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Asin: B00004UDSC
Sales Rank: 31613
Subjects:  1. Educational Math   

Editorial Review

Reviews (10)

an algebra refresher . . .
If you had taken algebra a few years ago and need a refresher for your GED or ASVAB, this book will be fine.

If you have never taken algebra, or like me, took it 20 years ago and have forgotten most or all of it, this book is almost useless.

at best you get a short paragraph on the theory of the problem to solve, then you get the answer. very seldom do you get a breakdown of the indvidual steps that took you from problem to conclusion. this is the first "Dummies" book which I have ever thrown across a room.

Great Refresher!!
This book is great to refresh some of your not so great or long since forgotten Basic Algerbra skills.It dosen,t cover everything,but does a great job on the Basics.

Reviews (9)

A pleasure to read and excellent introduction to algebra
Kenn Amdahl has succeeded in making algebra look like a game and maybe he is right.
I recommend this book to anybody who has the slightest interest in the subject. It reads almost like listening to your mathematically inclined buddy exchanging a few words on mathematics over a beer; that's what I felt, two buddies getting together and just shooting breeze over mathematics.
It certainly made me conscious of paying more attention to VOCABULARY and CONCEPTS and less on manipulation.
You won't regret the time you spent on this book nor the money!

FANTASTIC BOOK ON ALGEBRA!!!!!!
THIS HAS GOT TO BE ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS ON ALGEBRA CONCEPTS THAT THERE IS ON THE MARKET. I AM OVER 60 YRS. OLD AND WANTED TO STUDY ALGEBRA. I ONLY WISH THERE EXISTED MATH TEACHERS WITH THE ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE CONCEPTS AS CAN THESE GENTELMEN. WOULD GIVE 10 STARS IF POSSIBLE!!!!!!!!!!

Reviews (30)

Comforting, useful, and even fun!
This is a fantastic book.Like many other reviewers, I had to study for a math placement exam, and hadn't taken math in about 15 years ... pretty nervous about the whole thing.I bought this book about a month before the test, worked through the examples, and did much better than expected on the exam (somehow placed into Trig!).

The strengths of this book are its friendly, nonintimidating tone, its step-by-step format, and its thoroughness.I actually had fun with it, which was a surprise.This book is an excellent, cheap investment which will pay off many times if you really apply yourself and do the problems.

I've never studied Algebra before but I know it now
This book is very good for Algebra reviewers or first time learners. One thing it lacks is drill and some explanations are hard to understand for first timers. I had to ask a friend to help me out and also look up better explanations online. Apart from that its fantastic. His attitude and writing approach are encouraging.

Reviews (3)

Start out with one of the best
Halmos is one of the great mathematical expositors of the 20th Century, and his book "Finite Dimensional Vector Spaces" stands as the definitive introduction to the subject for budding mathematicians. This book, "Linear Algebra Problem Book", is perhaps best described as an engaging and semi-informal invitation and complement to that original work, which grew out of lectures given by the legendary John von Neumann. In contrast to typical treatments of linear algebra, "Finite Dimensional Vector Spaces" is abstract (introduces determinants through alternating forms), rigorous, concise, and demands a certain level of mathematical maturity. This book, "Linear Algebra" is exactly the opposite. Starting from very little assumed background, it all but gives away the store, written in plain language, anticipating students' questions and misconceptions, and leading them to a deeper understanding of mathematics through the Socratic method. This is not a problem book in the Schaum's outline sense; there is no drill or rote calculations. Every question is carefully chosen to illustrate a point or expose a potential misunderstanding in the student's knowledge or to exercise the student's intuition and ability to make connections. The answers are given as detailed explanations, integral to the exposition, which go far beyond merely answering the questions posed, raising deeper implications and questions. This is an excellent book for beginning students of higher mathematics, and a very user friendly guide to Halmos' classic text.

Clear, interesting, easy to follow.
I'm no mathematician but, I own a number of linear algebra and abstract algebra books and this book makes them all pale in comparison. I really enjoyed working through it. Maybe a bit pedantic for more advanced typesbut, if you want to get a handle on the concepts this is the book.

