Subjects:  1. Algebra - Elementary    2. Mathematics    3. Science/Mathematics   

Reviews (6)

error prone, missing solutions for problems, dissapointed
Firs, the book has quite a few mistakes in formulas and solutions. It may teach you a few basis things about matrixes (addition, subtraction, multiplication), but in don't explain any meaning of these operations. There is no geometric or any otherinterpretation of anything. It already assumes you know what vectors are ?????? It mentions material in the beginning of the book that is explained at the end of it. Definitely not enough solved examples. At the end of each chapter it has a quiz that supposed to have solutions at the end of the book, but only 1/2 of the excesses ( the easier ones) have solutions. for the other have the author rudely tells you to follow the path of some other exercise. I find it unacceptable lazinesson his part. I know what I need to follow, but I also need to know the answer so I can check myself and see if I followed it correctly. Don't buy it.

Love this Book!
I recently took an online Linear Algebra class, and I was struggling to understand the material since everything was self-taught and my textbook was aweful. I started searching for an aid to help me understand the material better to get me through my mid-term and final, and I only had two weeks to teach myself a whole semester's worth of the stuff. This book was an absolute lifesaver! He goes through every aspect of Linear Algebra that I needed to know, and often gave a much simplier way to solve problems than my textbook had presented. I now have a good understanding of the subject, and I got a B in my class. This book doesn't just give you formulas or a straight way to solve the problem, he walks you through different types you might come across and if you do the quizzes and the final exam in the back then you will definitely be prepared. I plan on buying more of his books the next time I have trouble in a class!

A little disappointed
I really like the format of this book, and I bought it after reading the good reviews on this site. But I have a big problem with the errors in the worked out problems and the problem answers in the book. Pages 30, 31, 64, 102, 233, 234, and 235 contain either mis-printed values or answers that are demonstrably wrong. (One can always check the solution to a set of equations by verifying that they do, in fact, solve the set of equations.) Since I am only up to page 138, there are probably more errors, as well. Given that this is supposed to be a self-teaching guide, this is a definite drawback since the student's first impulse is always to assume that the mistake is their own. Needless to say, this can result in a lot more frustration than required. Even now I'm wondering if I really just missed something, but I don't think so. A book like this really could have used better proofreading (a lot of the mistakes may simply be dropped or duplicated digits). So Caveat Emptor and Caveat Lector. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Algebra - Linear    2. Algebras, Linear    3. Mathematics    4. Popular works    5. Problems, exercises, etc    6. Science/Mathematics    7. Linear algebra    8. Mathematics / Algebra / Linear   

Reviews (3)

Rough Journey.
This is the text I used this previous semester for my Linear Algebra class. I had no linear algebra background before taking this class. That being said, this was one of the roughest classes I've ever got through only because the book kept going against the grain in every way possible. I didn't even begin to understand the entire point of linear algebra until about chapter 7 and 8 when the chapters started going into the general cases, and even now, I know how to "solve" all the problems without even knowing their meaning, which seems totally pointless to me. The selected answers to the problems in the book are in no particular pattern. It's not "all odds" or "all evens"; it's just scattered and it made doing homework a nightmare. I felt like I was back in elementary school while reading this book, because back then all I did was learn "methods" of solving problems without understanding "why". The book almost never discussed the purpose or main idea of the subjects it discussed. The "explanations" it gave would be based off of other vague topics. For example "What is the Eigenvector Problem? Well, the eigenvector problem asks if there is a basis for R^n in a nXn matrix consisting of eigenvectors of said matrix", OK so What's a basis? "A basis a set of vectors for a vector space S is linearly independant and/or set that spans the space S" and the cycle kept hitting me with one definition after another without giving me a big picture or anything. A bit of the book is about "applications" of linear algebra, but doesn't help until you've understood the meat of the book that came beforehand. Also, there were no teachers' solutions manuals available when I took this class, because the distributers have been extremely lax about getting them out (why? who knows). I'm not just saying this book is bad because I was lazy and didn't do well. I worked extremely hard to do "well" in this class. I must have read this book twice through and like I said before, I can solve all the problems but please don't ask me to explain their significance or validate their existence, because I can't. STAY AWAY!

