Book Description

Intended for a two-semester applied calculus course or a two-term course of finite mathematics and applied calculus, Mathematical Applications, 7/e, presents concepts and skills in an approachable way for students of varying abilities and interests. Applications cover diverse topics that are important to students in the management, life, and social sciences.

• New! A greater variety of exercises include more critical-thinking questions, challenging new Examples, and Checkpoint Exercises. In addition to enhanced variety, the improved grading of drill and application exercises offers appropriate problems for students of all abilities and skill levels.
• New! Numerous data-driven examples and exercises have been updated throughout the text and the number of modeling problems has increased.
• New! More graphical interpretations have been added to the exposition, especially during calculus discussions.
• New! Enhanced optional technology coverage includes the addition of Excel information, as necessary, and expanded discussion of calculator capabilities to clarify presentation of algebraic topics.
• New! New margin labels and example labels have been added to help readers quickly identify where concepts are presented and when new topics are introduced.
• Chapter Warm Ups appear at the beginning of each chapter, with the exception of Chapter 0, allowing instructors and students to easily assess whether the student is prepared to begin the new material or needs to review prerequisite concepts before continuing.
• Check Points pose questions and problems that allow students to check their own understanding of the skills and concepts under discussion before proceeding. Solutions are conveniently located before the section exercises.
• Application Previews begin each section and establish the context and direction for the concepts to be presented. They are revisited in complete worked-out examples that appear later in the lesson.
• Application contexts are clearly labeled and identified, enabling instructors to tailor their assignments to their students' majors. More than 2,000 of the 5,500 exercises in the book are applied problems, and most chapters include a section or sections devoted exclusively to applications of the mathematical topics presented in the chapter.

Book Description

Amstat News asked three review editors to rate their top five favorite books in the September 2003 issue. Categorical Data Analysis was among those chosen.

A valuable new edition of a standard reference.
"A 'must-have' book for anyone expecting to do research and/or applications in categorical data analysis."
-Statistics in Medicine on Categorical Data Analysis, First Edition

The use of statistical methods for categorical data has increased dramatically, particularly for applications in the biomedical and social sciences. Responding to new developments in the field as well as to the needs of a new generation of professionals and students, this new edition of the classic Categorical Data Analysis offers a comprehensive introduction to the most important methods for categorical data analysis.

Designed for statisticians and biostatisticians as well as scientists and graduate students practicing statistics, Categorical Data Analysis, Second Edition summarizes the latest methods for univariate and correlated multivariate categorical responses. Readers will find a unified generalized linear models approach that connects logistic regression and Poisson and negative binomial regression for discrete data with normal regression for continuous data. Adding to the value in the new edition is coverage of:

• Three new chapters on methods for repeated measurement and other forms of clustered categorical data, including marginal models and associated generalized estimating equations (GEE) methods, and mixed models with random effects
• Stronger emphasis on logistic regression modeling of binary and multicategory data
• An appendix showing the use of SAS for conducting nearly all analyses in the book
• Prescriptions for how ordinal variables should be treated differently than nominal variables
• Discussion of exact small-sample procedures
• More than 100 analyses of real data sets to illustrate application of the methods, and more than 600 exercises

Reviews (3)

A classic, made even better
This is a very demanding, thorough, and clear description of just about everything anyone could want to know on the subject. The second edition is considerably more rigorous than the first. Agresti stresses that logistic models are one kind of generalized linear model. This offers solid connections to many other models, but places corresponding demands on the reader. In particular, Chapter 4 is difficult going, but might be skipped or skimmed on first reading.

Given the mathematical level and rigor, this is a remarkably clear book. Anyone who analyzes categorical data on a regular basis should read it and have it on his or her shelf.

Categorical Data Analysis
Book comes with great condition, although the shipping speed is somehow disappointing.

some day should be a Wiley classic
When this book came out in 1990 it was the first book to provide a truely modern treatment of categorical data analysis for both ordinal and nominal data. It provides an excellent treatment of the asymptotic theory for binary and multinomial data. It is extremely well written and is still a favorite of statisticians and practitioners. Because of its popularity and continued value, it should soon be added to the Wiley Classic series.

This is the first book to take the regression approach to categorical data analysis tieing the subject to the methods and theory of the generalized linear models. It also was one of the first to show the modern practicality of exact permutation methods.

The only drawback of this book is that it is 11 years old and there have been many interesting and relevant research developments in computer-intensive methods, analysis of missing data and mixed effects linear models to make a revision useful. Some of the latest developments can be found in Lloyd's new book "Statistical Analysis of Categorical Data" that was recently published by Wiley.

