Reviews (29)

Very useful book for GRE CS Subject preparation (part III)
I needed a book which would speed me up with my GRE computer science subject test (part III: Theory). Having non US and non english language based Bachelor Degrees in CS and Math, I needed something to both learn the more precise terminology and at the same time to gather my prevous knoweldge of the subject. After little bit of browsing and examining of reviews, book contents and browsing pages in bookstores, I decided to buy this one.

I admit that I had a solid knowledge of almost all chapters of the book and that the book might be hard to swallow for someone who is not a little bit familiar in mathematical logic and elementary math but otherwise, the book is excellent. Even authors admit that previous editions were more demanding and in this one they introduced many easier examples and appropriate pictures and diagrams so I really did not have any problems understanding every concept.

After each chapter exercises are given and while they are useful, I would prefer solutions embedded into the book (as in Knuth's Art of Programming). Rather that doing that, authors put solutions (to selected exercises) on their web page which is not bad but the book would be more complete (and probably more expensive) with solutions inside. I would pay $20 more for that version though...

I also must say that I really appreciate hard cover and excellent quality paper (these unfortunately raised the price)

Overall, this is an excellent book and if you are in a similar situation as me, I would recommend this one.

A very good book for theory of computing
Hopcroft's book is a very good introduction to the theory of computing, from finite automata to undecidability. He introduces the text with a crash course in proofs, which is useful for a text of this nature. They have several examples with illustrations to facilitate quicker learning of deterministic finite automata, pushdown automata, and Turing machines. These illustrations proved very helpful for me, a visual learner. The book itself is chock full of examples and theorems with proofs. Problems with the book: more explanation on Homomorphisms would be nice. The exercises can get very much harder than the simple material the book teaches, so running through them takes considerable amount of time often. Overall it's a good book, and a lot easier to understand than their first edition in 1979. The material can at times seem a bit outdated since the computing world has changed by several orders of magnitude since their original work, but it still provides a solid foundation in the philosophy and mathematics of computing. Perhaps if you're a Cornell student you'll get the privilege of taking this theory class with Hopcroft as your instructor; he's very nice and willing to help students understand the material.

first edition is a classic, the second one unremarkable
The first edition is one of the best book in its field. A classic. A reference for many advanced courses in computer theory.

Sadly, the second edition misses a great deal of the first edition. Many chapters were removed. Important lemmas and theorems are missing.

I would gladly exchange my second edition for the first one, if it wasn't out of print.

J.

Excellent introductory text, but has several weaknesses
This was my textbook for an introductory course on Finite Automata and Languages - I enjoyed it a lot and I think that the chapters until the Turing Machines are covered very well, along with good examples. As one previous reviewer has already mentioned, the exercises can get very hard as compared to what's actually presented - this I found not too good.

The topics of complexity classes and NP-Completeness, as well as the chapter on Turing Machines are rather succint and do not cover the full depth. Papadimitriou's "Computational Complexity" does a better job in this respect, even though it is not at all flawless. Some might say that there is a reason why this book is introductory, but I argue that instead of doing a poor job, the authors should have maybe just made another book dealing with the above-mentioned topics.

PS: My professor told me that the first edition was much better - maybe you could find it somewhere in the library, if interested.

Could be better
As a student using this book, I simply found it a little too difficult at times to grasp what the concepts were. The examples, at times were just too complicated, and could have been done better with easy to understand examples. Not so sure about this one. However, if you are already tamed in automata theory concepts, I'm sure you'll love it. ... Read more

Book Description

This book bridges the gap between traditional algebra books and reform books, written to promote the AMATYC standards published as Crossroads in Mathematics. It provides users with a sound traditional mathematical foundation, fully integrates graphing calculator technology, and encourages computer activities.This book includes key topics in algebra such as linear equations and inequalities with one and two variables, systems of equations, polynomial functions and equations, quadratic functions and equations, exponential functions and equations, logarithmic functions an equations, rational and radical expressions, and conic sections. For professionals who wish to brush up on their algebra skills or enhance them with the use of graphing calculators and computers. ... 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

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

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

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

As both a highly readable tutorial and a definitive reference for over a million Mathematica users worldwide, this book covers every aspect of Mathematica. It is an essential resource for all users of Mathematica from beginners to experts. This expanded fifth edition presents Mathematica Version 5 for the first time and is important for anyone interested in the progress of advanced computing.

