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Discrete Mathematics (5th Edition)
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Author: Richard Johnsonbaugh
List Price: $111.33
Our Price: Click to see the latest and low price
ISBN: 0130890081
Publisher: Prentice Hall (31 July, 2000)
Edition: Hardcover
Sales Rank: 300,687
Average Customer Rating: 1.83 out of 5
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Customer ReviewsRating: 1 out of 5
This book is as worthless as it is expensive
I taught a discrete math course in a major US university based on this book. Having been adopted by most US universities over the years, there was no choice. There is no clear line of exposition in this book. Knowing what it should be about, it is repulsive to see how unstructured the content is, and how truly beautiful mathematics is made ugly beyond recognition. There exist far more insightful and shorter proofs than many of those given here. Instead of developing a choice of key topics cleanly, transparently, and in detail, a large collection of loosely related facts are glued together in a supremely uninspired way. Some topics which are far too advanced for this level of exposition are mentioned over several pages, without any rigorous treatment, of course, while many important topics are left away that could have been included. The elegance quotient of this book is zero. Students should learn how to present a proof. They should learn to pin down the key ideas, and to write a proof in the clearest and most transparent language as possible. Whoever takes this text as her/his stylistic guide will do her/himself great harm. I am a research mathematician. It is my job to know precisely what good mathematics looks like, and also to know when something smells really bad. Believe me, this one smells beyond rotten. There are beautiful treatises on the same material on the internet, and one may also look at a small book for roughly 10 $ by Balakrishnan, from Dover publishers (available on Amazon, "Introductory discr math"). It doesn't contain as much material, but is so much more worth the money. A diligently made choice of topics is presented in clear, concise words that are to the point. There is also the book by Laszlo Lovasz, a master of the field. The clarity, inspiration and transparence of the exposition is absolutely exemplary. The paperback version costs around 35$ on Amazon. If you read those texts, you will understand what Johnsonbaugh is trying to put into clumsy words, illiterate proofs, boring examples, and silly pictures. What really hurts me is to see students, some of whom are not rich, paying 100 $ for this convoluted mess. My main message to every student using Mr. Johnsonbaugh's oeuvre is: If you don't understand this mess, it may be because you have mathematical talent. Go and look for a better, cheaper text. Save your time, it's not worth trying to figure out what the author intends to say.
Rating: 1 out of 5
Ugh.
This book is used by the University I attend to teach students beginning Discrete Mathematics. The book is hard to use, does not give good, clear, concise examples, and is generally not well suited for teaching.
Rating: 1 out of 5
Extremely Difficult Book
Warning!!! If you are trying to LEARN discrete math, buy a different book. It it is for class, MAKE SURE YOU GET A SUPPLEMENT BOOK. There are a couple of paperback books that can help. Unfortunatly the Author is also a Professor at my University, so buying it is a requirement.
-*- Excercises only have a hand full of answers, not every odd like every other math book.
-*- No detailed answers (working out excersise problems)
-*- Teaching examples may not apply to exercise problems.
-*- Overall, most confusing math (or any grad or undergrad level class) book I have used
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