Signals and Systems

Rating:
Summary: probably the worst book ever on signals & systems
Review: - does not give proofs to theorems and other mathematical expressions.
- drill problems are too simple compared to problems at the end of chapters.
- answers of the problems are not given.
- the mathematical language used is not clear enough and actually this makes the book worst on this subject.

Rating:
Summary: Start with something else..
Review: ... Admittedly, the book does cover all the concepts, but fails to present the information in the clear, concise manner you want when studying signal processing. Below is one of my favourite quotes, which pretty much surmises the whole book. It's regarding the time-shift property of the z-transform:

"Multiplication by z exp n0 introduces a pole of order no at z = 0 if n0 > 0. In this case the ROC cannot include z = 0, even if Rx does include 0, unless X(z) has a zero of at least order n0 at z = 0 that cancels out all the new poles. If n0 < 0, then multiplication by z exp -no introduces n0 poles at infinity. If these poles are not cancelled by zeros at infinity in X(z), then the ROC of z exp -n0 X(z) cannot include abs(z) = infinity."

I agree with the other reviews too which stated that the examples jump steps and do little to explain the concepts. I even found an error with one (Haykin, it's your example on page 471). In my opinion, if you don't have much time, and want a book that doesn't require a lot of re-reading, keep looking.

Gets 2 stars for covering all the material.

Rating:
Summary: it was a good intent, but the result is very bad...
Review: I bought this book to review the theory of signal processing, which I had studied 4 years ago. What caught my attention was that the author threats the 4 different Fourier representations at the same time, instead of separated, what seemed to be a great approach. But in the course of the reading I found that the lack of organization throwed away what could be a great idea. Sometimes I was so lost in the theory development that I prefer to give up and try another book. In the end I found myself studying (again) the Oppenheim's Signals & Systems, that treats the Fourier representations separately, but in a much more organized manner. So, as an advice, try another one.

Rating:
Summary: very good book on signals and systems
Review: I think, this book is a very good one. It gives wonderful and precise introduction to the subject. Many examples with solutions provided make it very useful for self study. To my opinion, this book is wonderful. I may recommend to buy it.

Rating:
Summary: Terrible text book
Review: I'm a Computer Engineering student at UW-Madison -- same university as the author (Van Veen). We use this textbook here; and I must say, it is TERRIBLE! It is verbose, the examples are not useful nor instructive, the book's math derivations (even in the example problems) have numerous missing steps which leaves the reader clueless as to how one arrives at the final result, and worst of all the material is presented in an extremely obscure way. If you are a beginner to signals and systems I recommend you read through Schaum's Guide. Do not waste your time or money on this book!

Rating:
Summary: Terrible text book
Review: I'm a UW computer engr student. We use this book here because Van Veen is the author (he is a professor here). The book is aweful. It's just plain bad. The material lacks clarity, the examples are either too easy, too hard, or do not provide any instruction at all. The math often has missing steps leaving the reader clueless as to how one arrives at the final result. The matlab code is worthless -- it doesn't teach anything nor explain anything. I recommend Oppenheim or Schaum's guide. I beg you not to waste your time or money on this ...text.

Rating:
Summary: Masterful, thorough & comprehensive
Review: The only point against this book is that it is priced a good 40% higher than all other texts (in India). That aside, we all know how masterfully Haykin can handle concepts relating to Communication Systems and Signal Processing. Replete with lucid explanations and carefully selected examples, this is one book that comes close to dethroning Alan Oppenheim's text on the same subject.

Rating:
Summary: Do not buy this book unless absolutely necessary.
Review: This book provides little in the way of explanation of how to do any of the problems at the end of the chapters. The drill problems do nothing to help the learning of the student. If you find a better Signals and Systems book, let me know.