Elementary Differential Equations with Linear Algebra | 
 enlarge | Author: Albert L. Rabenstein
Publisher: Brooks Cole
Category: Book
List Price: $206.95
Buy Used: $63.99
You Save: $142.96 (69%)
New (7) Used (18) from $63.99
Rating:  12 reviews
Sales Rank: 87566
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 4
Pages: 528
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2
Dimensions (in): 9.6 x 7.6 x 1
ISBN: 0155209841
Dewey Decimal Number: 515.35
EAN: 9780155209848
Publication Date: January 2, 1992
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Designed for use by sophomore engineering or junior physical science majors, this text is suitable for an introductory course in linear algebra and differential equations or a course in differential equations with a linear algebra prerequisite. This text contains detailed coverage of applied topics and includes theorems specifically applicable to engineering students. There is a new chapter on "Stability and the Phase Plane", approximately 300 new problems added throughout and several BASIC programs on numerical solutions of differential equations are included.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 7 more reviews...
 An Excellent Beginners Book. August 24, 2005
reader
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
This book is excellent. I'm shocked at the low ratings, BUT I think I can explain why. This is one of the best introductory books out there. I used it in my first class as an engineering student before I switched over to a mathematics major. Classes for math majors don't normally use this book because it is too elementary. But for non-math majors (engineering, chemistry, physics, ...) this is the first book of choice. Unfortunately, these majors are also full of people in the early years who won't like differential equations. Therefore, this book gets a lot of negative attention from disenchanted students. I love differential equations, but many people who see themselves as good in math get an unexpected bad grade in this class--they can't accept that and instead fault the book or the teacher. I admit, differential equations seemed to me at first to have too much clever guessing, no single structured methodology with which to apply to every differential equation, and most annoying is that most differential equations can't be solved in closed form anyway. This situation is not the fault of the book. Even today there are folks getting PhD's by working on unsolved differential equations.
For those who want more help, I believe in having lots of practice problems. So, in addition to this book, get the "Schaum's Outline of Differential Equations" by Bronson (ISBN: 0070080194) for slightly more than $10 (cheap). Also, I believe in reading more than one source simultaneously, so get "Ordinary Differential Equations" by Tenenbaum and Pollard (ISBN: 0486649407) (Also cheap), and read it along with Rabenstein's book. Tenenbaum's book might be just as good or better as Rabenstein's book, so it might be wise for the instructor to use Tenenbaum's book instead of Rabenstein's book and help the student save some money. But I suspect Rabenstein's book is still more elementary in treatment.
I disagree with the other reviewers.... January 13, 2004
4 out of 6 found this review helpful
I think the other reviewers all looked at this book from the perspective of an engineering major who wasn't interested in learning the topics but just wanted to get through a required course without having to put in the effort to understand the material. This book does an excellent job of tying together the two topics at hand. Yes, like any good math book, there are lots of proofs. Of course, I'm reading this from the perspective of a graduate student in geochemistry with a bachelors degree in math from several years ago. It's a great reference/review book for me. So, I'd just like to counter the other reviewers by saying if you're looking for a book with a good concise theory based introduction to Differential Equations and Linear Algebra, this is the best one I've seen.
One final note -- I think this web form is screwy, I can't correct the repeated sentence above...
 Hard to Learn From December 3, 1999
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
This book is very difficult to learn from, the examples are hard to follow, the ideas that are relatively simple are portrayed in such a way that they are confusing. The basic ideas on differential equations that are portrayed in the first chapter are manageable but as the book goes on, it gets more and more horrible. I would not recommend this as a teaching tool or as a supplemental reading aid. I am currently studying this subject and I, along with all of my classmates that i am acquainted with, dislike this book strongly and believe that it is a waste of money. I have had to buy additional textbooks to understand this subject
Horrible book. Suitable for burning March 17, 2000
Daniel B Huang
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
Lousy non-existant examples and unexplained theory make learning Linear Algebra and differential equations impossible to understand. Because there is no index, you can't find needed information to solve key problems.
Avoid it like a cold March 11, 2003
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
I had to buy it for an engineering math course. It is truly aweful. It has proof after proof and theorem after theorem with very few examples. Very abstract explanations. I do not know if anyone could learn anything from this book except to buy a different book if you really want to learn linear algebra. I just purchased a different Linear algebra book so I can understand the material. Take the advice of someone who has used the text and do your self a favor. Do not buy this book not even as a joke.
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