5 comments about Schaum's Mathematical Handbook of Formulas and Tables.

1. tables are concise with out missing any important integrals. the table is my constant companion for undergrad physics and mathematics.



2. It is a good quick reference to getting formulas for math problems.



3. A very useful book that gathers all the mathmatical formals 'as the title states. As an Engineering Student it is very helpful to have everything in one text instead of getting your old books and digging through them to find them.



4. This book has everything in it as far as formulas. If you are looking for examples, this is not the book for you. I had some difficulty remembering Integration by Parts for my current Grad class. This book helped out. It also helps out for all those pesty integrals and derivatives as well. I've been using this book for 2 months in my classes. Although I don't always use it, I never leave home without it.
   
   Also covers Taylor and Fourier Series, Laplace Transforms, Statistics, and other stuff as an engineer I've never had to learn and never plan to. ;)



5. This handbook is a must have for any junior level or higher engineering major or any major that deals with advanced mathematics. It contains detailed and easy to understand charts and tables ranging from College Algebra and Trigonometry to Advanced Calculus and Differential Equations. It is also a must have reference book to anyone needing to access to advanced mathematics formulas.

5 comments about The Concepts and Practice of Mathematical Finance (Mathematics, Finance and Risk).

1. Joshi's book has lots of computer projects to help you understand how to implement quant finance models. This is however, what other books are lack of.
   
   Regarding the end-of chap exercises, I do not understand what 'Sidhant' is complaining about, if you want more challenging ones, you can try those computer projects. That will help you understand how models work.
   
   Finally, regarding the Ito calculus, this is an introductory book, what's the point of including stuff like 'Ito isometry' or 'Feynman-Kac' into the book. I think Joshi's way of doing quant finance is very intuitive, disocunted prices under the risk-neutral measures are martingales --> this definitely helps us to understand quant finance instead of using lots of maths jargons but leading to the same conclusion --> whats the point?
   
   P.S. chap 4 is NOT pathetic, it gives us how the practical quant finance works. Option trading = volatility trading, Gamma hedging. I mean these are all intuitive stuff and easy to understand.



2. This is an excellent text for a first book on mathematical finance, particularly for those who are looking to work in the industry. The content is delivered in a very clear and concise manner. The level of mathematics is appropriate for what the text is trying to achieve - the reader is not bogged down in technical details (though these are referenced, if desired), nor is the mathematics glossed over and hand wavy.
   
   I particularly liked the exposition on the change of numeraire, which gave me a much better feel for its usefulness than other similar introductory mathematical finance texts had. The computer projects add a further dimension that other books lack, and one that is very appropriate if you plan on a career in the area.
   
   All-in-all a great book. The right level of mathematical detail and a clear discussion and demonstration of its application in practice.



3. Mark Joshi's work really stands out from the crowd of introductory mathematical finance books. In particular, the level of financial intuition provided is very hard to find elsewhere, yet the treatment retains mathematical rigour without becoming too dry. Mark's ability to highlight and focus on the key ideas and concepts of the various topics covered also distinguishes this book from others.
   
   I found the chapter on the LIBOR market model particularly useful. It covered the fundamental issues of this difficult topic in a clear and precise way, and relative to many of the other books, in a very efficient way. The balance between theory and practice in this chapter (and the rest of the book!) was excellent.
   
   My single criticism is that in some cases it would have been nice to have more guidance for the computer exercises. However, this wasn't really part of the scope of the book, and Mark's book on C++ does a great job helping here in any case.



4. This is the book that sparked my interest in mathematical finance. Unlike most other books that attempt to teach readers results ONLY through mathematical proofs that sometimes involve tedious algebra, Joshi's primary approach is to drive intuition in (as well as including less rigourous proofs, but this does make it more accessible).
   
   Another more distinct feature of Joshi's book is that it is written in a more colloquial tone (upon reading the first chapter you will immediately see so) which again makes it an easier read.
   
   Having read some of the other reviews I would agree that the main con is the typos; however, the authour has pointed out that the new copies had these corrected and, in any case, the more alert reader should have picked up most of the obvious typos themselves.
   
