How to Prove It : A Structured Approach

Rating:
Summary: An excellent book
Review: This is an excellent book for the early undergraduate student. It is actually two books in one. The first half is a careful review of Logic and the essentials of Set Theory with an emphasis on precise language. Thereafter a structured development of proof techniques is clearly presented using these tools. The second half of the book is a detailed presentation of introductory material about functions, relations, and a few aspects of more advanced set theory. These chapters serve as a wonderful introduction and show applications of the proof techniques developed earlier.
I have referred back to this book often in my own study of analysis and number theory. I recommend it highly. It will be very useful to any undergraduate proceeding through a mathematics curriculum. I recommend studying it early in the first semester, and re-reading it as time goes on.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent book
Review: This is an excellent book for the early undergraduate student. It is actually two books in one. The first half is a careful review of Logic and the essentials of Set Theory with an emphasis on precise language. Thereafter a structured development of proof techniques is clearly presented using these tools. The second half of the book is a detailed presentation of introductory material about functions, relations, and a few aspects of more advanced set theory. These chapters serve as a wonderful introduction and show applications of the proof techniques developed earlier.
I have referred back to this book often in my own study of analysis and number theory. I recommend it highly. It will be very useful to any undergraduate proceeding through a mathematics curriculum. I recommend studying it early in the first semester, and re-reading it as time goes on.