How to Solve It: Modern Heuristics

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding and Unique Contribution
Review: This book provides a very accessible and contemporary treatment of optimization. Of particular interest is the problem solving orientation of the book as opposed to a tool-based approach to optimization and heuristics. The writing style of the book makes the book very interesting and readable - a rare thing to say about technical books! I used this book in a Master's class on Heuristics (Systems Engineering, University of Virginia) and received the most positive textbook reviews I have seen in my fifteen years of teaching. The book is an excellent choice for a course on heuristics, mathematical modeling, optimization, etc., and could be used in an advanced undergraduate class or a graduate class. In addition, the book is ideal for practitioners who may not have had exposure to modern heuristics in their education or practice, or those who want to get updated on the latest developments in the field.

Rating:
Summary: A comprehensive overview of problem solving techniques
Review: This book provides one of the most comprehensive views of modern techniques in problem solving. The authors use a number of classic problems to illustrate conventional heuristics as well as giving you a solid and working knowledge of more modern evolutionary techniques. The appendicies provide a good introduction to background information on probability theory and statistics used throughout the book, as well as projects for further exploration. Scattered throughout the text are complete and up-to-date references that can be used by the reader to delve deeper into certain topic areas. This book is written to be read and understood by both students and experienced researchers in the field.