Differential Equations With Applications and Historical Notes [Hardcover]

George F. Simmons (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0070575401 | ISBN-13: 978-0070575400 | Publication Date: January 1, 1991 | Edition: 2

A revision of a much-admired text distinguished by the exceptional prose and historical/mathematical context that have made Simmons' books classics. The Second Edition includes expanded coverage of Laplace transforms and partial differential equations as well as a new chapter on numerical methods.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 640 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Science/Engineering/Math; 2 edition (January 1, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0070575401
• ISBN-13: 978-0070575400
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #278,133 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An absolute gem of textbook!, February 5, 1999

By 

Disappointed Roman History Fan (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Differential Equations With Applications and Historical Notes (Hardcover)

I've taught upper division students from this book (and the first edition) 5-6 times for over a decade. I remain impressed by the broad range of topics from which the teacher and reader can select. As with his excellent calculus textbook, the author tries to show students how mathematics is a human activity, a subject that developed in response to actual needs and which is still lively and developing. No part of mathematics illustrates this development better than the topic of differential equations, which was invented to solve pressing problems in astronomy. One example: In Newton's time, accurate location of position on the open seas was an unsolved problem, crucial to commerce. New techniques from differential equations led to the ready calculation of tables which, together with the invention of Harrison's sea-going chronometer, effectively solved the navigation problem. Differential equations lie at the core of the physical sciences and engineering and are proving increasingly valuable in biology and medicine. Simmons' book will not appeal to readers who want merely recipes with examples of their use. Such readers might prefer the excellent books from the Schaum's Outline Series. Those readers who want to see vital mathematics well presented, those readers who think that mathematics stops at trigonomerty or the calculus, those readers who want to use differential equations intelligently, and those readers who just like a cracking good mathematics story should get a copy of Simmons' book and read.

Nathaniel Grossman Professor of Mathematics, UCLA

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent!!!, July 5, 2001

By 

Rogelio Trujillo (Atlantic City, NJ, USA.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Differential Equations With Applications and Historical Notes (Hardcover)

Each mathematic's book has its particularities. I had said before the Tanembaum book was the one better than I had on differential equations, considering its easiness reading , its methodology and its organization, but evidently these three elements can be present in many other books. This is the case of the present book, which I consider excellent. This is a great book, a very well achieved work . It introduces each element interesting the reader for the following topics, with exercises very well planned according to the exposed theory and with answers at the end of the book. Each chapter contains a historical note that will be extremely instructive and stimulants for the reader that doesn't feel pleasure for the exact sciences . Of special mention they are the chapter 6 (Some special functions of the mathematical physics), the chapter 8 (non lineal equations), and the chapter 9 (calculus of variations). The calculation of variations is an introduction to this branch, but I assure you that when reading it, you kept desires of treating other texts specialized in the topic like that of Sagan. You won't find in this book any complication, and you will be satisfied considering that it is a book for undergraduates, an excellent introduction to the differential equations.

Among the book of Tanembaum, Derry Grossman, D'prima, and the introductions of differential equations of C. R. Wylie and Kreiszig in their books of advanced mathematics for engineering, I keep this. If you plan to learn differential equations, if you want to have a really good text as introduction to the topic, then this is the book to buy, you won't lose your money.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, February 1, 2001

By 

"discipline_problem" (Stanford, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Differential Equations With Applications and Historical Notes (Hardcover)

This is an absolutely wonderful book to learn differential equations from. The explanations are for the most part very clear and there is just enough detail, not enough to qualify as gruesome! The layout and organisation is also excellent and makes the book easier to read, althoguht I suppose this could be subjective. There are also numerous problems - lots of practice! - and you can check your answers against those in the back of the book. I need differential equations for my discipline and although the class is going rather slowly, I think I shall be able to get alot from the book. For the student learning DE primarily from the book, this is just about all you can ask for. I would give this book a rating for ease of use by such a student similar to or better than the Bostock and Chandler A-level series.