Included in this new edition are the following:

- Visual tour of key features
- Practical tutorial introduction
- Full descriptions of 1,200+ built-in functions
- Thousands of illustrative examples
- Easy-to-follow descriptive tables
- Essays highlighting key concepts
- Mathematica language tutorial
- Guide to symbolic programming
- Introduction to document-centered interfaces
- Guide to the MathLink API
- Notes on internal implementation
- Index with 10,000+ entries ... Read more

Reviews (11)

amazing
Mathematica is a fairly specialized software for working with a broad
range of mathematical equations and graphs. The book is a description
of how to use the software. Stephen Wolfram wrote the software, so the
book is pretty authoritative. I find the book and the software to be
amazing, fantastic, phenomenal, ground-breaking, and all the other
adjectives like those. I'd also throw in artistic, poetic, and
stunningly beautiful. The software does not come with the book - it's
sold separately.... There is a student version available
for significantly less.... The student version is the same
as the professional version, but you have to upgrade to the
professional version after you graduate (but you get a discount on the
upgrade also). There is an electronic copy of the book that is
included with the software, but I find it handy to also have the hard
copy book. I also found the software support people to be outstanding
- helpful, friendly, and supportive.

An essential reference for Mathematica users
It's a shame that the spotlight review for this book is a tirade by a frustrated student who envies Stephen Wolfram's ability to make money. So much for Amazon's ability to separate the wheat from the chaff!

Here's my opinion: I've been a Mathematica user since 1989 and have found the various versions of the book to be essential references. Mathematica has become an indispensable tool in my work as a teacher, researcher, and consultant, and I've even written a book about Mathematica applications in my field. If I were limited to only one piece of software, this would be it (ok, an operating system would be good, too). Maybe it's because I learned to progam by writing mainframe FORTRAN programs on keypunch cards but, whatever the reason, I disagree with just about all of the comments in the negative review. I am continually amazed at the things I can do using Mathematica and, in general, how quickly and easily I can do them.

Sure, a person needs some mathematical saavy to get the most out of Mathematica. Maybe that was the negative reviewer's problem. The reason that the particular inequality of interest to him or her isn't specifically addressed may be that almost anyone with rudimentary knowledge of Mathematica, some insight into problem solving, and a curious spirit can easily think of at least three or four ways to accomplish the task at hand. I looked at his or her inequality, thought about it for a minute or two while I had a sip of coffee, and then made a contour plot in a few seconds. No need at all for Calculus Whiz, although people just learning calculus may indeed find it helpful.

It is, though, important to distinguish between the quality of the book and the need to buy a copy. Mathematica does come with both digital and paper copies of the book, so many people may not need to buy an extra copy. If you don't need one, don't buy one. It might be nice to have one, though, if your old copy has worn out from heavy use or if your only access to Mathematica is via a network and site license. People enrolled in the Premier subscription plan received an upgrade to version 5 but no paper copy of the book, so they might want one as well.

The bottom line is this: The book is outstanding and an essential reference for anyone using Mathematica. That's why I give it 5 stars. If you need or want a paper copy, then buy one. If not, don't.

I'll tell you why you should buy this book
Can't take a computer to bed and read? Have a long commute on a train, going for a ride? Any number of reasons can be thought of to buy this book. It's an app book. Great resource when something is tapping on the inside of your head. Recommended.

Go used, and save a few bucks.

The reference, not the tutorial
There's a lot of power in Mathematica, as a symbolic algebra system, as super-powered calculator, for basic graphics, and even for limited kinds of text preparation. This puts essentially all of that power in your hands.

You had better have strong hands. This is as thick as most two books on my shelf. That's what it takes, though, to describe something as featureful as Mathematica. Just about any function you ever heard of, it has. It also has the derivative and integral, in symbolic form, and maybe even a moment generating function, if that applies. It's all there and it's indexed fairly well.

That won't help the beginner struggling with the basic syntax or programming model. The pattern matching is not at all intuitive, if you've been programming in procedural or OO languages - a Prolog background would serve you better. Combinations of code, formatted text, and graphics are also possible, but no always easy to work out from this text. This is not a primer, it's an encyclopedia.

That's what I want, though: the language, the library, and an organization that doesn't hide them. It's not a user-friendly introduction, but I'm not a very friendly user.

the definitive guide to the Mathematica software
I bought the 2nd edition of this book back in the early 90s when a student edition of the software was available to me inexpensively for the Mac. The book was very helpful in learning how to use the Mathematica program. There are examples galore and many graphical illustrations. As other reviewers have said, the whole book comes online with the software and you can easily search it, but I liked having an offline copy too. The later versions are just extensions of earlier ones.