Learn-by-rote Linear Algebra (8th edition)
At my university, David Lay's book is used. They experimented with Anton's (this), and now they're back to Lay's Linear Algebra. Insofar as a Linear Algebra is taught relying heavily on matrixes, I can compare this book with 3 other books: David Lay's; Terry Lawson's; and the one by Hans Schneider and George Barker (Dover book, very cheap). Anton's Linear Algebra has the least theory of all 4. It results in an even poorer product than his Calculus book. Truth be told, I did not use Anton's book, and neither do I wish to. I've suffered too much of his "style" from Calculus, and I saw enough of his Linear Algebra to want to risk jeopardizing my study effort to delve into his book. I'll stick with my other 3 books, thank you very much If you must know: as to what regards "theoretical bent", the order is: Schneider > Lawson > Lay > Anton. Applications: Schneider < Lawson ~ Lay < Anton, but only because Anton's discussions are a little more extensive (not by a great margin). Applications really seems to be its strong point, spanning more than 100 pages in a single chapter, with many interesting and somewhat detailed discussions on "Real World" (to use a term dear to Computer Science types) applications: ecology, graph theory, computer tomography, etc. (none of which you'll learn from this book, by the way, each is a field of its own). I can't recommend it, except as a curiosity.

starts with tangible topics
Anton is now in the 9th edition of this book. Spanning decades of refinement. What you get is a very polished and well written text, that has incorporated feedback from generations of students.
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Subjects:  1. Algebra - Linear    2. Algebras, Linear    3. Mathematics    4. Science/Mathematics    5. Linear algebra    6. Mathematics / Algebra / Linear   

Reviews (2)

Very thorough and a very logical order of presentation
I used this book to teach my community college algebra I and II This is an excellent text for High School & College Levels
This text is well written and easy for students to follow. I would have given this book 5 stars except for a few proofreading errors. As of today, the solutions manual is not yet available, which would certainly supportthe text. This book can be used in consecutive classes for Into &Intermediate Algebra. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Algebra - General    2. Algebra - Intermediate    3. General    4. Mathematics    5. Science/Mathematics    6. Algebra   

Reviews (1)

Math Rocks!!
This book made math fun and easy.Math Rocks!!! As we used to say back in the day, "Full Tilt, Rock and Roll." ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Algebra    2. Algebra - Elementary    3. Algebra - General    4. Algebra - Intermediate    5. Mathematics    6. Science/Mathematics    7. Mathematics / General   

Reviews (3)

Simply ridiculous
It is hard to imagine a worse math book, except maybe the earlier editions of this title. Poor Transition into Algebra and High School Math
This book is commonly used by grade schools as a transition for students to get acquainted with algebra topics and prepare for high school math courses.Sadly, this book is poorly laid out, skipping back and forth between topics like a ping pong ball, and often pampers the reader to an extent of which is clearly childish.Even grade school students who were polled often find the pictures both useless and distracting.The chapters of this book also waste space, while providing very little mathematical content.If you are reading this book, or thinking about getting this book for a school environment, you should seriously consider that this book in no way prepares students for high school math courses.Why 2 stars then?The overwhelming use of pictures and comics to portray mathematics may provide easier to understand concepts for children with learning disabilities; but is often distracting.

Very Helpful
I had to prepare for some college placement exaims and needed a refresher course. This book was a trememdous help to me! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Algebra - Elementary    2. Algebra - General    3. Mathematics    4. Science/Mathematics    5. Algebra    6. Mathematics / Algebra / General   

Reviews (1)

