[.ca] Discrete Mathematical Structures (4th Edition) (ISBN 0130831433)

Canned methods, sloppy....:
THe credentials of the authors speak in bounds... Drexel University and Georgia Perimeter College???!?!?! GPC is a 2-year. Anyways, all that aside, the presentation of the material is horrible. Obviously, the background of these authors is that of 1,2,3 methods, with absolutely no concept of any concepts behind the material. The problems/examples are unrelated to the material in the chapters, and no preparation was given to answer them. Our professor even said that he emailed the writer to change the wording in a few questions, the writer agreed wholeheartedly, and yet the question remained in the next edition.... IN the age of Chubb Institute and quickie-degree schools, this book would do fine. Math, in my opinion, while can be learned with these methods, is useless without the knowledge of how it came about, why it is used, and theory or explanation/background. This book provides none of this. I do not recommend it to anyone. ESPECIALLY not one of "beginner" status(...)

A fine and useful book.:
I have never been a math wizard, but I really enjoyed this book, and have kept it around because it is so helpful. I appreciate the organization of the book. If you want to study a chapter out of sequence, the opening page tells you which earlier chapters are necessary to understand the new one. The exercises in each section are progressive - you can understand the topic with the first few problems, and by the time you work through the section you will REALLY understand it. I used the fourth edition, published in 2000, so perhaps there are some inaccuracies in the earlier edition. I found few examples of wrong answers.

Excellent text:
I am reviewing the 5th edition. This is an excellent text, easy to learn from, with a crystal clear presentation. I've found few errors in this edition and the ones that I have found are non-substantive typos, nothing more. Each chapter is broken out into digestible sections, and each section is followed by a wealth of problems. The problems are progressive, starting out very easy, but none of them are too hard to do: the authors' intent is clearly to build the reader's skill with the material. The problems are a mix of routine computations and some proofs. Answers to all odd numbered problems are given in the back of the book, making the text valuable for self-study. I disagree with the reviewer who criticized the book on the basis of the authors' institutional affiliations. The text should be judged on its merits: If you're looking for a solid presentation that flows logically and naturally from one topic to the next, then this is the book for you. On the other hand if you're expecting a terse, densely compacted thicket of mathematical symbolism, then this isn't your book.

Not recommended for beginners:
It appears the authors created this book for people with prior knowledge of Discrete Structures. Most of the exercises require you to research in other places which defeats the purpose of this textbook! In a class I recently took, most of the students actually complained about the college using this book because it makes the subject look harder than it already is.

Avoid this book.:
I have one degree in Accounting so I am good with numbers to say the least. This book is designed for students that already know most of the subject matter they are trying to teach. You will often find yourself searching the internet and math sites on how to work the problems and understand the subject matter. If you know someone who has this book borrow it to get your homework problems and save your money. If your college does a semester end review of the class complain that they require such a terrible book and maybe the author will no longer assume you know the subject matter.