It is easy to learn how to do simple examples from the book. Suppose you want to plot the expression |x-y| + |x| + |y|. On page ix, before the book really begins, there is an example of the syntax to make a plot: Plot3D[ Sin[x y], {x,0,Pi}, {y,0,Pi} ]. In chapter 1 (p. 49) you learn that the absolute value is given by the Abs[x] function.

So, you can type Plot3D[ Abs[x-y] + Abs[x] + Abs[y], {x,-2,2}, {y,-2,2}] to get a nice 3D plot of this expression, with x and y in the range -2 to 2. If you want to see a plot where the value of the expression is <= 2, you can restrict the Z range of the plot, as illustrated in chapter 1 (p. 157), like this:
Plot3D[ Abs[x-y] + Abs[x] + Abs[y], {x,-2,2}, {y,-2,2}, PlotRange->{0,2} ]. ... Read more

Book Description

Built from the ground up to meet the needs of today's calculus learners, Calculus was the first book to pair a complete calculus syllabus with the best elements of reform—like extensive verbalization and strong geometric visualization. The Third Edition of this groundbreaking book has been crafted and honed, making it the book of choice for those seeking the best of both worlds. Numerous chapters offer an exciting choice of problem sets and include topics such as functions and graphs, limits and continuity, differentiation, additional applications of the derivative, integration, additional applications of the integral, methods of integration, infinite series, vectors in the plane and in space, vector-valued functions, partial differentiation, multiple integration, introduction to vector analysis, and introduction to differential equations. For individuals in fields related to engineering, science, or mathematics.

Reviews (7)

Very Challenging
Many people say that this book is bad. On the other hand, I think is very challenging. The exercises are not as simple as in other calculus textbooks. The book explains everything well and provides you with many examples. I am a math major and this book has been really helpful.

An excellent book
This is an excellent book for self-studying. I do not understand why some users rate it one star.

Student's Nightmare--AWFUL!
I am an engineering student, and had this text assigned for my Calc 1, 2, and 3 classes. This book was one of the worst mathematical texts I have ever used. The examples were pitiful, and weren't an accurate reflection of the subsequent problem sets. Virtually every section was error-ridden, and the authors' answers were oversimplified, to the point where you would have no clue as to how they were attained.

Also, more about the book itself, and not the content--the binding fell apart for every person that had this class with me, and the ink on the pages will smear with a rub of the finger, or eraser.

The only commendable trait in the text would be the computer-generated graphics/plots. Especially those that were 3D. That is why I decided to bestow the one star...actually, I couldn't give it zero.

If you HAVE to purchase this text for a class, be prepared to write a letter to your professor at the end of the course, telling him/her how awful this text was. If you are looking to purchase it for your leisure reading.....DON'T! There are many better texts out there.

Terrible
This book is one of the worst books that I have bought thus far in college. I am in Calc 3 right now and my opinion keeps getting worse of the book. They should have at least put the correct answers in the back of the book if they were going to put any at all. It's really hard to learn what they confusingly try to teach you, let alone not even know whether your answers are right or not.

Clearly presents a difficult subject
The worst thing a beginning calculus student could be faced with is a dry, confusing text. Bradley and Smith do a good job presenting the material in an understandable fashion. ... Read more

Reviews (13)

Superb explanations, great excercises,not sacrificing rigor.
One of the best mathematics books I have ever read!

If you like pure mathematics, and want a book that helps you learn abstract algebra fast without sacrificing depth, this is it! Easy to read, and the excercises after each section are split into "Computations", "Concepts", and "Theory", and doing them helps to ensure that you have grasped it all and not misunderstood anything. I love this book! And no, this is not an advertisement!

excellent book
this is the best first book on abstract algebra that i know. while there are books that are deeper and more advanced, this book does a great job of motivating the concepts. try to look in other books and see if they explain why is a group defined as it is. rigor is not sacrificed (although the problems arent that difficult), and explanations are very clear. overall, a great FIRST read after which u might want to turn to hernstein or one of the other advanced books, and understand everything that goes on there. but dont make the mistake of getting a totally abstract and advanced book for a first course - u will probably not get much out of it. especially suitable for self study.
odd numbered problems not requiring proofs are solved, and there is a reasonable amount of examples

Well-written Book for beginner
I used this book for my 1st Abstract Algebra course. At first, the discussion seemed to be somewhat lengthy but if you can get yourself into the author's style, you will enjoy it. True, it's not a book for those who want a well-structured proof but that won't matter much considering this book is intended to a beginner who take his/her 1st algebra course.