Reviews (22)

Earlier Publication Better - I will not use 2003
I have tutored using earlier publications but do not like this changed version. I am seeking older publications. I do not like the changes made. Ruined the great idea.

A Great Review
I'm 51 and found this book to be an excellent tool for reviving the Algebra I learned many years ago.This book combines a humorous story with plenty of exercises to illustrate the essential points I need to know.

Highly Recommended!

Older Kids Might Like it too!
I must admit to being a much older kid - I'm 46 and have been using this to brush up on Algebra!

I wanted to rebut some of the comments that the fantasy story makes the text applicable only to younger teens. The fantasy narrative format adds a little extra verbiage to the presentation, but helps to set the algebra in a problem-solving context; this de-mystifies the subject considerably, providing a glimpse into the kinds and types of problems for which algebraic techniques provide solutions.

The book covers high school algebra quite completely, IMHO, including most if not all of what would be included in a second- semester algebra class (Algebra-2, it was called when I was in high school).

I'd chime in with other readers who noted the utility of the various exercises at the ends of chapters -- it is true that the problems sometimes demand a short leap beyond material covered in the lessons, but I think most motivated students can master the trickier exercises without serious overstrain.It's also fun to discover a few things on your own -- there is a "method to the madness" adhered to in the exercises that facilitates this quite regularly.

Reviews (8)

Excellent!
This book is by far the best math teaching book I have ever seen. Its up there with The complete idiots guide to calculus.
Superb!!

GREAT BOOK!
It was almost time for my Algebra finals and I was nervous. I got an 80 on the mid-term, so I needed to get an A on the final. So I grabbed this book and it really helped me. The book was so easy to read AND understand. I finished the book in two weeks(which was all I had). I took the final exam and I got a 97! Now I am taking Geometry & Algebra II next year.

Reviews (9)

An algebra book with clarity and , yes, humor!
After tackling a couple of the "Algebra classics," and feeling a bit numb and disoriented, we finally reached for our "Algebra Survival Guide." Its readability swept us away. Out came the xenon lights -- Mr. Rappaport's genuine, clear voice -- and it's all become a fun challenge, now. It's so easy to follow -- why didn't we pull it off the shelf sooner?! And one of themath whizzes we know gives lots of credit to Josh Rappaport
for all that he learned from the book. Hear a geometry guide's on the way...soon, I hope!

Couldn't Survive without it!
This book is a "Must-have" resource for anyone teaching or studing Algebra. Fun enough to keep the math "demons" away, and detailed enough for the math-Challenged to finally "get it".
I went from "Hate math" to "Hey, I can do this!" in two weeks.
Mr. Rappaport needs to write more math book.

Reviews (15)

Good book
I'm very happy with this book.It does just what it promises:teaches kids how to solve word problems in beginning-level algebra.I wish I'd had a book like this when I was in school.It gives detailed explanations which are easy to understand.

Good, until the last problems
If you are looking for help in understanding algebra problems then I definitely recommend this book.Inside you will find helpful hints and practice that will help you tackle a wide range of problems from distance, coins, finance, quadratics, work, numbers, etc.The Supplementary problems after each chapter are helpful, and are well explained.So if you make any mistakes in doing them you will be able to go through step by step and see where the mistake was.

I do have one complaint.While the book does a great job with explaining the answers throughout the the text, the authors unfortunately decided that no explanations were needed in the last (Miscellaneous) section.While some of the problems shouldn't be too hard, others are, and without explanation you will learn little.This wouldn't be much of a problem, except people who buy this book are most likely not very good or comfortable with word problems to begin with.Therefore, the most explanation possible should be included, and in this section it is not.

Still, if you want a good introduction, I would reccomend this book.

As Someone Who Always Struggled with Algebra ...
. . . and with algebra story problems in particular, I found that the books I consulted on the subject were often dense and confusing, with insufficient (for me) explanations or none at all. Then, I got a copy of "How to Solve Word Problems in Algebra" from Amazon. This is the book I wish had been used to introduce me to the subject in the first place. It is written in easy-to-understand language that is never intimidating (yet at the same time manages not to be condescending).

The thirteen chapters are organized by problem type - "Numbers", "Time, Rate, & Distance", "Mixtures", etc. Each chapter is packed with practice problems of varying difficulty, answers, and (most usefully) clear, step-by-step explanations.