Typical Serre, concise, clean, clear.
This is a an excellent introduction to the subject.The book really breaks into 3 distinct parts.The first 5 chapters are a rapid introduction to the basics, similar to what one would get from any indroductory text.They are most notable for actually going through the details on D_n, S_n cyclic groups... The second section (chapters 6-13) gives a more graduate level presentation of the material.Starting with a discussion of group algebras, moving onto inducted representations Artin's theorem (the existence of virtual characters) The third section is Brauer Theory. The book is by Serre so it goes without saying it one of the best if not the best book on the market.His failure to deal with the additional complexities of the infinite group case (which he indicates in the title) is a small problem.He could have spent at least 1 chapter addressing how the results of the book could be extended.The index of notation is a fantastic asset for a subject where notation plays such a large role. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Finite Mathematics    2. Finite groups    3. Group Theory    4. Mathematics    5. Representations of groups    6. Science/Mathematics    7. Darstellung (Math.)    8. Endliche Gruppe    9. Mathematics / Finite Mathematics    10. Mathematics / Group Theory    11. Mathematics-Group Theory   

Subjects:  1. Algebra    2. Algebra - Elementary    3. Algebra - General    4. Algebra - Intermediate    5. Mathematics    6. Science/Mathematics    7. Textbooks    8. Mathematics / Algebra / General   

Reviews (8)

Grab Bag
A grab bag of precalc topics. Makes a good refresher, but not a good intro.

Great self-study text, if you are willing to put in the effort
This is a great Precalculus Text, if you actually want to learn some Elementary Algebra and Trig.
Good chapters, poor layout
I see that other reviewers have beaten me to the punch. I, too, found the individual chapters very good and the overall organization confused. Like a previous reviewer, I think Cohen's Precalculus would best serve as a supplement to Michael Sullivan's more effectively organized book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Algebra - General    2. Calculus    3. Mathematics    4. Pre-Calculus    5. Science/Mathematics    6. Algebra    7. Mathematics / Pre-Calculus   

Reviews (12)

A didactical masterpiece
I bought this book many years ago and soon I felt it extraordinary. My idea has not changed along years. Clear, comprehensive, readable, even pleasant. You can really learn vector analysis step by step without a teacher. And you learn to use what you learn. All topics about vectors are explored, included differential operators and some differential geometry. It covers also tensor analysis (the last two chapter are on curvilinear coodinates and tensor). In my opinion there is a little more than a mere introduction to this subject. When I began to study tensors, I did't find a book that is completely satisfaying for a beginner. I turned out to my old Spiegel and the light was. Read first the last two chapters of Spiegel when you begin with tensors: you will understand basics concepts and you will avoid troubles. I feel to owe a debt of gratitude to this book and its Author. A true didactical masterpiece.

Excellent stand-alone introduction to vector analysis
I own many Schaum's outlines, and several by Mr. Spiegel, the author of this book. Mr. Spiegel's outlines have always been among the most excellent of the Schaum's outline series and this one is no exception.
Great text/reference
Highly important for applied mathematicians, physicists and engineers, if you're taking a course in vector analysis, you should have a copy of this book. In it, you will find a concise, clear review of the theory, followed immediately by many problems with detailed solutions. Semester after semester, my students tell me this Schaum's made a positive difference in their understanding.
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Subjects:  1. Algebra - General    2. Calculus    3. Mathematics    4. Science/Mathematics    5. Study Guides    6. Vector Analysis    7. Mathematics / Algebra / General    8. Vector & tensor analysis   

Reviews (1)

yeah it was pretty good
This book was extremely repetitive but the words base is good.. It has a very easy step by step set up and is excellent for a self teaching device. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Algebra - General    2. Mathematics   

Reviews (6)

Money for Books comments
The people were very friendly but the book seemed to take forever to arrive. I was told it would ship within two days but took over two weeks to arrive. I did not expect an instructors edition. I do not recall reading that it was an instructors edition. I had avoided ordering from others, asthey only offered the instructors edition. It still was a huge savings from what our book store wanted for a used book ($65.00). I would recommend this service to anyone, just advise them to order well ahead of their need for the book. They responded to all of my emails in a fast and professional manner. This was my first experience ordering from your service and I would do it again. All in all, I saved $100 over what I had paid for two used books in the college book store. Thanks for the savings.

a reader
This book is not as bad as everyone is saying. I am an older student taking Algebra for the first time in 15+ years and did not have a problem with the book.I do recommend the instructor's edition though which was very helpful!!