Agresti provides clear advice and also gives a nice historical perspective on the development of the subject. The book is authoritative and includes numerous relevant references. Each chapter contains many exercises and a wealth of practical examples for illustration of the techniques. This is a good text from both practical and theoretical perspectives. It is excellent for a graduate level course on categorical data analysis. ... 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

Charles Seife traces the origins and colorful history of the number zero from Aristotle to superstring theory by way of Pythagoras, the Kabbalists, and Einstein. Weaving together ancient dramas and state-of-the-art science, Zero is a concise tour of a universe of ideas bound up in the simple notion of nothingness. ... Read more

Reviews (82)

A good summary
Despite the abstract nature of it's subject matter, this book is a surprisingly breezy and informative read about the history of zero and it's value in the mathematics (and scientific) revolutions of the 1600s and still today. It's part history, part math primer, and part practical guide, with the later chapters focussing on how the zero is used in physics and astronomy.

Seiff has an engaging style and he doesn't talk down or talk above the reader. Although Seiff obviously is an expert in difficult math, he doesn't overwhelm you with equations or get too abstract. Even sections on trig and calculus are written in everyday language that you can easily follow. The book does begin to trail off at Chapter 7-8, from here much of the book seems like filler. I preferred "The Nothing That Is" (also about the zero number) a little because I was more interested in the history and that book covers it more, but Seiff still does a fine job here with history of zero, and his book is probably more useful for students trying to know how to use the zero and it's concepts for their math classes, especially figuring out the limit and other calculations.

A very engaging, interesting, and enlightening read
The title of this book is "Zero: the Biography of a Dangerous Idea." Certainly, what Charles Seife wrote does not disappoint: it IS a biography of zero. It starts from its conception in early history, and progresses to outline its development in history through the branches of mathematics, physics, art, and even philosophy. A previous reader was disappointed that the book took time to focus on physics and philosophy, but keep in mind that zero is not limited only to the mathematical realm. Indeed, it is pervasive in society, and it has affected the way we view the world. So to talk about zero yet disregard its important contributions to fields other than mathematics would be a travesty.

Seife's book is a very engaging and enlightening read. Seife looks at how zero has become: the foundation for calculus (taking limits to zero), a revolutionary idea in art (3d drawings have a point of infinity to give depth perception...and infinity and zero are just different sides of the same coin), an important concept of the numberline, and many other places. Indeed, I have read this book many times, sometimes for a quick browse and sometimes for an indepth read, and it has always been a pleasure to read.

Moreover, Seife is very knowledgeable in what he writes, and he brings a sense of humor as well--if you have ever read his article about the debate on cold fusion in 'Science' or 'Scientific American' (it was one or the other, its been a while since that article was published in the early 90s I believe) you'll see his sense of humor in his concluding paragraph (cold fusion or confusion anyone?).

And in response to another review earlier, the reader said that in the appendix there was a proof where a=1 and b=1, and from the equation a^2 - b^2 = a^2 - ab it can be found that 1=0 by factoring the difference of squares and dividing by (a-b). The reader commented that this is dividing by 0, that such an operation violates a fundamental law of algebra (cannot divide by zero), and that an editor should have caught it.

The point is that Seife is showing WHY you cannot divide by 0, that the result is 1=0 and that logic and mathematics would be invalid. He is showing why zero may be a 'dangerous idea'!

In conclusion, this book is superb in its writing and content. It lives up to what it was meant to do, to show the development of zero through history. It is clear, concise, and witty. You will not be disappointed.

Zero is fundamental
Entertaining book for students of philosophy, historians, and math neophytes, but Seife's simple-minded application of the principle of the conservation of energy to the quantum electrodynamic sea of spacetimemassenergy, i.e. the "zero point field," among other things, reveals him to be among the least imaginitive of physicists. His dismissive proposition that "nothing can come from nothing," overlooks the very simple fact that the QED sea of energy is hardly "nothing," otherwise there would be no such thing as Brownian motion or the Casimir Effect, not to mention the space, time, mass, and energy of our universe. Hal Puthoff claims that a cupful of this so called "vacuum energy" could boil away the oceans of our planet. (The most intriguing concept of "zero" is that promulageted by today's heretics such as Tom Bearden.) Presumably, however, Seife's math and philosophical history of zero is accurate. Before reading this book, this reader had known very little of it, and it was this part that he found quite enjoyable.

Jumbled mess of ideas
This is a mildly interesting and entertaining book about history of zero that unfortunately tries to be too cute with its style and to pull in so many unrelated ideas, it loses focus as you turn the pages. When "Zero" stays on topic it's OK. Seife has a pretty good grounding in most of the history, and it was facsinating to read about how the number was used for such simple purpose for Babylonians but became so important for abstract number systems later.

