Good Reference - Artfully Blends the Mathematics with Examples and Illustrations - Well Written
352985
Good reference on orbital mechanics. Blends the mathematics with good examples and plenty of illustrative graphics. Has a few typos. Most of them are in references to equations with one number off. Best of the 5 references I have in my own library on the subject. Covers the topic all the way from Keppler physics to more modern algorithms. The downloaded Appendix D for the MATLAB scripts is quite comprehensive.
3871874
I have read through most of the book.  In general, this is an excellent introduction to the concept of Fourier analysis.  It covers the basic concepts quite well.  What I found quite interesting is that the authors of this book were able to take a relatively complicated idea and break it down and explain it in plain language, so that the reader developed an intuitive understanding of the concepts.  The math in this book is a little heavy, and a familiarity with advanced algebra is necessary, and some background in calculus is helpful but not essntial because the authors do provide some background material in that area.

I used this book as a supplement to an engineering math course, and the explanations here were quite helpful to me in understanding the fundamental ideas.

My only complaint is that some of the cutesy stuff was a little distracting for me.  When the authors stuck to straight language in explaining the material the book is at its best.  Overall I highly recommend this book.
1130882
This is a very good textbook and reference for those seeking to model and understand epidemiology techniques.  Calculus and probability theory are introduced at a basic level and the book progresses onto advanced concepts of statistical modeling.  It has an A to Z format which makes it useful for looking up topics easily.  The book starts out with fundamental techniques but explores complicated topics in greater detail toward the end of the single volume.  I really like it as an MPH Student interested in epidemiology and plan on using it alot more in my career.  Five Hundred dollars is alot, but probably worth it.  This book is possibly not an absolute necessity, but I am glad I purchased it when I did, in the first year of the MPH Program.
973088
This is an excellent introduction to the subject, especially if your math background is close to nill.  If you feel confortable  with elementary mathematics, (e.g. a little calculus and a little linear algebra) then the book is still very useful, especially in explaining the intuitive aspects of the field.  However, even the handy companion workbook "Mathematical Methods in Statistics", which does use a little bit of mathematics, is quite elementary.  Unfortunately, there are no introductory Statistics books aimed at those who know a little bit of mathematics, so this book is pretty much all there is (with the exception of the new Nolan & Speed book). Overall, I think this is a really wonderful book, and if you do have a little bit of math background, it reads like a novel. It is extremely comprehensive for an introduction, and experienced statistics students will often use this book as a reference. There could be a little more attention paid to the mathematically confortable readers (at least in the workbook:  the treatment of  regression for example could at least mention the linear alebra.)  As well, it would be very useful to touch upon some statistical software (e.g. Splus)
2201557
This textbook is a great Introduction to MathCAD. Very well written and easy to follow. I wish it had more applied examples tough.
4205250
Nellis and Klein write a wonderfully flexible book. Totally appropriate for a graduate level heat transfer book, yet simple enough for undergrads. Each topic is introduced in manner that is readable and understandable, then the finer points are investigated in as much detail as the reader may want.

The mathematics are very well described. While many other books assume prerequisite mathematics courses, Nellis and Klein revisit the mathematics from a very applied perspective.

It references the software package EES frequently, and the EES code interspersed in the example problems is a bit distracting to me, but with practice it can be overlooked.
391676
Easy to understand with clear and steady steps and progress. It was recommended by my math teacher. Well written! Recommend to anyone who's about to take a proof-driven math class.
2398892
I am a software engineer and I have suffered through trying to read a lot of math reference books... This is without any doubt the best math book of any kind that I have come across. The terms are defined tersely, so you can get the main idea and context of each entry at a glance, and definitions are then followed by very well thought-out, well-worded examples. The length and complexity of the examples chosen are paired very well with the terms an example illustrates, making even the most technical parts of the book a comfortable "reading" experience; i.e., you will not find yourself doing the "deer in the headlights" thing in front of an unexplained pile of Greek letters and squiggly lines - each prerequisite to an idea is present where it is needed. It is rare to find a mathematician who is also a talented writer, but Dr. Downing fills both roles here seamlessly. I highly recommend this book for anyone who works in sciences or needs to catch up on heavier math at a quick pace.
3886797
Engineers are "consumers" of math-we don't develop new mathematical techniques or proofs. This text, like the Booth and Stroud series in Engineering Mathematics understands and fills this need well.

I like the fact that the author carefully picked examples that illustrate the concepts that are critical.