Lots of examples to test your understanding and lots of problems with increasing difficulty. Most of the problems are very stimulating.

Even after I took my second class in Algebra (i used diff book), i often go back to this book to see some additional information. What I like best about this book though is that the author likes to explain things in terms of mappings and, of course, lots of diagram to help you better understand the concept!

If you're a beginning student and considering to buy this book, then go for it - it worths the money! I think i'll bring this book with me to grad school. :) good luck.

A Good First Theory Book
My undergrad Abstract Algebra I & II classes used this book (or rather the 6th edition which Amazon is no longer carrying). I think it's a very good book with a sufficient number of examples and detailed explanations. The reviewer who stated that this is not a book for mathematicians is correct; this is a book for undergrad students taking their first course in theoretical mathematics. The title of the book, "A FIRST Cource in Abstract Algebra", assumes this which is why proofs and explanations are often incorporated together. I think that most students would appreciate the lengthly explanations and lack of overly technical proofs. Having a good professor to go along with this book, however, is what sold it to me.

Best place to start
I can not improve on the comments made by most reviewers. I took my first abstract algebra course using the 1st edition and found it to be an excellent introduction. I've looked at subsequent editions and see the same high quality and clarity, along with minor improvements in each edition.

If you want a solid intro to the topic, check this book out.

Finally, as usual, there was one reviewer who simply "didn't get it". ... Read more

Amazon.com

"Intended as an upper-level undergraduate or introductory graduate text in computer science theory," this book lucidly covers the key concepts and theorems of the theory of computation. The presentation is remarkably clear; for example, the "proof idea," which offers the reader an intuitive feel for how the proof was constructed, accompanies many of the theorems and a proof. Introduction to the Theory of Computation covers the usual topics for this type of text plus it features a solid section on complexity theory--including an entire chapter on space complexity. The final chapter introduces more advanced topics, such as the discussion of complexity classes associated with probabilistic algorithms. ... Read more

Reviews (35)

Life saver
I used this book as a supplement in a college class. It was VERY helpful in understanding computability theory, Turing Machines, and finite languages. Everything is put forth in a straightforward easy to understand manner.

The main thing that made this book stand out above the rest is that it's written in language that is easily understood, while other text books burden you down with a multitude of symbols and equations. The proof ideas are very helpfull in understanding concepts

Thank you Mr. Sipser!

BEST Computer Theory book
This book is by far the best book that I read!!! It presents topics in a very interesting and readable way.

My advice is read this book if you an undergrad student, even though instructor might be using a different book. If you are a grad student this books makes an excellent reference for refreshing your knowledge of Computer Theory. Computer Theory is not my area of interest, but this book makes it very interesting and fun area; which is quiet unusual for Computer Theory books.

I am a grad student taking advanced "Computer Theory" class. I have bought couple books including this one, and checked out from library another 6. This book in an introductory book and it has excellent coverage of the basics, and it has some brief but very good coverage of advanced topics as well. I read this book every time to refresh my knowledge before I go on to more in depth topics. The only thing that I wish, is that the undergrad course that I have taken a number years ago was using this book; and/or I read this book when I was an undergrad.

Probably the best computation theory text for students
In my opinion this is one of the best written books in the CS discipline, a must have for every computer scientist. The topics are presented clearly, with emphasis in understanding the concept, which most of the times is missed in other books amongst the equation line up of theorems that nobody will further investigate. Probably not comprehensive enough for a researcher of the field, but definately the right text to start on the subject and comprehend the basics, which is more than most students in the CS field will need.

A Near Perfect Computer Theory Textbook
This book is suitable for beginners and graduate students who want to explor the theory of computation . It explains the hard theory and logic by easy sentences and words. Even if you use English as foreign language , you can read this book by yourself and understand its contents easily. This book is near perfect.

An EXCELLENT Automata/Theory of Computation book
This book is one of the best written books on Automata/Theory of Computation that I have ever seen. It is a great introduction to the subject. It's also a great way to review the key topics.

One of the greatest things about this book is its focus on developing an intuitive understanding of the concepts and proofs. Other books do a better job of formal proofs but this book is light years ahead of any other in terms of helping you develop an intuitive understanding of why a given proof or construction is correct. It's a lot better than the memorize/regurgitate model necessitated by the emphasis on minutiae of other books.