Middle section of the book deals with zero in calculus, useful for any student toughing it out thru intro calc. But Seife gets too drawn in to all the goofy philosophical wanderings you can make about zero, he goes off on way too many tangents that don't make sense. Yes, you can't divide 1 by 0 and the number has a special role in most operations, but how do these properties threaten to bring down the whole framework of math (to paraphrase)? There's all kinds of talk about how zero and infinity are just two sides of the same coin-- why? The author tries to sound like a sage but doesn't make much sense with the claims on these pages.

Whole thing comes apart in the last couple of chapters on physics, cosmology, and applied math which are slim on facts and chock-full of flowery language about how important zero is but where the author really doesn't back his claims. In fact, as the book goes on it seems to make less sense, as though it doesn't quite know what it's supposed to be saying as it moves farther afield from history and calculus. Why are these later chapters even here? They don't add anything and detract from the book's overall value.

Zero is not just a number, its a way of life
A very interesting book. The Author shows how mindsets, philosophies and cultures had to change to enable the Zero to be accepted. The West overlooked then resisted the idea of zero.
When the zero idea took hold and was finally accepted it affected everything from Aristoteloism, to commerce, to Art. Even the biblical creation stories took on a different light.
Art in the West during the Renaissance gained a major improvement
as the sense of perspective was developed. This vanishing point within a painting is the equivalnt of the introduction of Zero into the art world .
I would read other books by this author, interesting history, The book moves right along, I like the Author's style, plenty of background, but always stayed the coure. I believe an audio book
is probably not the correct format for this information. I would have liked to have seen the test portraying some of the
equtions. ... Read more

Book Description

This book presents the basic ideas of linear algebra in a manner that users will find understandable. It offers a fine balance between abstraction/theory and computational skills, and gives readers an excellent opportunity to learn how to handle abstract concepts. Included in this comprehensive and easy-to-follow manual are these topics: linear equations and matrices; solving linear systems; real vector spaces; inner product spaces; linear transformations and matrices; determinants; eigenvalues and eigenvectors; differential equations; and MATLAB for linear algebra. Because this book gives real applications for linear algebraic basic ideas and computational techniques, it is useful as a reference work for mathematicians and those in field of computer science.

Reviews (8)

very elementary, yet still hard to read
I don't know how Kolman managed to do it, but he did. He wrote a very basic linear algebra text book for beginners and yet made his explanations so unclear that the book ends up being hard to read. The topics are the very basics of linear algebra: no canonical forms, no infinite dimensional spaces, the underlying field is always R or C, and everything is done in terms of matrices. The explanations of the concepts that are covered could use some coherence and a dash of order.

I wouldn't recommend this book for anyone. It's pretty much garbage.

Another garbage book
This text has to be among the worst math books I have ever encountered. The content in the chapters is very vauge and I'd hazard to guess makes sense only to those who already know linear algebra. This book may perhaps be a good refresher book, but as a beginning text it fails miserably. The examples as others have said are not helpful at all nor are the solutions found in the back of the book. Overall, this book is a waste of bookshelf space. Get Anton's book instead and save yourself the trouble.

Buy Another Book
This book is required for my Linear Algebra class. Since my professor is not the best lecturer, I've had to buy another book to have any hope at understanding the material. This book gives poor explanations and the examples are not helpful. After looking around, I've found that there are many, many books out there that will make the topic easier to understand.

Very Poorly Written
This book is terrible. It gives vague information on just about everything. It does not explain in enough detail for any new student to grasp the concepts. There are very few examples, which again are not explained in good detail, and the answers in the back of the book are vague answers. There are no complete or even partial solutions for ANY questions. When your trying to do your homework if your answers come out wrong, because you dont totally understand, your stuck. By the simple one-line answers in the back all you know is that your wrong and have no way of figureing out what you did wrong. I could live with the lack of detail in the book if it gave better solutions in the back. Most of the problems throughout the chapters are not explained in the text. They may explain one way of doing something and then the chapter questions are written in a totally different way. Chapter questions for example consist of asking you to prove a lot of things, which are not in the book. How are you supposed to know if your doing anything right or wrong? Sure that's fine if you know it all ready, but this book is supposed to be to teach students not to trick them and make them work ten times harder than they should have to. I only gave this book a one star due to the fact that zero stars is not an option. I have never before received ANY grade lower than an A in ANY math class, until now.