Isbn: 0883851709
Sales Rank: 543832
Subjects:  1. Algebra - Linear    2. Algebras, Linear    3. Linear Programming    4. Mathematics    5. Mathematics / Algebra / Linear    6. Mathematics / Study & Teaching    7. Science/Mathematics    8. Algebra    9. Linear Algebra    10. Study and teaching   

Reviews (2)

lack of exercises (2&half stars)
I needed to provide my two sons, 4th & 5th grade, challenging math because the school is not able to facilitate any to them. This book is quite self-explanatory and my two boys could follow it fine.(Note: I am NOT trying to recommend this book for 4th & 5th graders. My sons are at least 2 years ahead of average math skills. I am trying to emphasize that the problems are so well explained that my lower school sons can follow) However, this book lacks the following: Not enough exercises;no indepth exercise or problems; lack of word problems and applicaton.It serves well in the surface level of most pre-algebra topics, but not in-depth. I would recommend another one : Prealgebra by K. Elayn Martin-Gay, which is packed with exercises, and the lessons are very self-explanatory as well; and there are answers keys to the odd questions only.

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Reviews (7)

Crap
My school buys this book obviously because it's cheap or something. Nobody gets this. The writers are too busy trying to sound intelligent and make themselves look good that they leave everyone behind. It's just crap. They act like your suppose to understand it already and the reason we have the book is to learn.

Total waste of time!
All I have to say is that this "book" was definatly not intended for human use, nor was it written by humans who actually understand the human mind.

Reviews (53)

Great book, very insightful
I'm shocked at the number of negative reviews of this book. I think it's a great book. Linear algebra is an incredibly important subject, for example in my field of electrical engineering. Every time I need to refresh my understanding of a concept, I turn back to this book (I have the edition from 1976). I had Strang as a lecturer at MIT in the late 1990s, and he is a great teacher, which I think is reflected in his book. I truly enjoy reading this book -- practical, conversational and enjoyable to read, helpful insights, as well as Strang's opinions on the usefulness and practicality of various results. I would describe the book as an advanced introductory linear algebra book, if that makes sense. It's definitely not graduate level, but unless you're pretty sharp, it might be a tough first book from which to learn linear algebra. Maybe that's why there are some negative reviews of this book here. I recommend it very highly, especially for those who already have some knowledge of linear algebra. In fact, the reason I came to this page in the first place is to buy a second copy of the book, so I can have one in my office and one at home... there aren't very many books I would say that about...

First "...and its Applications" Book I Met True to the Title
Firstly, this book is true to its title...

It motivates the subject matter clearly and presents instances of why a certain type of problem is important (Why do we care about Ax=b, Ax=[lambda]x, ...)
It motivates the use of certain algorithms (Why do we use Gaussian Elimination, why pivot, why do the SVD, ...)

Also, as a basic text in Linear Algebra, which is THE introductory subject to applied mathematics, it serves a a primer for various areas in applied math: optimization, numerical solution of PDEs, "curve fitting" =), etc.....

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Reviews (19)