The critical advantage this book has is the fact that it is much smaller than Booth and Stroud's books and hence more likely to be used.
2983070
Good information, good order and easy read. Gives a lot of examples with the math and I like the work problems at the end of each section. Very applicable.
11439
In the preface, the author states that Lie Theory is a blend of calculus and linear algebra. The following chapters then pull from group theory, calculus, linear algebra, and finally topology, to develop the subject. The mathematics in the text is clear and complete and exercises directly reinforce the material. Chapters toward the end contain the moderately inspirational Eichlers proof of Campbell-Baker-Hausdorff theorem and an interesting presentation of topology of compact sets applied to the tangent space. In short, this book communicates some very complex subject matter without blowing away the reader. I am satisfied with the overall coverage of the subject and don't think Ill push into it any further. Also, I found no print quality problems in my book  Five Stars.
2852115
I was pleased with how well this book did with laying out the definitions of statistical topics, and different formulas. As a student whom had to order this for a class, it has helped me a great deal. It is written well and very clearly for those who have trouble with math. Book arrived in good condition.
567562
"Why Beauty Is Truth:  A History of Symmetry", by Ian Stewart, Basic Books, NY 2007.  ISBN-13: 978-0-465-08236-0.  HC  290/280 pgs., includes Preface, Further Readings, Index & a few cartoons.  9 1/2" x 6 1/2".

Stewart, Mathematics Professor, Warwick, authored six prior books and here he provides an entertaining survey of the history of symmetry with especial reference to mathematical purity, elegance, simplicity and symmetry of divers sorts, group theory, imaginary numbers & much more.

Tolerantly technical, and despite reader caution not need to complete calculations, those reader's lacking math background and basic comprehension of quantum and particle physics will be awash.  The emboldened cover enveiglement, an Azure Lepidoptera, is enticing but not pertinent to book's contents.  Written in engaging, but oft meandering prose attitude as met in Mario Livio's "The Golden Ratio", but more earthy than encountered in 'historicisms', tolerably askance or tangential, it is chock full of anecdotal informatories adding to it's intelligibility.  String theory, supersymmetry and Feynam sketches are helpful as apt diagrams.

The semi-chronological format delves into contributions made by the "usual suspects" of math and physics -- beginning in ancient Babylon (60 miles South of Baghdad), and onto Euclid, Einstein, Weber, Planck, Witten, etc.  An excellent primer and a good read.
1060555
I found this book to be very well written-  It emphasizes the central themes of Numerical Analysis, and provides insight along with the analysis.  I especially liked the projects and "reality checks" that Sauer provides-  For example, in the Differential Equations chapter, he provides Matlab code for animating the solutions to the pendulum, double pendulum, and even goes into the "N-body problem".  A small critique:  The Matlab code could be written better, and some of it needed to be modified to work properly, but these bugs will probably be worked out in future editions.  For educators:  This book is designed for a year-long course.  That being said, I would still highly recommend it for even a one-semester course, even though you will only use half the text.
1190001
This book strikes a good balance between applications and mathematical rigor. Useful for practitioners of numerical inversion as a reference and a gateway to the original mathematical works.
3456513
The true test of a math book is whether or not you keep it around for future reference, and this has been on my bookshelf for the last two years.

Unlike some other math books (and, heaven forbid, higher level physics books) that I have had the dubious pleasure of slogging through during my time at a math and science college, you actually know where the problems are coming from in this LinAl book. They provide copious examples, examples upon examples, and the problems in each chapter are drawn from them, mostly verbatim, with a few numbers changed. A few might find this tedious, but I was so goddam happy to finally know where to find the information that would help me learn the material and finish my homework that I didn't care.

Pros: Lots of examples, LinAl is taught competently, if not excitingly.

Cons: Price. This book was assigned the year it was published, so no used copies existed. I think the college system and the book publishing industry are in cahoots.
2227850
What a great book.  This will stay in my library forever.  It is rich with great illustration, well written explanations and a nice balance between fun and intellect. Michael Schneider really did a nice job on this one.  If you liked geometry because it was "fun", you will love this book.  It is not too steeped in mathemtical formulas (which  usually put you to sleep and are an affectation of a boring author) but it does not shy away from using math theory when needed.  The treatment of the golden-mean was really nice.  I derived hours of pleasure from this book and am sure you will to.  Overall - Good balance between pictures/geometry/math-theory/natural&historical-speculation.  Hard to put down - even harder to loan out, but you do.