Discrete Algorithmic Mathematics

Rating:
Summary: A great book with a great teaching approach
Review: I found this book to be truly extraordinary. Unlike the overwhelming majority of math texts, the authors describe the material in a manner reminiscent of an informal college lecture by gifted professors. They cover a lot of ground, but explain what's going on and why. I found it particularly striking that the authors sometimes present mistaken approaches to problems, follow them through to show what has gone wrong, and then show how to avoid the mistakes. This is particularly valuable when using the book for self-study. The exercises are carefully chosen and serve to expand on each section's material.

Rating:
Summary: A great book with a great teaching approach
Review: I found this book to be truly extraordinary. Unlike the overwhelming majority of math texts, the authors describe the material in a manner reminiscent of an informal college lecture by gifted professors. They cover a lot of ground, but explain what's going on and why. I found it particularly striking that the authors sometimes present mistaken approaches to problems, follow them through to show what has gone wrong, and then show how to avoid the mistakes. This is particularly valuable when using the book for self-study. The exercises are carefully chosen and serve to expand on each section's material.

Rating:
Summary: Discrete Algorithmic Mathematics
Review: This book is utterly and completely useless. It does not progress in a logical manner. The author assumes you know everything he is talking about, and gives examples filled with topics that are not explained until later chapters. He explains things one way, yet his examples always seem to contradict what he says until you spend a good hour looking at them and realize he always uses some unexplained loophole in logic to derive his answers. This is not a useful book and I never would have bought it if it was not required at the college I attend.