Communication Systems [Hardcover]

A. Bruce Carlson (Author), Paul Crilly (Author), Janet Rutledge (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0070111278 | ISBN-13: 978-0070111271 | Publication Date: June 25, 2001 | Edition: 4

* Covers the three major areas: signal and system analysis, analog communication, and digital communication
* Emphasis on HDTV, LANs, WANs, satellite (iridium) telephone systems to address changes in professional arena
* Features examples and exercises within each chapter, helping to master new concepts as they are introduced

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Bruce Carlson (Troy, NY) teaches at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. P.B. Crilly (Knoxville, TN) teaches at University of Tennessee. Janet Rutledge (Evanston, IL) teaches at Northwestern University.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 864 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Science/Engineering/Math; 4 edition (June 25, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0070111278
• ISBN-13: 978-0070111271
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.6 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #971,630 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but needlessly difficult, February 21, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Communication Systems (Hardcover)

The strong points of this book are its mathematical rigor and its ability to convey the intuition behind the math. Unfortunately, there are several weak points. First, there are a surprising number of typos in the book for a fourth edition, even in text that is carried over from the third edition. Second, it is very difficult to read because the authors define a variable once, then use it repeatedly without redefinition, even if the variable is unused for many pages. If you have a photographic memory, this is ok. If not, you spend needless time searching the text for the definition. Finally, the problems at the end of each chapter are often ambiguous. This is life in the real world, but is needlessly frustrating in an academic setting.

If you have the time to dig through this tome, it is worth the effort. But given the clarity with which it explains its topics, such effort is required primarily due to deficiencies in the books style and not the difficulty of the subject matter.

23 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very good introduction to the topic for EE students, August 27, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Communication Systems (Hardcover)

I used an earlier edition of this text in the Communications Systems course at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (where Prof. Carlson was, at that time, the head of the Electrical Engineering Department) and found it to be a very good book. The explanations were concise and easy-to-understand. The book explains the underlying concepts well. The mathematical tools needed for the understanding of the concepts are introduced at the appropriate times.

This book is used in the EE curricula at RPI and at Stanford University (in the EE 279 Introduction to Communication Systems course) and at other schools.

For an EE student at the undergraduate level, this is an excellent introduction to communication systems and should help you understand quite a variety of topics dealing with both analog and digital communications.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 5th edition of Communication systems, March 15, 2009

By 

Dale Kempf (Valparaiso, IN United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Communication Systems (Hardcover)

I teach a Communication Systems class (senior electrical engineers) and have been using the Carlson Crilly Rutledge 4th edition. Paul Crilly has done an excellent job of updating this communications textbook, adding homework problems and material on wireless propagation. Some of the material is mathematically difficult, but I have not found an easier book except those suited for a BET degree.

The 4th edition contained a number of errors. I sent Paul Crilly a list of errors I found in the 4th edition and he has corrected 100% of them. I will use this 5th edition in my class next year.