Kaseberg's 2nd Edition is Terrific
Kaseberg outdid herself on the second editon (2000 publication date)of Just-in-Time! Yes, the first edition (1996 edition)was difficult to read and lacked organization. But those problems have been fixed. The 2nd edition is very readable and the organization is much clearer. The new edition also has more exercises. The best thing about this book is that no one can ever again ask "why do I need to know this?" because from the first page, Kaseberg shows you how the math is used in the real world. Also, in many places you get a triple whammy explanation of the math: you get it with algebra symbols, if that doesn't work, she shows you how the same idea looks on a graph, and in case you still don't get it, she shows how the same math looks with sketches of stuff in the real world. Finally, Kaseberg treats you like you have a brain--she helps you discover why the math works instead of just telling you that it works and expecting you to believe her. I LOVE this book! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Algebra    2. Algebra - Elementary    3. Algebra - General    4. Mathematics    5. Science/Mathematics    6. Mathematics / General   

Reviews (3)

One word to describe this book: Horrible
I'm really mad at our school for having this as our textbook.
urnightingale
THis is an excellent book...but you really have to be committed to learn anything (esp. Physics).You can't expect to just read through once and understand everything.This book makes the reader think deeply about physical concepts, but again, you have to be committed to grasp them throughly.It is a very interesting book.Excellent resource for to-be-researchers.In fact, it introduces the reader to very interesting facts about different researcher.I used to read it like a story book (some chapters took about a day to read) but i enjoyed it.If you want to learn physics and want to learn it with an open mind, this is the best book.I have taken an engineering physics course also and their book was very boring and confusing compared to this one.so..enjoy!

Students Beware!!!!
I bought this book for a class and was hoping it would help me through it, since my teacher was not the best.It just made it more confusing.The book is littered with information, just too much for a person taking algebra based physics.Most people taking Algebra based physics need a step-by-step approach at learning the subject matter.This book does a poor job at doing so.The concepts are not clear and concise, and fails when attempting to outline major equations. The problems in the back have answers for the odd problems, but how do we access answers to the even problems?Where's the student solution manual?It adds much difficulty to the learning process.Wouldn't recommend it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Algebra    2. Algebra - General    3. Mathematical Physics    4. Physics    5. Science    6. Science/Mathematics    7. Trigonometry    8. Science / Physics    9. Theoretical methods   

Reviews (11)

Good introduction or review of basic algebra.
I have been using this book with my 7th grader as an introduction to algebra.He has been able to follow the material.The explanations are clear and the exercises correspond well with the lessons.It covers a good variety of basic algebra topics, and I would recommend it for anyone needing an introduction to algebra concepts, or for anyone needing a quick review of algebra I.

This Book is Worth Buying!
I took basic Algebra 30+/- years ago,so I purchased this book along with "Algebra The Easy Way by Barron" (good book;but missing a few steps in some of its illustrations, which made it fustrating.I am a visual learner and need to see step-by-step illustrations).
Painless Algebra
Lynette Long, does a great job of turning Alebra into a simple understanding subject, no big words, or terms. Easy reading, with problems to reinforce the uncomplecated terms. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Algebra    2. Algebra - General    3. Mathematics    4. Mathematics (Young Adult)    5. Science/Mathematics    6. Study Guides    7. Mathematics / Algebra / General   

Reviews (1)

Best purchase I have ever made!
I was lucky enough to have the writer of this book as my instructor for college alegbra. The math department here requires the course to be taught with a very poorly-written book that often jumps around and expects you to know things that it doesn't cover until later chapters, skips many steps in solving example problems expecting you to figure them out yourself, and is extremely difficult to read. I have severe adult ADD and I can rarely remember to pay attention in class and, I was struggling because not only did I find myself missing major parts of her lecture and having to fill in the gaps with the terrible required textbook and a reading disability but, it had also been 6 years since I last took any form of math. I was badly in need of a supplement and set out to my local major bookstore chain to grab some Starbucks and peruse the math books. I finally came upon Dr. Huettenmueller's book after having carefully looked through every other book in the store. All of the other books that I had found seemed to either insifficiently cover the material I was struggling with or they were very difficult to understand (very often both). I had actually given up on my search when I was walking out and happened to spot College Algebra Demystified. I didn't really have great hopes for it as all of the other books had failed me but, I figured I should at least take a quick look. As soon as I cracked it open I realized that this was the perfect book for me.
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Subjects:  1. Algebra    2. Algebra - General    3. Mathematics    4. Problems, exercises, etc    5. Programmed instructin    6. Science/Mathematics    7. Textbooks    8. Mathematics / Algebra / General   

