Customer Reviews: Read 5 more reviews...
 It now heads my list for potential texts in my numerical methods course January 15, 2007
Charles Ashbacher (Marion, Iowa United States(cashbacher@yahoo.com))
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Last academic year, I taught a course in numerical analysis. It was the first time that I had the opportunity to do so and I enjoyed it very much. I do double duty as a mathematician and a computer science instructor, and this was an opportunity to simultaneously exercise both skills. Since I will probably be teaching it again next academic year, I examined this book as a possible text for the course.
I was impressed with the approach and the level of exposition. In general, two assumptions can be made concerning the background of the students. The first is that they know differential and integral calculus and the second that they have some programming experience. While the authors assume the first, they reduce the level of the second assumption. The programming exercises are in Matlab and require very little programming knowledge. There are also few actual programming examples; most of the complex algorithms are expressed in an advanced pseudocode. I am strongly in favor of this approach; most people will be using a system other than Matlab.
There are many exercises at the end of the chapters and the solutions to many of them are included in an appendix. A set of problems called "Applied problems and projects" is also included at the end of each chapter. These are more complex problems that are on the level of significant programming projects. They also are truly real world problems, dealing with topics such as interest computations, solving solution problems, solving differential equations numerically and the history of mathematics. If you regularly give such problems in your numerical methods class, then you will love these sections.
The breadth of coverage is sufficient so that a two-semester sequence could be taught using this book. The chapter headings are:
*) Preliminaries
*) Solving nonlinear equations
*) Solving sets of equations
*) Interpolation and curve fitting
*) Approximation of functions
*) Numerical differentiation and integration
*) Numerical solution of ordinary differential equations
*) Optimization
*) Partial-differential equations
*) Finite-element analysis
At this time, this book is at the top of my list of possible texts for the next time I teach numerical analysis. Since that is still at least a year away, I cannot say that I will definitely adopt it. However, barring no new and better book appearing, it will be the chosen one.
Easy to understand and great examples! November 25, 1999
Silas Curfman (Seattle, Washington)
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
I found this edition of the book to be very easy to understand, especially for a novice. All of the algorithms were very helpful. The wide variety of computer examples (Matlab, Mathematica, C, etc.) that are used make the book a great tool for students.
ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS IN NUMERICAL ANALYSIS EVER PUBLISHED! October 18, 2005
reader (ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA United States)
This has been the best numerical analysis book that I have ever seen. The author does a brilliant job and explains concepts with extreme clarity. With this book, there isn't even any need of sitting in a professor's lecture. The book that my university uses sucks so bad, there's not 1 thing I could understand. Relying on that would have flunked me, yet that useless book costs over $100 and this remarkable book only cost me $20. It may be a 1994 edition, but even 2005 edition books on numerical analysis fail to meet its quality. Definitely a lifesaver for me.
 Wide range of topics covered in detail, but lots of mistakes May 9, 2000
P. J. Golda (Luxembourg)
15 out of 15 found this review helpful
I was quite amazed by the wide range of topics and applications covered by this book. And yet, each topic is covered in detail, with many algorithms presented to achieve a certain goal. The various algorithms are always summarised and compared, so that it is a simple matter to know which algorithm to choose depending on the circumstances of the problem at hand. I liked the very detailed examples which tend to run over a good number of iterations so that one can easily test one's understanding of the operation of the algorithm.However, the disappointment lay in the number of mistakes that are made. Most of them are very subtle, and are only discovered if you go through the text carefully, or try to implement an algorithm based on the example pseudocode. In most cases it is the pseudocode that has gone wrong. If you are only a beginner programmer, then it will be difficult to sift through the poorly written pseudocode. On the other hand, a seasoned programmer will have no problems. In summary - a top class book marred by some mistakes. If you know how to program, then this book is for you. Beginner programmers will be slowed somewhat by the poor pseudocode.
A very good Numerical Analysis book but with small mistakes. August 10, 1997
rayol@ibpinet.com.br (Rio de Janeiro, BRAZIL)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I have been using this book since the first edition in 1970. I have just bought the last edition, from Amazon, and found three errors in the first chapter. It should be corrected. In figure 1.2 (pag 4), the end of l1 is not right.In the same page the third formula is not right, as it should show sqr(sin) instead of sin. In page 41, the first digit (d1) would always be 1, so IEEE 754 changed a little what is presented. Even so I want to repit that this is very good book and I recommend it firmly. Raymundo de Oliveira
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