Bottom line: poorly written
Th explanations are inadequate. They skip steps. Some elements are added into the chapters that are considered optional. Who ever heard of an optional chapter in their textbook!? I, for one, never heard of such a thing! The problems in the back are not very good usefull and are often repetative in some places and lacking in other. The proofs that the book spends much time with are also poorly explained. The author should know that to the new student, nothing is obvious, nothing is known. There is not more to say than: its a bad book.
p.s. I couldn't bring myself to any book only one star. ... Read more

Book Description

Stewart's CALCULUS, Fifth Edition has the mathematical precision, accuracy, clarity of exposition and outstanding examples and problem sets that have characterized the first four editions. In this Fifth Edition, Stewart retains the focus on problem solving and the pedagogical system that has worked so well for students in a wide variety of colleges and universities throughout the world. He has made refinements to the exposition and examples, to ensure that students have the best materials available. Further support for students and instructors is now available through a vast array of supplementary material. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

Classic Math Text
I say "Classic" because, like most math textbooks, this one is difficult to understand.

Perhaps this is not the author's fault. After all, writing a calculus text is no small feat. The authors of these books have to try to include every possible concept for fear that a math department or instructor will reject the book because it omits something or other. This means that you will get a little bit of everything, with a paltry few examples for each section. If you have a sadistic professor (aren't they all?), you may feel lost in trying to grasp calculus concepts from this book alone.

Math texts are full of assumptions, often skipping steps along the way in the examples. Packed with lots of "Thus and therefores," this book will be a mystery to all but the few geeks who were members of the math or Star Trek club in high school. Definitely buy the solutions manual, as well as REA's "Problem Solver," "Schaum's Outlines," and "3000 Solved Problems." Good luck; you're going to need it.

This book is awful
I think the author of this book tries his hardest to make the problems as confusing as possible. Especially the even ones. There are many times when an even numbered problem is extremely difficult, but there is no similar example out of any of the explained odd problems in the text. The only thing I would say is good about this book is possibly one or two of the earliest sections and the cd, which isn't even all that good as far as text book cds go. I guess the people who rated it well must have already had a pretty good handle on the concepts already, but for someone who has never had calc and who is not the best at math, this book just makes things more confusing. Your best bet would be to hope you have a very good teacher, and maybe to join a study group because the book definitely is no help.

Comprehensive textbook.
I have currently used it in order to refresh my basic calculus. I realize that there are many books of this type available and it is impossible to create a reliable comparison, however Stewart's Calculus is widely used in Colleges as well.
Based on my experience, this is not a bad example of a math textbook. What I want to emphasize - learning was quite pleasant by exploring and working through plethora of examples and projects. Physics applications use interchangeably Engineering Units System (pounds, foot, miles) and MKS System (Newton, meter, Joule) - and the first should be avoided. After all, we live in the XXI century.

Stewart provides a firm ground for calc beginners
In the world of introductory physics, there is clearly a division: those who hate Stewart, and those who love Stewart. I, frankly, am neither: but I realize that Stewart's many strong points outweigh the weak points.

Beginners often will find pure theory and proofs alien to their minds, as they are just trying to grasp how to apply what they are learning --- like how they may go about obtaining derivatives and plotting periodic functions. Stewart handles this well: while providing a good theoretical background (he states theorems and proves most of them quite clearly and succintly) he does not inundate the wide-eyed innocent with epsilons and other frightening Greek characters. Stewart stresses some very important and difficult concepts to grasp --- like the many methods on integration involving 'guessing' substitution methods and others ways of integrating which involve understanding what the answer might be in advance by scanning the integral first, etc. Stewart also introduces some differential equations and has a wonderfully long section on series which stress their most useful applications -- the convergence and divergence of series and the Taylor and Maclaurin series representations of functions.

Stewart's text is clear and easy for the student to work through either in a class setting or independently. I should know -- I taught myself Calc II (integration to series) using this book, and now I am doing quite well in advanced calc (integral transforms, partial differential equations, etc). Stewart sets the stage for success.

This book can be easily used by students at any age who have had up to the level of trigonometry.

Went okay...Delivered on time!
this was not the right book....when i entered this in only this one came up and i was not told otherwise...but i did recieve the book promptly. ... Read more

Book Description

This dynamic new edition of this proven series adds cutting edge print and media resources. An emphasis on the practical applications of algebra motivates learners and encourages them to see algebra as an important part of their daily lives. The reader-friendly writing style uses short, clear sentences and easy-to-understand language, and the outstanding pedagogical program makes the material easy to follow and comprehend. KEY TOPICS Chapter topics cover basic concepts; equations and inequalities; graphs and functions; systems of equations and inequalities; polynomials and polynomial functions; rational expressions and equations; roots, radicals, and complex numbers; quadratic functions; exponential and logarithmic functions; conic sections; and sequences, series and the binomial theorem.For the study of Algebra. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Clear & simple steps given
I used this book to challenge my Intermediate Algebra course, and I passed the exams. This book explain clearly the steps to the questions. ... Read more

Book Description

First year undergraduate calculus courses.