Medium-level Book: Use only as a supplemental
The last edition of this book was my first exposure to this amazing topic.My experiences with that edition, however, were not very favorable.The pedagogical style was Byzantine and not well laid out.Many key ideas of the text were introduced in the exercises and never fully developed in the main text itself.Despite being highly verbose at times, ironically little detail and clear exposition was given to illuminate either the motivation behind a topic or proof or such presentation in a succinct, clear fashion.Moreover, many of the key, standard notations used in modern abstract algebra were also blaring absent or hidden, again in the exercises instead of explicitly emphasizing them in the main body of the text.This in itself made for a less than ideal first exposure, which was made all the more complicated by our instructor Linda Chen (Ohio State University).She seemed barely familiar with the poor nature of the book, suggesting that we use Gallian or Artin as "supplemental" readings.I wish she had chosen Artin, a book of great clarity and maturity in both the treatment of the subject and the reader as well.Gallian, in contrast, was even more obtuse in being ever more verbose in the proofs compared to Fraleigh.Adding more to the confusion was the fact that Ms. Chen largely made up her own problems, which often proved flawed with errors that made some of the assignments outright intractable.She would assure us "this is a difficult subject and you'll need to spend more time with it."Apparently it is a difficult subject, so much so that she herself had problems with both mastering some of its subjects and teaching it to others.This was underscored dramatically when one of the students came a couple of minutes late to class and in the middle of her proceeding to explain how to solve one of her bogus problems.He sat there quietly and listen and then cleared his throat, gently interrupting her, stating that the problem was in fact unsolvable and the only thing you cold prove about it was that it was unsolvable.She then handed him the chalk incredulously to do just that.And he did, much to her red-faced embarrassment and our great amusement.I mention this not condemn Ms. Chen, but to offer sympathy to those that have had such similar experiences.All it not lost.Many, including some truly brilliant professors, have had similar problems in their undergraduate programs and didn't do so well the first run with this subject either.I truly didn't like this topic at first, but have now come to love it and am never disappointed in the freshness of its richness, finding it in a broad range of topics.This new edition of Fraleigh, seems a much greater improvement, but I would suggest it be used as a "supplemental" text.Instead Herstein, Artin, or Robinson should be used.Herstein and Robinson are much slimmer books, succinct, and the the exposition direct and clear.I learned in a couple of months more than I did in nearly nine months with Fraleigh and Ms. Chen. Yes, the subject is challenging, but far from insurmountable.If you have a less than enthusiastic and absent-minded professor that seems indifferent, do not let this be an obstacle to your learning either.Go buy these other books and use Fraleigh as a supplemental.Be consistent in setting time aside to read and do the problems of the text.Work as independently as possible and then go to group meetings-not the other way around, as is often told by instructors.I'm now a third year graduate student and focusing my work in algebraic topology-of all things!And I love it.This subject is a real gem and will doubtless never cease to impress you as you grow with it.Best wishes in your learning and educational endeavors.

Classic textbook
THE definitive text for introductory algebra classes, this book is a classic. And for good reason. It introduces each concept with solid examples and a lengthy discussion. There are always a few nice problems for each chapter, some of which provide meaningful results for later sections. One criticism of this book is that Fraleigh often assumes that the reader has completed all of the problems and forgoes explanation on many areas. Overall, he presents the material in a nice, clean package: perfect for a first course in abstract algebra.

Reviews (5)

mm, not quite what I was hoping for...
This installment in the Schaum's outline series doesn't do it for me. I had reason to pick this one up simply out of curiousity (and out of habit, by usingother titles in this series for other lower-level undergraduate courses).It hardly stimulates any interest on the part ofthe reader; and the presentation is dry; not to mentionthat the selection of solved problems wasn't carefully thought out (most, I found, were proofs of some pretty standard results, which I would have rather not seen all over again). And the bare-hands computations weren't all that exciting,either.

Ploughing through a course text proper would better serve the serious student of mathematics. There areother well-written books devoted to solved problems in algebra (group/ring theory, for instance). It's just amatter of scoping them out carefully, and dishing out the money (for photocopies, even).

Not Great
Gallian's Contemporary Abstract Algebra is my required textbook for this course.I bought Schaum's Outline to supplement it and help me with some of the proofs.Instead, I found exactly the same worked-out examples from Gallian.My homework problems I was having trouble with were also under the "extra" problems section which does not have solutions.Basically this book was useless to me.If you aren't already using Gallian, that's the book you should get;this one would be okay if you want to save a few bucks.

Very well explained
I think this book would be good by itself in picking up algebraic theories and methods.Each section is well explained and the sample problems take you through the process step-by-step.

Reviews (4)

The worst mathematics book I have ever read!!!
I gave this book one star only because I couldn't give it a score of zero!!! Although many professors say that this book is excellent, remember they are professors who already understand the material. This book shows no examples, and the examples that it does show end abruptly with comments such as "all items are routine." Routine!!! Please show me what to do so that I don't have to spend more money on a separate study guide. Aren't mathematics texts expensive enough? This book may be an excellent addition to a professors library but this book should never, ever be used as a primary text for students.

Good for Self-Study
This is a tough book to review, because it is not clear who the real audience is supposed to be.The author says that it is aimed at first-year graduate students, with a bunch of extra material that can be referred back to during the second year and beyond.The earlier chapters also include efficient reviews (with sketched proofs) of material that should be familiar to those who have taken undergraduate algebra.

