Rating: 
Summary: MUCH better than his previous "C++" work...
Review: If at first you don't succeed...Sedgewick's first cut at "Algorithms in C++" was a sick joke; the code was often incorrect and very difficult for even an intermediate C programmer to follow. In addition, there was virtually no difference between the C and C++ algorithms. In fact, that's why I put C++ in quotes in the title -- calling it representative C++ code was an extreme stretch. It took several years, but Sedgewick has fixed that and has turned this work into one which better realizes its full potential. There is now a much stronger C++ and OOP flavor to the examples than there was before. In summary, whereas I feel the previous version is not worth seriously studying (at least not the examples), this one is extremely solid and worth a spot on the bookshelf for CS students and "real-world" C++ programmers alike. Call it the ballplayer who atones for his previous strike out by hitting a home run in his next time at bat.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent, Exhaustive (but not rigorous)
Review: If you're looking for an exhaustive, upto-date reference/textbook for
fundamental, searching and sorting algorithms, then this is one of
the very best available. Sedgewick has split his popular book into two volumes, with Graph
algorithms being hifted to the second volume. Moreover, many advanced
topics like computational geometry, fft, number theoretic algorithms
etc, which were introduced in the previous edition, seem to be missing
now - so the breadth of coverage seems to have reduced, which is a pity. However, the depth has increased instead - i doubt that even Knuth
covers more sorting algorithms ! In particular, there are several
recent algorithms and data structures which are treated in greater
detail here than by Knuth. Of course, Knuth analyses all the
algorithms he presents in rigorous and exhaustive detail, which
this book doesn't. Moreover, the book has many new algorithms and presents the state of the
art in sorting and searching algorithms, giving it a distinct advantage
over the older books. Sedgewick makes it very clear in the preface that the emphasis is on
the practical importance of the algorithms, so esoteric algorithms which
are important 'only in theory' may find no mention. Also the emphasis is
more on the design of algorithms than on their analysis. The number of (exercise!!) problems has multiplied manifold in this edition
to become more than most competing textbooks. Problems are graded by
difficulty level to help you choose the ones relevant to your needs. The exposition is clear and authoritative - Prof. Sedgewick is a leading
authority in the field of algorithms and a student of Donald Knuth.
He has a gift for making difficult concepts seem simple, and the great
illustrations in the book go a long way in explaining the behaviour of
the algorithms. For the practising professional, this is an ideal reference, since it'll
help you select the best algorithm for your task without bogging you
down with heavy mathematics. The reasearcher, on the other hand, may benefit by gaining unique insights
from a master of the area, while using other books for the detailed
analysis of algorithms, including prehaps Sedgewick's own book on the
analysis of algorithms(with Flajolet). A caveat - the code may not be 'ready to run'. It's better not to rely
on this book to provide you with usable code - if that is what you want,
perhaps the books by Drozdek/Weiss/Heileman/Rowe might be better choices. If you want C code rather than C++, then the C version of this book is
a good choice, since the code provided is of 'K & R' class and therefore
a delight to read. Of course, if you're looking for a language independent coverage,
then 'Introduction to algorithms' by Cormen,Leiserson and Rivest is
possibly the best book which combines rigor with comprehensive coverage
of the most important algorithms. Look out for the newly released
second edition. And if you want a more rigorous and equally exhaustive coverage of
sorting and searching, go for Knuth vol.3 - still the authoritative
reference, though it may require more hard work on the reader's part. Otherwise, invest in this and you won't be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent, Exhaustive (but not rigorous)
Review: If you're looking for an exhaustive, upto-date reference/textbook for
fundamental, searching and sorting algorithms, then this is one of
the very best available. Sedgewick has split his popular book into two volumes, with Graph
algorithms being hifted to the second volume. Moreover, many advanced
topics like computational geometry, fft, number theoretic algorithms
etc, which were introduced in the previous edition, seem to be missing
now - so the breadth of coverage seems to have reduced, which is a pity. However, the depth has increased instead - i doubt that even Knuth
covers more sorting algorithms ! In particular, there are several
recent algorithms and data structures which are treated in greater
detail here than by Knuth. Of course, Knuth analyses all the
algorithms he presents in rigorous and exhaustive detail, which
this book doesn't. Moreover, the book has many new algorithms and presents the state of the
art in sorting and searching algorithms, giving it a distinct advantage
over the older books. Sedgewick makes it very clear in the preface that the emphasis is on
the practical importance of the algorithms, so esoteric algorithms which
are important 'only in theory' may find no mention. Also the emphasis is
more on the design of algorithms than on their analysis. The number of (exercise!!) problems has multiplied manifold in this edition
to become more than most competing textbooks. Problems are graded by
difficulty level to help you choose the ones relevant to your needs. The exposition is clear and authoritative - Prof. Sedgewick is a leading
authority in the field of algorithms and a student of Donald Knuth.