The difference between Early Transcendentals (ET) and Late Transcendentals (LT) is the placement of logs and exponentials (aka trancendentals) in the table of contents and therefore where those topics are covered in the course---either early or late.

The seventh edition continues to evolve to fulfil the needs of a changing market by providing flexible solutions to teaching and learning needs of all kinds. The new edition retains the strengths of earlier editions: e.g., Anton's trademark clarity of exposition; sound mathematics; excellent exercises and examples; and appropriate level, while incorporating new ideas that have withstood the objective scrutiny of many skilled and thoughtful instructors, and their students.For the first time, the seventh edition is available in both Late Transcendentals and Early Transcendentals versions.
... 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

A cocktail party.A terrorist cell.Ancient bacteria.An international conglomerate.

All are networks, and all are a part of a surprising scientific revolution. Albert-L&aacuteszl&oacute Barab&aacutesi, the nation's foremost expert in the new science of networks, takes us on an intellectual adventure to prove that social networks, corporations, and living organisms are more similar than previously thought. Grasping a full understanding of network science will someday allow us to design blue-chip businesses, stop the outbreak of deadly diseases, and influence the exchange of ideas and information. Just as James Gleick brought the discovery of chaos theory to the general public, Linked tells the story of the true science of the future. ... Read more

Reviews (60)

Dimensions and Implications of Global Interconnectedness
Frankly, I found this to be an unusually challenging book to read the first time and therefore re-read it before organizing my thoughts for this review. The Five Star rating correctly indicates my high regard for what Barabasi has accomplished as he attempts to help his reader to think in terms of networks in new and different (probably unfamiliar) ways. His book "is about how networks emerge, what they look like, and how they evolve." With meticulous care, he presents "a Web-based view of nature, society, and business, a new framework for understanding issues ranging from democracy on the Web to vulnerability of the Internet and the spread of deadly viruses." Along the way, Barabasi challenges the concept of "The Random Universe," asserting instead that everything is connected to everything else. He devotes most of his book to explaining the significance of that global interconnectedness to business, science, and everyday life.

As a non-scientist, I am unqualified to comment on much of the material which Barabasi shares. Perhaps he wrote this book for non-scientists such as I who nonetheless struggle to understand what Barabasi characterizes as the "mystery of life" which begins with the intricate web of interactions and thereby integrates the millions of molecules within each organism. "The enigma of the society starts with the convoluted structure of the social network....[For that reason] networks are the prerequisite for describing any complex system, indicating that complexity theory must inevitably stand on the shoulders of network theory. It is tempting to step in the footsteps of some of my predecessors and predict whether and when we will tame complexity." Given all that has been accomplished thus far with regard to disentangling the networks following the discovery of scale-free networks, Barabasi concludes, "Once we stumble across the right vision of complexity, it will take little to bring it to fruition. When [in italics] that will happen is one of the mysteries that keeps many of us going."

Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out Mark Buchanan's Nexus: Small Worlds and the Groundbreaking Science of Networks, Stanley Kaufman's At Home in the Universe: The Search for Laws of Self-Organization and Complexity as well as The Origins of Order: Self-Organization and Selection in Evolution, Steven Strogatz' Sync: The Emerging Science of Spontaneous Order, Duncan J. Watts' Six Degrees: the Science of a Connected Age, and Stephen Wolfram's A New Kind of Science.

I probably should add Ed Regis' The Info Mesa: Science, Business, and the New Alchemy on the Santa Fe Plateau. Regis devotes almost all of his attention to individuals and events who and which, over several decades, had a profound impact on essentially the same subjects as those discussed in the books previously recommended. Also, Regis examines in much greater detail than do the other authors how core concepts about networks and their complexity were introduced to the commercial marketplace by various entrepreneurs.

Great explanatory power!
Nowadays, everybody talks about networks. Yet, what networks really are and how they function, often remains rather vague in conversations. This book offers great insight into the evolution, the structure and the relevance of networks. The author, Albert Barabási, himself a creative and important contributor to network science, makes the rapid and fascinating advances made in this field comprehensible.

