Handbook of Mathematics and Computational Science [Hardcover]

J. Harris (Author), Horst Stocker (Author), John W. Harris (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0387947469 | ISBN-13: 978-0387947464 | Publication Date: July 23, 1998 | Edition: 1

This book gathers thousands of up-to-date equations, formulas, tables, illustrations, and explanations into one invaluable volume. It includes over a thousand pages of mathematical material as well as chapters on probability, mathematical statistics, fuzzy logic, and neural networks. It also contains computer language overviews of C, Fortran, and Pascal.

Editorial Reviews

Review

From the reviews
"It is the best text of its type that I have come across to date - an excellent resource for anyone involved in mathematical practice up to and including degree standard (...) it is a pleasant experience to flick through it at leisure, dropping in here and there on some of the thousands of results the book holds. It is beautifully illustrated and set out (...) we have here a comprehensive volume whose worth will not readily fade with time (...) If you feel the need to own a mathematical reference to see you through school and university mathematics to graduation, you couldn't do much better than to buy this one" (MATHEMATICS TODAY)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1056 pages
• Publisher: Springer; 1 edition (July 23, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0387947469
• ISBN-13: 978-0387947464
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.5 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #429,268 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Useful but limited and *no bibliographies*!, September 29, 2003

By 

Stavros Macrakis (Cambridge, MA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Handbook of Mathematics and Computational Science (Hardcover)

This handbook covers a range of undergraduate applied mathematics. Besides standard topics: geometry, indefinite and definite integrals, linear algebra, complex variables, etc.; it also covers some discrete math: Boolean algebra as applied to digital circuit design, graphs, etc.; and a bit of programming (including written-out programs implementing some algorithms). But its coverage is just too idiosyncratic to rely on. Its treatment of digital logic is surprisingly long, and its treatment of matrices surprisingly short. Why does it mention the rather specialized topics of fuzzy logic and neural networks? Why doesn't it mention wavelets? Why doesn't it include any material and algorithms on strings (regular expression matching, for example)?

But the worst feature of this book is that it doesn't provide bibliographies for the topic it covers. If you need more detailed treatment of matrices or graphs, where should you go for a fuller treatment? It doesn't help at all.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If it is Math it is here, February 8, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Alameda, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Handbook of Mathematics and Computational Science (Hardcover)

As an engineer I had a formal education in Math, at least in analysis and calculus. That was twenty + years ago, and now that my kids are entering high school I am a little rusted. I found this book to be the answer to many problems. It will not give you demonstrations or explanations but it has the concepts that you need to find the solution of your problem. Case in point. I am currently designing a model airplane. The fuselage sections are composed of a rectangle and a semi ellipse. To find out the shape of the cover on the elliptic part I needed to know the perimeter of an ellipse. I didn't recall the formula, and I found the answer in this book (actually an approximate formula, as there is no analytical solution). This is a must for science or engineering students, and for rusted parents as myself!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ideal for programmers!, October 22, 2005

By 

Not My Real Name (Cambridge Massachusetts, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Handbook of Mathematics and Computational Science (Hardcover)

If you're a practicing computer programmer / software developer, you'll probably find this replaces half a dozen old math textbooks on your shelf. And with its extensive breadth, it's sure to cover numerous areas for which you have no references, at all. I've found it to be very clearly written, though quite concise. The density of information is even more impressive, when you consider that it's over 1000 pages!

It's extremely useful, when you just need a quick refresher on some topic or to dig up a common formula. That said, it is a handbook, so it doesn't have a great deal of depth. Obviously, it's not going to be everything to everyone - yet that doesn't mean it won't be quite useful to most!

In summary, I'd say the price makes it a no-brainer. If you're a professional, it will pay for itself very quickly. If not, it still may save you quite a bit of time and frustration, and beats searching the web for answers, almost every time. Over the years, I've continued to marvel at this gem so much that I knew I'd eventually have to write this review!