Lastly, this book provides great tips on how to approach problem solving (especially proofs). ... 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

Reviews (1)

Easy - Simple - Plain
The problems given in this book were very easy to understand. The author shows step by step how to do the given problems and the answers are refferenced in the back. I always used how the book did the problems, not the teacher's way. I am always coming back to this book to refresh my math skills. ... Read more

Book Description

A proven motivator for readers of diverse mathematicalbackgrounds, this book explores mathematics within the context ofreal life using understandable, realistic applications consistentwith the abilities of any reader. Graphing techniques are emphasized,including a thorough discussion of polynomial, rational, exponential,and logarithmic functions and conics.Includes Case Studies; New design that utilizes multiple colors to enhance accessibility; Multiple source applications; Numerous graduated examples and exercises; Discussion, writing, and research problems; Important formulas, theorems, definitions, and objectives; and more.For anyone interested in precalculus. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Good layout, good book
A good book overall, but could be better. The explanations given by the author were difficult to understand at times, but not so difficult that you couldn't understand it after working through them a few times and doing the questions. It was still hard to get over some of their logic jumps and unexplained assumptions, though.
I thought this book used the best possible layout to build upon principles, chapter by chapter. I really didn't feel that any chapter was too easy or too difficult. A lot of thought went into planning the book so the information was learnable, but like I said above, the explanations didn't always effectively teach the information needed to solve the problems.

I'm waiting for my book!
HEY I HAVE TWO WEEKS WAITING! I REALLY NEED MY BOOK!

Great Book !
A Must have Pre Calculus Book. I'm really satisfied with the text. Author did a great job explaning whole different aspects of pre cal. He gives nice slick introduction to Limits to prepare you for calculus. My teacher wasnt so great, I dont know how I could have made it in class with any other book. I'm never selling this book. Its a best Math book so far for me. Highly recommended !

Very user- friendly
This book is very well laid out. It has easy to follow examples in the introduction to the chapters. After each example, you are referred to a homework problem patterned after the example. As you read the introduction, it explains how to solve a particular problem then refers you to say problem 7. If you then go and work problem 7, the ideas you just read are fresh in your mind and and get cemented even more because you are then applying the concept or method you just learned. Its a great way to begin recognizing types of problems and how to go about solving them. I am very pleased over all. I just wish I could get a hold of the solutions manual for this particular edition.

A very complete aprooach
I found that it has a very thorough approach to college precalculus ... Read more

Book Description

This best-selling book provides an accessible introduction to discretemathematics through an algorithmic approach that focuses on problem-solving techniques. This edition has the techniques of proofs woven into the text as a running theme and each chapter has the problem-solving corner. The text provides complete coverage of: Logic and Proofs; Algorithms; Counting Methods and the Pigeonhole Principle; Recurrence Relations; Graph Theory; Trees; Network Models; Boolean Algebra and Combinatorial Circuits; Automata, Grammars, and Languages; Computational Geometry. For individuals interested in mastering introductory discrete mathematics. ... Read more

Reviews (33)

Par Exposition and Expensive
I used this book for a one semester course on discrete mathematics. First for the bad points: This book is unnecessarily expensive. 1/3 of almost every page is left blank and has unnecessary text and pictures. If there is one thing a poor college student doesn't need is an expensive book. I've read through the majority of the reviews here. Most of them stress that the book is difficult to follow. Indeed, some proofs and examples are difficult to follow (unless you have the intuition of a genius). The author's exposition of the material is not bad, but not good either.

I'm currently trying to solve some of the more interesting problems in the book from each chapter. I must say though, some problems are INCREDIBLY challenging. I've been through many instances where I've required outside help to solve some problems.

Conclusion: I don't recommend buying this book. It's too expensive and its exposition of the subject is at most average.

Nasty
This book is a required text used by the university I attend in an introductory discrete mathematics subject. I had little to no difficulty following the notes given during lectures, but when I wanted to brush up on/practice certain topics I found this book to be nothing more than confusing. I can only recommend buying a supplementary text if you find yourself doing a course on this topic and this being the required text.

Why?
Why must so many universities foist this abomination upon their CS students as a required text? Is there really nothing better available, or does Johnsonbaugh possess incriminating photos of every school's Dean of ENGR in the country?

This is, without a doubt, the WORST textbook I have EVER encountered -- in any subject. It might qualify as the worst textbook OF ALL TIME. Yes, it's really that horrible. It's verbose. It's dull. Many of the examples are longer than necessary (and more than occasionally, misleading). Like many texts on this topic, it features Solutions to Selected Exercises in the back, but what's the point in displaying the final answer to an involved problem if you don't demonstrate how you arrived at it? If you're going to print an answer, PLEASE provide us with the COMPLETE answer.