Our world is filled with complex networks, webs of highly connected nodes. Not all nodes are equal, however. In fact, in many real-world complex networks, there is a typical hierarchy of nodes (called a POWERLAW DISTRIBUTION). This means there are a few extremely well connected nodes (these are called HUBS), there are quite a few moderately connected nodes and there are large numbers of tiny nodes (having very few connections to other nodes). The Internet, for instance, has only several hubs - like amazon.com and Yahoo - and countless tiny nodes -like my own website :-(.

The structure of networks with a powerlaw distribution is called a SCALEFREE TOPOLOGY. Such a scale free topology is found in networks that 1) are GROWING (extra nodes and links emerge), and 2) are characterised by PREFERENTIAL ATTACHMENT (this means that some links are far more likely to get linked than others). Preferential attachment, is driven by two factors: 1) the number of links the node already has (this is in fact the first mover advantage: a nodes that has been there since the early development of the network gets the biggest chance to get connected), and 2) the node's fitness (for instance a new website offering a truely unique service has an excellent chance to get many links).

A fascinating characteristic of scale free networks is the following. The density of the interconnectivity paradoxically creates two properties at the same time: 1) ROBUSTNESS (removing nodes will not easily lead to the breakdown of the network, precisely because of the fact that all nodes are connected. Only simultaneous removal of the largest hubs will break down the network), and 2) VULNERABILITY TO ATTACK (because of the fact that all nodes are indirectely connected to each other failures, like viruses, can very easily spread through the whole network. This phenomenon is called 'cascading failures'.

Reading this book made me realise that the recently acquired knowledge about networks is revolutionizing many fields of science, like biology, medical science and economics. Also, the practical applications will be numerous, like protecting the internet, fighting terrorist networks, finding a cure for cancer (!), and developing new organizational forms.

A complex world in simple words
This is an excellent book. The author is extremely able to explain difficult concepts about complex systems in a simple and precise manner, using examples from a variety of domains. The richness of applications -- ranging from spread of epidemics to the internet-- is the first strength of the book and of the theory of scale free networks that appear to be a very promising and original tool to understand the web of interactions of complex systems. The second strength is the clarity of writing: a rarity in the scientific world. This book is an example of good writing with the objective of being understood and making science accessible.

A captivating read
I first heard the author speak on NPR. Not only was I enthralled with his intelligence and clarity of thought, I was captivated by the promise of a new perspective on the connectedness of all things, from the sizes of stars in a galaxy to the revolution in internet search engines to the biology of the cell. This book delivers on that promise with insight, wit and style.

Reduction to nodes and links
Albert Barabasi presents the lay reader with a stimulating description of the origins of network theory and recent applications. He describes random networks, small world and scalefree networks. In nonrandom networks the importance of hubs is emphasized. Small world networks are the ones with a well defined averge number of links, and in scalefree ones the density of links scales as a power law. For the many interesting examples discussed, I would like to have seen graphs showing scaling over at least three decades in order to be convinced of scaling. However, in practice, whether a network scales or not may not be so important. I liked best the discussions of terrorism, AIDS, and biology. If one could locate the hubs, then a small world network could be destroyed, but as the author points out there is no systematic method for locating the hubs. Also, destroyed hubs in a terror network might be replaced rather fast, whereas airline hubs could not be replaced so quickly. The book might be seen as indicating a starting point to try to develop a branch of mathematical sociology. For example, the maintainance of ethnic identity outside the Heimat is discussed in terms of networking. Now for a little criticism.

I did not find the discussion of ‚the rich get richer' very helpful because network theory at this stage deals only with static geometry, not with empirically-based dynamics. In fact, the dynamics of financial markets have been described empirically accurately without using any notion of networking. In the text the phrase „economic stability" is used but stability is a dynamic idea, and there is no known empirical evidence from the analysis of real markets for any kind of stability. The absence of dynamics on networks means that complexity is not described at all: there is nothing complex about the geometry of a static network! Suggesting that cell biology can be described by networking is empty so long as dynamics are not deduced from empirics. Nonempirical models of dynamics will probably not be of much use for making advances in understanding or treating cancer, e.g. Everything we know about cell biology and cancer was discovered via reductionism, by isolating cause and effect the way that a good auto mechanic does in order to repair a car.

