Elementary Probability Theory

Rating:
Summary: painful... even by undergraduate math textbook standards
Review: I remember this ghastly nightmare from my undergraduate days. It was the only math textbook that I really struggled with. Part of that was probably due to having an inordinately lousy professor, but part of it is because the book reads more like a quick review for people who already know the subject matter than as an actual tool for learning.

As a contrast, check out what people are saying about "A Book of Abstract Algebra" by Pinter -- they're right, THAT is everything a math textbook should be. My class never quite finished it, but I had no trouble reading the later chapters on my own. I still have a copy of Chung's book, but it only has one remotely interesting thing in it that I remember, which was Laplace's calculation of the probability that the sun will rise tomorrow.

Bottom line: if you're unfortunate enough to end up with a professor who is still using Chung's book (I used it in 1997) ... run!