I have searched (largely in vain) for another text or two to use as study aids. If you're thinking about Schaum's, hang onto your money (Note to Schaum's: Why publish a separate book of "Solved Problems" if you're merely recycling the same examples from the Outlines book?). Susanna S. Epp's textbook is much better in most places -- most notably the section on graphs.

Bottom line: if your school adopts Johnsonbaugh as the required text for your course, hang onto your money and rely on your lecture notes. This book is a waste of trees.

This book is as worthless as it is expensive
I taught a discrete math course in a major US universitybased on this book. Having been adopted by most US universities over the years, there was no choice.

There is no clear line of exposition in this book. Knowing what it should be about, it is repulsive to see how unstructured the content is, and how truly beautiful mathematics is made ugly beyond recognition. There exist far more insightful and shorter proofs than many of thosegiven here.

Instead of developing a choice of key topics cleanly, transparently, and in detail, a large collection of loosely related facts are glued together in a supremely uninspired way. Some topics which are far too advanced for this level of exposition are mentioned over several pages, withoutany rigorous treatment, of course, while many important topics are left away that could have been included.

The elegance quotient of this book is zero. Students should learn how to present a proof. They should learn to pin down the key ideas, and to write a proof in the clearest and most transparent language as possible. Whoever takes this text as her/his stylistic guide will do her/himself great harm.

I am a research mathematician. It is my job to know precisely what good mathematics looks like, and also to know when something smells really bad. Believe me, this one smells beyond rotten.

There are beautiful treatises on the same material on the internet, and one may also look at a small book for roughly 10 $ by Balakrishnan, from Dover publishers (available on Amazon, "Introductory discr math"). It doesn't contain as much material, but is so much more worth the money. A diligently made choice of topics is presented in clear, concise words that are to the point.

There is also the book by Laszlo Lovasz, a master of the field. The clarity, inspiration and transparence of the exposition is absolutely exemplary. The paperback version costs around 35$ on Amazon.

If you read those texts, you will understandwhat Johnsonbaugh is trying to put into clumsy words, illiterate proofs, boring examples, and silly pictures.

What really hurts me is to see students, some of whom are not rich, paying 100 $ for this convoluted mess.

My main message to every student using Mr. Johnsonbaugh's oeuvre is: If you don't understand this mess, it may be because you have mathematical talent. Go and look for a better, cheaper text. Save your time, it's not worth trying to figure out what the author intends to say.

Ugh.
This book is used by the University I attend to teach students beginning Discrete Mathematics.The book is hard to use, does not give good, clear, concise examples, and is generally not well suited for teaching. ... Read more

Book Description

The Sullivan Enhanced with Graphing Utilities series fully integrates the graphing calculator. These widely adopted books are known for their precise careful presentation of mathematics. This precision permeates the book and is particularly evident in the examples, pedagogy and exercises.This book includes coverage a wide range of topics including functions and their graphs, polynomial and rational functions, exponential and logarithmic functions, trigonometric functions and their applications, analytic geometry, systems of equations and inequalities, probability, and an introduction to calculus.For anyone who needs to brush up on everyday or business-related mathematics. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Best math textbook I ever used!
After going back into this book more and more I can only revise my opinion upward. Sullivan covers almost every topic before calculus and does it in a very straightforward manner. The text has rigor proving many important statements but this is never used in sacrifice of understanding. The student solution manual is also great and highly recomended. A great text and reference book. ... Read more

Book Description

This revision is nearly a new book—yet it retains the accuracy, mathematical precision, and rigor appropriate that it is known for. This book contains an entire six chapters on early transcendental calculus and a completely new chapter on differential equations and their applications. For professionals who want to brush up on their calculus skills. ... Read more

Book Description

Glencoe's Algebra 1 and Algebra 2 balance sound skill and concept development with applications, connections, problem solving, critical thinking, and technology. Whether your students are getting ready for college or the workplace, this program gives them the skills they need for success. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Total waste of time!
All I have to say is that this "book" was definatly not intended for human use, nor was it written by humans who actually understand the human mind.

The Material Presented
I'm a student from Ridgeway Middle School in Memphis who is curretly taking Algebra 1. All I have to say about the book is that it is INFESTED with those annoying integration chapters that are: poorly made, come in the middl