Unfortunately, the author lets his enthusiasm get the best of him when he proclaims „laws of self-organization" and the need to go beyond reductionism. First, there are no known laws of „self-organization". The only known laws of nature are the laws of physics and consequences deduced from the laws, namely, chemistry and cell biology. Worse, every mathematical model that can be written down is a form of reductionism. Quantum theory reduces phenomena to (explains phenomena via) atoms and molecules. All of chemistry is about that. Cell biology attempts to reduce observed phenomena to DNA, proteins, and cells. Believers in self-organized criticality try to reduce the important features of nature to the equivalent of sandpiles. Network enthusiasts hope to reduce phenomena to nodes and links. In order to try to isolate cause and effect, there is no escape from reductionism of one form or another, holism being an empty illusion. So I did not at all like the assertion on pg. 200 that globalization (via deregulation and privatization) is inevitable, because there is no law that tells us that it is.

Summarizng: there is no complexity without dynamics, there are no known „laws of self-organization", and reductionism is the only hope for doing science. Anyone who disagrees with this is welcome to explain to me and others the alternative (jmccauley@uh.edu). ... 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

In the numbers explosion all around us in our modern-day dealings, the buzzword is data, as in, “Do you have any data to support your claim?” “The data supported the original hypothesis that . . .” and “The data bear this out. . . .” But the field of statistics is not just about data. Statistics is the entire process involved in gathering evidence to answer questions about the world, in cases where that evidence happens to be numerical data.

Statistics For Dummies is for everyone who wants to sort through and evaluate the incredible amount of statistical information that comes to them on a daily basis. (You know the stuff: charts, graphs, tables, as well as headlines that talk about the results of the latest poll, survey, experiment, or other scientific study.) This book arms you with the ability to decipher and make important decisions about statistical results, being ever aware of the ways in which people can mislead you with statistics. Get the inside scoop on number-crunching nuances, plus insight into how you can

• Determine the odds
• Calculate a standard score
• Find the margin of error
• Recognize the impact of polls
• Establish criteria for a good survey
• Make informed decisions about experiments

This down-to-earth reference is chock-full of real examples from real sources that are relevant to your everyday life: from the latest medical breakthroughs, crime studies, and population trends to surveys on Internet dating, cell phone use, and the worst cars of the millennium. Statistics For Dummies departs from traditional statistics texts, references, supplement books, and study guides in the following ways:

• Practical and intuitive explanations of statistical concepts, ideas, techniques, formulas, and calculations.
• Clear and concise step-by-step procedures that intuitively explain how to work through statistics problems.
• Upfront and honest answers to your questions like, “What does this really mean?” and “When and how I will ever use this?”

Chances are, Statistics For Dummies will be your No. 1 resource for discovering how numerical data figures into your corner of the universe. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

It's just okay
A reasonable overview of the subject. Go down to your local community college, buy a $15 Texas Instrument ti-30x-II calculator, go on line and pull down a ti-30x-II pdf file for free and REALLY learn what you're looking at. Plus you get college credit for passing. "Stats for dummies" reminds me of a MBA in 12 hours course I once took. Oh yeah, you might have to invest some time using excel spreadsheets if the stats course is business related.

What Statistics for Dummies is About
Statistics for Dummies would be useful in a statistics class, but it is also easily accessible to the general public. The book contains a wide range of examples for any topic in the introductory statistics syllabus, as well as step-by-step explanations of all calculations needed. The book is also very useful for getting clear cut, intuitive explanations of statistical ideas. The index is a quick way to find whatever you are looking for.

Statistics for Dummies
This author is great, and the book has helped me tremendously! There are tons of problems in the book, and the author walks us step by step through the calculations. If you want to understand statistics, I would recommend this book.

More of a professional level
Deborah Rumsey has obviously written this book for the professional because there are no examples of any kind to be found in the book. If your looking for a book that shows examples of how to work the formulas for statistics then I highly recommend Shaum's Statistics third edition. Statistics for Dummies is a real disappointment to the dummies series of books. ... Read more

Book Description

This text is designed to provide an interactive learning experience between the learner and the exposition, annotated examples, art, and the exercises you will find within.The first book on the market to introduce a "learn as you go" approach by including practice exercises in the margins of the text, this best seller uses real-data applications to help apply mathematics to your everyday life. Concepts and skills learned as you progress through the text are revisited again and again in the form of cumulative reviews, skill maintenance exercises, and synthesis exercises to help you retain what you have learned and see how it all relates together. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Review from a college student
I really did not like this book. There is not enough examples to go along with the problems that you have to do. Most everyone in my class had the same complaint. The workbook was not required, but I don't think you could do the work without it. I wish the college would get a different book. I am also sick of Marvin Bittinger thinking everyone is interested in working out because he is. Get a clue Marvin!

Great, thourough, easy to learn.
It is a great source to learn algebra a recommendation would be to use the Introductory to Algebra by the same Martin L. Bittinger or have already learned Algebra I, Because this book is really fairly advanced for younger students and is covering mostly Algebra II information.