Subjects:  1. Advanced    2. Discrete Mathematics    3. Engineering - Electrical & Electronic    4. Linear systems    5. Mathematics    6. Science/Mathematics    7. State-space methods    8. System Theory    9. Systems Analysis    10. Automatic control engineering    11. Linear algebra    12. Science / System Theory   

Reviews (15)

Not the best but not the worst either
Background:I am an Aerospace Engineering undergraduate student with a strong foundation in math.
good introduction
A very good introduction to linear algebra. Explanations are very clear. A very good exposition on vector spaces. Overall a good buy for starting in this most interesting subject.

Good Book for the Most Part
Overall, I thought was well laid out.I would probably like to see more practical application of linear algebra to real world problems. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Advanced    2. Algebra - Linear    3. Algebras, Linear    4. Linear Algebra    5. Mathematics    6. Science/Mathematics    7. Textbooks    8. Mathematics / Advanced   

Reviews (1)

Great for teaching high school math!
I am a student working on my bachelor's to teach high school math.I bought this book as a resource for my reading class.It is so awesome I even included it in my term paper.It has examples of all the things and more that we were taught in that class.This book changed my attitude toward teaching reading and writing strategies in a high school math class.These techniques help struggling readers while at the same time they enhance more successful learners.This is also a must have book for middle school math teachers. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Activity programs    2. Algebra    3. Algebra - General    4. Education    5. Education / Teaching    6. Study & Teaching    7. Study and teaching (Secondary)    8. Teaching Methods & Materials - Mathematics    9. Education / Teaching Methods & Materials / Mathematics    10. Mathematics    11. Teaching of a specific subject    12. Teaching skills & techniques   

Reviews (2)

No variable quality here
One of the first things that jumps out at the reader of this text book is the colour - I remember algebra texts from nearly three decades ago when I first learned the subject, and they were usually fairly boring black-and-white texts.This has colour on every page.There are marginal pull-quote boxes that explain in simpler, verbal language some of the algebraic and mathematical concepts being demonstrated in the problems.There are also marginal notes that give hints (Success Tips, Caution, and Notation pieces) to remind students of key concepts or introduce important and special elements.
not great
well like the title says it suppose to be hardcover, have a CD-ROM with it and be titled INtermediate Algebra... none of it applied... i didn't get the CD it was not hardcover and the book i got is called
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Subjects:  1. Algebra    2. Algebra - Elementary    3. Algebra - General    4. Algebra - Intermediate    5. Mathematics    6. Science/Mathematics    7. Mathematics / General   

Reviews (2)

Caveat emptor!
Look at this book before you buy it.The author gets five stars; the publisher, one at most.What a shame!This is just the book for the summer before you start grad school. See Galois theory in action! But check it out of the library. It's printed on blotting paper. The illustrations are done in shades of black. If you wear glasses you will think they are dirty, but sadly, no amount of cleaning will make this book look as sharp and clear as its ideas. Of course, what you really study will be in your own handwriting, but a book this expensive should be beautiful.

Felix Klein and polynomials of the fifth degree
There are many books that discuss the fact that you cannot solve the general polynomial of the fifth degree (i.e. a quintic) using radicals.They often mention that Felix Klein showed there is a method to find the roots using rotations of the icosahedron, the regular polyhedron with 20 triangular faces.It is hard to find out exactly what this means (Klein's own book is out of print).Shurman gives all the details, and is a well written book combining group theory and geometry.Read more

Subjects:  1. Advanced    2. Algebra - Elementary    3. Curves, Quintic    4. Mathematics    5. Quintic equations    6. Science/Mathematics    7. Theory Of Equations    8. Complex analysis    9. Geometry    10. Groups & group theory    11. Linear algebra    12. Mathematics / Algebra / Elementary    13. Topology