Customer Reviews

Extremal Combinatorics: With Applications in Computer Science

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
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A collection of gems from the field of extremal combinatorics, written in the informal but thorough style of George Polya. I very much enjoy browsing this book, especially at night, when I 'm looking for a digestible morsel to chew on before falling asleep. Like Polya, his writing style is both upbeat, lean and enthusiastic. The author doesn't dwell too much on any single problem and covers a lot ground for a single book, using concrete problems to illustrate a particular subject. The book reads as if the author is speaking directly to you.

I am professional programmer with a math background who very much recommends this book to a programmer looking to get a feel for the subject of combinatorics from a more than introductory point of view. I would have given 5 stars, but the editing is sloppy. Also, don't expect to start cutting code tomorrow. The book is much more a math book than computer science book.