective on origami has been drastically changed. For the first time, I have seen an Origami book which actually de-assembles the steps, and talks about the design in a top-down approach, focussing on the major folds/creases, and the general concepts and principles you need to create a figure of your own from scratch.

Despite the intimidating size of this book, you will very quickly get a sense of what all the folds are doing, and most importantly, start creating your own origami designs.

The origami designs in this book will amaze you - a heart with an arrow piercing it, a toy train, and a whole host of others which you won't believe were actually developed from a single sheet of paper without any glue or cuts.

don't be intimidated by the several pages of steps to follow to make a model. The text in each chapter gives an excellent overview and you will not feel lost in the design: in fact, you will begin to see why the creases/folds are necessary, even though you may have over 70% of the steps still to do.

Lastly, the chapter on the Tree Algorithm is outstanding. This chapter discusses a computational approach to develop an origami figure from scratch. By the time you reach this chapter, the author has done a marvellous job of putting all the design ingedients in place, so you will appreciate the advanced mathematical theory. (For me, this was the best part. But, then, I have a Ph.D. in mathematical optimization. Nonetheless, there is a wealth of material in the rest of book also.)

I only wish that other instructional books in other subjects could be as good.

Review of Origami Design Secrets
This is a fantastic book! I highly recommend it. I have been doing origami for 10 years, and this is the best book I've seen yet. This book is for advanced folders. It includes instructions for a tree frog, a couple turtles, an Alamo stallion, the Bull Moose, an African elephant, the black forest cuckoo clock, and more. It also explains a lot of techniques used to fold some of the things he made and how to figure out things for yourself. This book is worth every penny, and then some.

the summit of the origami mountain
This tome is the pinnacle of origami literature. It puts some of my more serious college textbooks to shame. Origami can now be a subject on equal ground with Calculus, Physics, Linear Algebra, etc. It has a lot of pages with a lot of text. The sheer weight of it will suprise you. It is not for young children or light reading.

Design Secrets starts off very simple and progresses nicely. I guarantee at some point during the book every folder will pass his/her knowledge and be swimming in new information. More advanced folders may skip ahead a few chapters.

The book, despite having a lot of information, is quite readable; Lang did a great job making the language very accesable.

If you are looking for new diagrams buy a different book. If you are looking to become an origami designe