>>> online college credit course using this text <<<
This book is comprehensive and ideal for self-study. At Bakersfield College we have been using this text in our online course, Intermediate Algebra, for the past two years. If you're interested in taking this course, e-mail me and I'll send you further information. (We'll be changing to a new edition of this text in the future) ... Read more

Book Description

James Stewart, author of the worldwide, best-selling Calculus texts, along with two of his former Ph.D. students, Lothar Redlin and Saleem Watson, collaborated in writing this text to address a problem they frequently saw in their calculus courses: many students were not prepared to think mathematically but attempted instead to memorize facts and mimic examples. College Algebra was written specifically to help students learn to think mathematically and to develop true problem-solving skills. This comprehensive, evenly paced book highlights the authors' commitment to encouraging conceptual understanding. To implement this goal, Stewart, Redlin, and Watson incorporate technology, the rule of four, real-world applications, and extended projects and writing exercises to enhance a central core of fundamental skills. ... Read more

Book Description

Practical Algebra If you studied algebra years ago and now need a refresher course in order to use algebraic principles on the job, or if you’re a student who needs an introduction to the subject, here’s the perfect book for you. Practical Algebra is an easy and fun-to-use workout program that quickly puts you in command of all the basic concepts and tools of algebra. With the aid of practical, real-life examples and applications, you’ll learn:

• The basic approach and application of algebra to problem solving
• The number system (in a much broader way than you have known it from arithmetic)
• Monomials and polynomials; factoring algebraic expressions; how to handle algebraic fractions; exponents, roots, and radicals; linear and fractional equations
• Functions and graphs; quadratic equations; inequalities; ratio, proportion, and variation; how to solve word problems, and more

Reviews (30)

One of the top math books written for beginners
This book quite simply tells it how it is. Primer books are usually obscure or skip steps. Anyone can follow along each page as every single heuristic and solution is given. Most math books are not self-teaching because they skip many steps or assume you know something. The authors here guide you like a small child who has never seen a linear equation. After reading this booklet you will become a master at algebra and word problems. This book raised my SAT score by 100 points! Surely you can afford a copy, it is actually a better teacher than most college professors. Math used to be my weak point and I avoided it, now I study it with the same rigor I applied to literature.

Wonderful Refresher Course -- Simplified, Painless Algebra
Aside from the joking "mistake" on page 3, this book is a fantastic and well-written, concise, thorough explanation of Algebra, in Terms that do not fry your logic circuits.
I am not entirely sure if someone could Teach Themselves Algebra, completely, with this book, but it is a Wonderful Refresher Course. Personally, I had to set College aside for a few years, due to working all the time. When my schedule finally became stable and reasonable, I realized two years had disappeared. So, I used this Study Guide to get myself back up to speed. Sure, I had all of my old notes, tests, quizzes and whatnot, but this book relieved the stress of matching-up chapters to notes and deciphering scribbled notes taken at light-speed. I simply sat-down with this practical study guide for several evenings and weekends, before diving back into college courses.
This book helped jog my memory and get me back on track, quickly. It seems the Perfect choice for refreshing the Memory Chips, between High School and College--esp., for those who haven't had an Algebra course for several years.
My synopsis of this great study guide is:
This is a quick, Painless, way to Learn Algebra and Refresh your memory for college courses, or to use as a helpful study guide along with the College Texts and notes from class.
This book is especially good for people who spend most of their time working, or studying for on-the-job certifications, as well as college courses. I assume it would be great for High School Students, as well.

Comforting, useful, and even fun!
This is a fantastic book. Like many other reviewers, I had to study for a math placement exam, and hadn't taken math in about 15 years ... pretty nervous about the whole thing. I bought this book about a month before the test, worked through the examples, and did much better than expected on the exam (somehow placed into Trig!).

The strengths of this book are its friendly, nonintimidating tone, its step-by-step format, and its thoroughness. I actually had fun with it, which was a surprise. This book is an excellent, cheap investment which will pay off many times if you really apply yourself and do the problems.

I've never studied Algebra before but I know it now
This book is very good for Algebra reviewers or first time learners. One thing it lacks is drill and some explanations are hard to understand for first timers. I had to ask a friend to help me out and also look up better explanations online. Apart from that its fantastic. His attitude and writing approach are encouraging.

great book
i was looking for a book that would refresh my math skills for college and this book absolutely did that.you have to get used to the format first though. at first it was a little confusing and things didnt seem to flow but after reading it over a couple of times everything started to flow nicely and the math started making sense.so dont give up. ... 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 j