Linear Algebra and Its Applications

Rating:
Summary: A good book with a few drawbacks
Review: This is a well written introduction to linear algebra that is easy to read if you know the subject beforehand. Strang has a very distinct approach to introducing the subject material and therefore this book may appear very good or very bad. Strang uses a conversational style of writing that can get irritating at times. He emphasizes concepts and tries hard to paint pictures in the reader's mind to understand the theory. He is successful most of the time but a more lucid explanation of the four fundamental subspaces of a matrix and the relationships between them would have been better.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book!
Review: This is an excellent book...I used it for a course I took on Linear Algebra and I found the treatment of the subject insightful and interesting. The coverage of spaces and eigen values is particularly good. This is a good book to supplement class lectures, though not the best for self-study. The exercises are good and serve to gain an in-depth understanding of the subject matter.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent!!
Review: This is one of the greatest academic textbooks I've run across. As an EE in school, we were allowed to skip linear algebra (in lieu of Modern Physics), and in today's computer world, this turns out to be a big mistake. After reading Strang's book, I realize how many hours I've wasted trying to understand the mathematical notion in other engineering books. (I am a DSP engineer) Through the many examples of the basic theories, I really believe I was able to get more out of reading Strang's book than enrolling in a linear algebra book. I am amazed at how many different topics we were taught in engineering school that could have very easily been explained by one or two linear algebra equations. The mark of a true genius is one who can explain the complicated very simply and this book does just that. I could possibly see dissatisfaction from mathematicians regarding this book, but for those engineers and computer scientists who have to use (and not derive) linear algebra, this book is awesome.

Rating:
Summary: the best I have seen
Review: This is simply the best book on Linear Algebra. A text book is supposed to "teach", give you insight, which this book does amply. So the remarks in some reviews about the text being too "conversational" are out of context anyway. Some reviewer called this book as the worst since there are not enough worked examples. For such material, that reviewer should probably see some thing like "Linear Algebra for dummies" or "Linear algebra for idiots", etc. which might help the reader squeeze their way through exams.
For serious learners, this is the ONLY book to turn to !!! Moreover this book shows how Linear Algebra is to be used in practice : on a computer. Any physical problem to be solved on a computer, has to be descretized, no matter where the actual formulation comes from. This transforms the problem from the realm of differential equations, etc. to that of Linear Algebra. The link is always there, and is missed by almost all the other books that I have seen. It is vital, because the natural question to be asked once linear algebra is studied, is : Why ? ? Why study the subject in the first place? This book steers the student into that direction, showing clearly the beautiful links between Linear Algebra and the classical areas of mathematics.

Rating:
Summary: The best single book on the subject.
Review: This is the most important text on linear algebra in the last forty years. The third edition is a significant advance over the previous two and this text covers just about any topic for a first course. The text also is a superb reference. If you want a more elementary book for beginning classes, you can do as I do and use Strang's later book that he published himself. But this is the one you want in your library

Rating:
Summary: A pleasant read, and a strong course
Review: This is the rare kind of math book where the author's chatty style and attentiveness to the structure of the subject shine through. The book scans smoothly, for the author's informal tone helps to bring the math concepts to the reader. The exercises are a natural extension of the material discussed, which makes this a good book to learn linear algebra from.

Rating:
Summary: worst book for Linear Algebra
Review: This the worst book one could ever write for Linear Algebra... Talks about nothing .... No clear definition no enough solved examples... nothing is clear.. from the first page to the last page... I strongly advice against this book. I gave it 1 star as there is no rating below that... it doesn't even deserve it

Rating:
Summary: What the!
Review: Unless you have a superior understanding of matrix theory and linear applications, this book is horrid. He has pages and pages of explanation and his examples are absolutely worthless. His book is filled with text and hardly any examples. I'm a mathematics major and this book just makes my head spin everytime I have to do homework. So seriously, avoid this book!!

Rating:
Summary: 2 Major Flaws, Yet Good Overall
Review: Well, let's start with the flaws. a) As has been pointed out by a few other reviewers, the books is a bit too conversational, which can be a problem, especially when combined with flaw b. b) Strang seems to have written this book SPECIFICALLY for his linear algebra class at MIT. Fine. Great. Only if you go to MIT, though. He will constantly cite stuff that simply isn't covered in the book. It is sooooo annoying and really would take a very small amount of work to fix. Luckily, though, you can watch the MIT lectures online if you so desire (I don't, but whatever).
The book is good overall, though, and outside of the examples of flaw b, it makes linear algebra really easy (sometimes I think almost too easy, as it seems as though it's not involving enough work, so therefore I must not really understand what's going on....).

Rating:
Summary: 2 Major Flaws, Yet Good Overall
Review: Well, let's start with the flaws. a) As has been pointed out by a few other reviewers, the books is a bit too conversational, which can be a problem, especially when combined with flaw b. b) Strang seems to have written this book SPECIFICALLY for his linear algebra class at MIT. Fine. Great. Only if you go to MIT, though. He will constantly cite stuff that simply isn't covered in the book. It is sooooo annoying and really would take a very small amount of work to fix. Luckily, though, you can watch the MIT lectures online if you so desire (I don't, but whatever).
The book is good overall, though, and outside of the examples of flaw b, it makes linear algebra really easy (sometimes I think almost too easy, as it seems as though it's not involving enough work, so therefore I must not really understand what's going on....).