Combinatorial Optimization : Networks and Matroids

Rating:
Summary: A good overview of combinatorial optimisation
Review: Combinatorial Optimisation : Networks and Matroids by Eugene Lawler examines shortest paths, network flows, bipartite matching, non bipartite matching. More importantly there is an excellent introduction to matroid theory including matroids and the greedy algorithm, matroid intersections and matroid parity problems, some of these Lawler's own results.

However there is not much on NP completeness, since this book was published in 1976. For a more to date version of events in combinatorial optimisation one might want to look at Papadimitriou and Steglitz's book on combinatorial optimisation (quite old too, considering this was published in 1982), Ahuja, Magnanti and Orlin's book on Network algorithms, Hochbaum's book on approximation algorithms and Cook, Cunnigham,Pulleyblank and Schrijver's book on combinatorial optimisation (listed in the order they were published).

Lawler's book is extremely well written and I am delighted that this book is now published by Dover, and hence easily affordable.

Rating:
Summary: Another classic book
Review: I read Introduction to Algorithms (1990, MIT) and this book is recommended for "further studies" on networks flow and Matroids. However, can anyone tell me is Eugene S Lawler the same person as Eugene L Lawler (a UCB professor)? Or are they two persons?

Rating:
Summary: Another classic book
Review: I read Introduction to Algorithms (1990, MIT) and this book is recommended for "further studies" on networks flow and Matroids. However, can anyone tell me is Eugene S Lawler the same person as Eugene L Lawler (a UCB professor)? Or are they two persons?