Customer Reviews

A Course in Mathematical Modeling (Mathematical Association of America Textbooks)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

To break it down.

1. The authors write with a clarity and elegance that is almost universally absent in math/science texts. The book is beautifully paced. Anybody thinking about writing a technical book would do well to read this before starting out.

2. The mathematics is second to the modelling. They move from simple examples towards the formal mathematics, nothing is introduced without explanation. This is a vast improvement over so many other texts that are happy to derive the math first and then show an example, which is no way to engage the mind. It is the only text I have come across that presents differential equations and continuous stochastic processes in a palatable manner.

3. The exercises have been well thought out, and not just thrown in at the end of each chapter, reflecting the authors' teaching experience, and leave you with any number of directions in which to take your own steps in modelling.

It is simply one of the best written and engaging technical books I have read this or any other year. This books shows that one can write clearly about mathematics. If you really want to understand and ground yourself in math modelling and simulation, this is where to start.

Clear explanations. Models are from biology. Does not elaborate on the math and solving the differential equations, but a good overview.

Incredibly poorly written book. This is NOT a general introduction to M&S. A more appropriate title for this book would be "A Course in Biological Modeling". If you are looking for an introduction to numerous biological modeling systems then this is your book. If you want a book that overviews the wonderfully complex world of modeling then look elsewhere. (I'm still looking - any help out there). Point is that modeling is much more than understanding birth and death rates of Sand Hill Cranes. Modeling encompasses all fields of Engineering and Physics of which this book hardly mentions. (As you may detect I am particularly annoyed about the misleading title of this book. )
Also, take the authors math expectation in the forward seriously. Make sure you math skills are current before tackling this book. There is a lot of assumption and little equation development. If your skills are rusty you'll find yourself frequently bewildered by how they got from A to B.
I am completing a class on M&S using this book and I can honestly say that I do not know of one student in a class of 25 that is happy with this text.