Customer Reviews

Graph Theory and Its Applications, Second Edition (Discrete Mathematics and Its Applications)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This recently published book in graph theory has many unique features: (1) it contains a large number of figures that make it much easier to follow and understand the mathematical reasonnings; (2) it contains a lot more recent developments in the area that are not covered in general graph theory books; (3) it shows close connections of this area to other areas, in particular to computer science, which greatly increase the usefulness of the book; (4) the book is so well written that can be understood by people with very preliminary knowledge in mathematics (most parts can be understood by people with, say, high school mathematics).

I really like the book, and I recommend it very highly.

Professors Gross and Yallen have written a great book on "practical" graph theory that can be used in math or computer sciences courses alike. The book is very well organized and its chapters can be read on almost any sequence, allowing instructors to skip sections or give special emphasis to certain more interesting subjects.

The text can be used in a one semester introductory graduate course in graph theory in a CS or math department, an advanced undergraduate seminar or as a reference book for an undergraduate course in discrete math.

Of special interest are the sections on Huffman trees and voltage graphs. The section on Hoffman trees is especially interesting to computer scientists. I believe this is the first book that devotes an entire section to the theoretical treatment of this very useful subject. Prof. Gross is a pioneer in voltage graphs and the treatment of this somewhat esoteric subject is lucid and complete.

Overall this textbook is excellent. The writing is clear and precise and the knowledge needed to read it is that of an advanced undergraduate student. However, the book could benefit from solutions to the exercises, or at least some selected exercises, some computer sciences oriented "practical" examples and projects and an instructor's manual.

Regardless of whether you just want to implement a couple of graph algorithms or get into the guts of graph theoretic proofs, this book should come in as a great resource.

In over 500 pages, this book covers a lot of ground beyond the basics, such as topology of graphs, graph operations and mappings, voltage graphs, and surface imbeddings. Definitions are very clear, propositions and proofs are stated very clearly, and there are shrink-wrapped algorithms if you just want to apply them.

Requiring no previous knowledge of abstract algebra or graph theory, this is a great resource to have in your bookshelf.

This is a superb book for an introduction to graph theory. It is not just a pile of theorems as other books you'll find in this field. It presents insight and intuition first, and then it gives the necessary formal treatment. The topics covered are perfect, in the right order. Extremelly recommended for anyone eagerly wanting a first contact with this exciting field, as well as for any graph theory instructor looking for the right book to follow in class.

This is a great and comprehensive book on graph theory. The book can also serve as a reference. It is well-written, clear and precise. Almost everything that a student or practitioner need to know about graphs is likely to be found here. However the book is best appreciated by someone who has studied some graph theory. A beginner would benefit more by looking at more elementary books such as Graphs and Applications by Wilson.

This is a good book on graph theory for the Computer Scientist - At least the one who is interested in understanding various graphs (and operations on those graphs) and some applications where those graphs are useful. It is not a book to copy code from, though there are about 60 simple algorithms laid out. There are about another 60 applications mentioned that use the specific types of graphs. I don't know how improved the second edition is in these two areas, but as far as value is concerned, I purchased my first edition book used for about 1/10th the cost of the second edition book. I doubt that the second edition is anywhere close to being ten times more valuable than the first edition.

I am very much interested in Graph Theory, but I tried a lot to find the right book. Fortunately, I got this book and is amazing. It covers a wide range of concepts with the clear explanations and examples. The best method to use this book is read line by line and don't proceed further if you stuck on a particular concept. Solve all the exercise problems of each section before moving to the next one.
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Quality of the book - excellent
covers wide range of concepts
excellent examples and very good explanations
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Good Luck!
Reddy

Reads like a dictionary, each page is nothing more than bullet points that alternate between definitions and corollaries. Proofs are typically very short: explained and illustrated in no more than a quarter of a page. More appropriate as a reference manual than a textbook for a class.

This book was used for my undergraduate course in introductory graph theory, which was split between math and computer science students. I found that this book left to be desired. The definitions are imprecise and often inconsistent with those that are standard, and much of the notation used is not standard. I would not recommend this book as a reference or for advanced students.