14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Just Plain Not Good, April 9, 2008
This review is from: Differential Equations Computing and Modeling (4th Edition) (Hardcover)
This book has several problems.
1. There are numerous typos in the text as well as in the solutions printed in the back of the book (and in the solutions manual). It can be very frustrating to puzzle over a problem for a long time only to find you were right and the book was wrong.
2. Several important techniques are only explained as short paragraphs in the exercise section (ie Euler Equation substitution, Reduction of Order, and others). You are left to try and figure out how to apply the vague instructions by looking at the solutions manual or asking someone else. I found this to be the biggest problem with the book.
3. The end of each example or concept is marked by a small red box in the margin of the page. These boxes are easy to miss so the distinction between example and theory, as well as between different aspects of the theory will become blurred unless you pay close attention to when the red boxes appear. Consequently results derived from theory and results derived from specific examples tend to blend together.
4. Often the authors add length to problems by providing the given values in non-SI units and the constants of nature in SI units. While this isn't a serious problem with the book, it would make the book needlessly annoying if you were using it for self study.
For the class that required this book I ended up checking out a different textbook on differential equations from the library to learn from. I only used this one for the questions we were assigned. If you have any choice in the matter I would recommend getting a different book.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good differential equations textbook, August 11, 2003
By A Customer
I think the strength of this textbook is the amount of material it encompasses: this book is used in two separate courses in my school--introduction to DE and engineering analysis. I didn't appreciate the textbook so much until I completed my differential equations course and then looked back at the sections on mechanical vibrations to review for my physics course. I then realized that the explanations and derivations were extremely satisfying, much more than your average introductory physics text. Also, the emphasis on the qualitative aspects of DEs, such as slope fields and phase portraits, aid in the coneptual understanding of the otherwise rigorous computation aspects of the topic. My only complaint is that the proofs could've been done in a more understandable manner.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Pretty good, April 25, 2004
Not a bad book at all. Physical applications well explained, theory OK but not as good in my opinion. Unfortunately, contains a fair number of typos, and the book is physically weak (the binding of mine is splitting after only 4 months of use) for a book of this price. Still, pretty good overall.
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