This characterization is debatable.Based on my experience reading most of the first six chapters (the first 400 out of about 1000 pages), I would say that the level of sophistication is roughly that of Dummit and Foote's "Abstract Algebra", which is usually considered an undergraduate book.D&F can sometimes be harder to read, and that is in part because Rotman's exposition is better (in my opinion), but also because D&F introduce more difficult material earlier.Whether D&F's approach is better is questionable; I find Rotman to be a much smoother read, but the organization is quite different -- for example, one does not encounter noncommutative rings until deep into the book, whereas Dummit and Foote introduce them immediately upon defining rings.On the other hand, early in the coverage of D&F's chapter on rings, one has to digest Zorn's Lemma and its applications almost from the beginning, whereas Rotman (I think wisely) pushes this back into a later section.In general, D&F introduce a lot of hairy examples that by themselves require a lot of effort to digest (thereby impeding the reader's progress through the core material), whereas Rotman's examples tend to be straightforward, at least as new concepts are being presented.

So, overall, the exposition flows more smoothly in Rotman's book, and the reader can cover the basics more quickly with less time spent on tangential examples and early generalizations.Also, Rotman's proofs are usually much cleaner and the overall style is very nice.It's more pleasant to read than Dummit and Foote.But this comes at a cost: Dummit and Foote do cover more material, and generalize at an earlier stage, than Rotman does.

But my biggest gripe concerns the exercises.Put simply, Rotman's are far too easy for what is being pitched as a graduate course.In fact, they are in general far easier than the homework problems I sweated through when I took honors undergraduate algebra. They're barely adequate to convince the reader that he has a basic grasp on the material, and there are almost no hard ones, let alone really tough, thought-provoking open-ended problems like one encounters in Herstein's "Topics in Algebra" (an undergraduate book).There are certainly no exercises in Rotman's book that would be of any use for a graduate student preparing for qualifying exams.They're not even much of a workout for a decent (honors student) undergraduate.

So, what is this book good for?I think it's great for reading material that is usually harder to understand elsewhere.Rotman has a real knack for clear mathematical exposition, and some of the chapters are a real joy to read.(Side note: there are also a lot of typos, at least in the first printing.The author maintains an errata list at his web site, and a second printing is coming soon.There are still many errata that he didn't catch, but they're fairly minor and do not detract significantly from the reading.) But this is simply not suitable for a primary graduate text or reference.Most good schools are going to demand more of their graduate students, and one is inevitably going to have to read Lang or Hungerford (and work through their exercises) to achieve competence at the graduate level.Rotman's book is a kinder, gentler book upon which to fall back when those books are inscrutable, as is all too common.I do recommend it highly for that purpose -- I think it's a very good secondary book.

An excellent Text
To begin with, don't let the title scare you.After having read through Rotman's book I am suprised that this text had not crossed my path earlier.It is a wonderful book and must have for any inspiring Algebraist.Moreover, I am quite shocked that the larger universities have not adopted this book.

(a)This book could quite easily be used as the standard third/fourth year undergraduate introduction to Abstract Algebra.In particular, the first four chapters provide a solid foundation for a moderate paced one semester course at which point the instructor has many different options for additional topics based on the performance of his/her class.

(b)Those students that move on to the graduate level, and obviously to a university using this book, would both be familiar with the temperment and flow of the author as well as devoid of the requirement of having to purchase another expensive Mathematics text.For example, my undergraduate Algebra text was Hungerford's and post completion the logical step, being familiar with his style, was to purchase Hungerford's graduate text.For those not familiar, let me tell you there is a night and day difference with repsect to how the material is presented.

(c) The remaining 7 chapters take the willing student on a pleasant tour of ring/module theory, some advanced group theory (for the inspiring group theorist I highly recommend the authors graduate text "Group Theory"), algebras(linear included), Homology(some cohomology) and finally some algebraic number theoretic concept under the heading of Commutative Rings III.

(d) Lastly, Rotamn does not get needlessly bogged down in any one section of the book.The flow is smooth, to the point with precise definitions, examples, and ample exercises.