Discrete Algorithmic Mathematics, Third Edition [Hardcover]

Stephen B. Maurer (Author), Anthony Ralston (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1568811667 | ISBN-13: 978-1568811666 | Publication Date: August 2004 | Edition: 3

Thoroughly revised for a one-semester course, this well-known and highly regarded book is an outstanding text for undergraduate discrete mathematics. It has been updated with new or extended discussions of order notation, generating functions, chaos, aspects of statistics, and computational biology. Written in a lively, clear style that talks to the reader, the book is unique for its emphasis on algorithmics and the inductive and recursive paradigms as central mathematical themes. It includes a broad variety of applications, not just to mathematics and computer science, but to natural and social science as well.

A manual of selected solutions is available for sale to students; see sidebar. A complete solution manual is available free to instructors who have adopted the book as a required text.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The exposition is self-contained, complemented by diverse exercises and also accompanied by an introduction to mathematical reasoning … this book is an excellent textbook for a one-semester undergraduate course and it includes a lot of additional material to choose from.
—EMS, March 2006

In a textbook, it is necessary to select carefully the statements and difficulty of the problems … in this textbook, this is fully achieved … This review considers this book an excellent one.
—The Mathematical Gazette, March 2006

About the Author

Stephen B Maurer (Ph.D. Princeton 1972) is a Professor of Mathematics at Swarthmore College and winner of the Allendoerfer Award for expository writing. Anthony Ralston (Ph.D. MIT 1956) is Professor Emeritus of Computer Science and Mathematics at SUNY Buffalo. He is a former President of the ACM.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 803 pages
• Publisher: A K Peters/CRC Press; 3 edition (August 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568811667
• ISBN-13: 978-1568811666
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 7.9 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #200,528 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book with a great teaching approach, October 25, 2002

By 

William C Bredbenner (Wynnewood, PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Discrete Algorithmic Mathematics, Second Edition (Hardcover)

I found this book to be truly extraordinary. Unlike the overwhelming majority of math texts, the authors describe the material in a manner reminiscent of an informal college lecture by gifted professors. They cover a lot of ground, but explain what's going on and why. I found it particularly striking that the authors sometimes present mistaken approaches to problems, follow them through to show what has gone wrong, and then show how to avoid the mistakes. This is particularly valuable when using the book for self-study. The exercises are carefully chosen and serve to expand on each section's material.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Discrete Math Review, September 21, 2007

By 

J. Walker "JaeParaSiempre" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Discrete Algorithmic Mathematics, Third Edition (Hardcover)

The book does a good job of providing examples, the few that it does provide. I Would like the book to go into depth a little more and provide multiple examples for a given topic.

0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars very bad textbook, April 2, 2010

By 

omeg (IL) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Discrete Algorithmic Mathematics, Third Edition (Hardcover)

Each chapter of that book deserves a book itself with detailed explanation/example on every term (and there are actually a lot of good books on each of the topic). Not sure what is the point to put everything in one book. I don't think that anybody who never heard about graphs/trees, difference equations, probability or algorithmic linear algebra could really understand/remember anything after going through this book.