He has a gift for making difficult concepts seem simple, and the great
illustrations in the book go a long way in explaining the behaviour of
the algorithms. For the practising professional, this is an ideal reference, since it'll
help you select the best algorithm for your task without bogging you
down with heavy mathematics. The reasearcher, on the other hand, may benefit by gaining unique insights
from a master of the area, while using other books for the detailed
analysis of algorithms, including prehaps Sedgewick's own book on the
analysis of algorithms(with Flajolet). A caveat - the code may not be 'ready to run'. It's better not to rely
on this book to provide you with usable code - if that is what you want,
perhaps the books by Drozdek/Weiss/Heileman/Rowe might be better choices. If you want C code rather than C++, then the C version of this book is
a good choice, since the code provided is of 'K & R' class and therefore
a delight to read. Of course, if you're looking for a language independent coverage,
then 'Introduction to algorithms' by Cormen,Leiserson and Rivest is
possibly the best book which combines rigor with comprehensive coverage
of the most important algorithms. Look out for the newly released
second edition. And if you want a more rigorous and equally exhaustive coverage of
sorting and searching, go for Knuth vol.3 - still the authoritative
reference, though it may require more hard work on the reader's part. Otherwise, invest in this and you won't be disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: Exercises without answers.
Review: Of course, Mr. Sedgewick, this is a magnificent book. However, as in all your books, there are no answers to exercises. Why? The Donald Knuth's books containing answers to exercises should be a guideline for you.
Rating: 
Summary: Some code doesn't work!!
Review: The book is good for intermediate and advanced programmers. It has quiet a few implementations and some good explanations. But i've found that some of the code doesn't work and the use of recursion is too heavy!!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book on the subject
Review: This book actually deserves more than 4 stars, 4.5 probably, because it's down-sides are very small... As a total, the book is great, full on information on almost any imaginable common algorithm and data structure currently in use. It gives clear explanations about the ideas behind those algorithms, and is full of other useful information, like testing the speeds of algorithms against each other. The only thing I didn't like in the book it the lay-out of the source code... The style is bad, to say the least, and at times it is hard to follow the logic of the code comparing to the explanation. Some sort of "line by line dissection" would make the book perfect.
Rating:
Summary: good algorithm book for programmers
Review: This book delivers what it says on the title and nothing more; Fundamentals, data structures, sorting, and searching. In my opinion, the topics covered in this book are just perfect for beginners. Its not too much and not too little. This book does a very good of explaining the pros and cons of each algorithm, how they're implemented, and when they should be used. As far as Math. goes, this book doesn't deal a whole lot with it. It really is written for programmers.
Rating:
Summary: C++ Algorithms
Review: This book is full of great information on C++ algorithms. There are many excellent examples, and the author presents the gammit as far as topics. They really open up your mind to possibilities. The reading at times is rough going, though (very dry). Sample code or examples to download may be found at the publisher's website instead of the one printed in the book.
Rating:
Summary: C++ Algorithms
Review: This book is full of great information on C++ algorithms. There are many excellent examples, and the author presents the gammit as far as topics. They really open up your mind to possibilities. The reading at times is rough going, though (very dry). Sample code or examples to download may be found at the publisher's website instead of the one printed in the book.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book
Review: This book is very good for someone who is either new to the field or fairly experienced. Sedgewick combines a detailed approach with easy to understand explanations. One problem is that some of the code samples can get kind of ugly since Sedgewick attempts to fit them into small boxes. Other than that the book gets a definite recommend from me.
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