   Also, I agree that the exercises that Joshi sets are somewhat different to those of other texts but I do NOT find this to be a con. This is because Mark Joshi appears to avoid focusing on the numerics but rather his exercises emphasizes the need to understand the concepts.
   
   Those who are looking for either numerical exercises that focus on memorisizing formulae or exercises involving mathematical proofs should look elsewhere but I will stil strongly recommend to read this book COMPLEMENTARY to others due to its unique take on the fundamentals; therefore I not only recommened this book to those beginning to pursue a career in mathematical finance but also that this book is an excellent ADDITION to those on an intermediate level. 5 Stars.



5. As the title says, you can get both concepts and practice of mathematical finance without strong mathematics background. The author covers every aspects from the basic trees and BS to the LIBOR market model.
   
   It is not plain as much as Hull (1999) Options, Futures & Other Derivatives or Neftci (2000) An Introduction to the Mathematics of Financial Derivatives etc. Also you don't have to get sick of heavy mathematics as much as Karatzas and Shreve (1991) Brownian Motion and Stochastic Calculus or Steele (2000) Stochastic Calculus and Financial Applications. (Strictly speaking, the latter ones are about stochastic calculus not mathematical finance.)
   
   In addition, you can find the "Further reading"-relevant references with comments at the end of the most chapter. It drives you to read relatively recent research/papers in depths.
   
   
   I don't know whether it is a great book for practitioners. However, Joshi's book is definitely one of the must-read item for quant wannabe.

5 comments about Math Talk: Mathematical Ideas in Poems for Two Voices.

1. This book is wonderful for integrating math curriculum with reading fluency. Children don't even realize their learning because they are having so much fun sharing their poems with their classmates.



2. This is a "WOW" book...helping to connect mathematics with ELA. Provides so many ideas for extensions and enrichment in all types of teaching environments. A MUST for a proactive educator!!



3. This book is a neat way to bring poetry into the math classroom. The math teacher on my team looked at it and chose some to use with our middle school students. (Unfortunately, she felt that some of the math was not correct.) If you're looking for great use of poetic language, this really isn't the book you want. It provides the basic definitions about different mathematic ideas in the form of two voice poems.



4. After completing some other Poetry in two-voice and four-voice formats, this book offers an opportunity to reach your math oriented students, and touch the cross-curricular boundary. I used this book and the poems within its pages as a surprise for my math team partner. We practiced on some days that my partner was out on taking some professional development, and performed the poems for him upon his return. This is one more way to hook students on poetry.



5. This book is ok but not great. It's more of an idea starter, 'get you thinking', type of book. I agree with the other reviewers that, as a teacher, you can read a poem or two in class to get kids started on their own two voice math poems but don't rely on it for correct math or to be a resource for class. There is not enough varied content for that. It's more like a lesson plan that the author has expanded into a short book.

5 comments about Fractals, Googols, and Other Mathematical Tales.

1. I was disappointed. While skimming through the book prior to giving it to my 7 year old son, I stumbled on the Chapter on "PI". It was obviously wrong stating that the diameter of a circle would wrap around the circle "3 and a little bit". Now, how can I trust this book knowing that the editors missed such a glaring error? Could be very confusing to a young aspiring mathmetician.



2. Another reviewer reported being dissapointed because the description of pi in the book was "obviously wrong stating that the diameter of a circle would wrap around the circle '3 and a little bit'" and "how can I trust this book knowing that the editors missed such a glaring error?"
   
   It is this reviewer's comment that is 'very confusing' and misleading, not the content of the book.
   
   The definition of Pi is the ratio of the circumference to the diameter of a circle; approximately equal to 3.14159265358979323846... Euclid proved that this ratio (Circumference to diameter aka circumference to twice the radius) is always the same, no matter the size of the circle. What he did was inscribe similar regular polygons in any two circles. Then, he increased the number of sides of the inscribed regular polygons. He reasoned that as the number of sides increased, the perimeter of the inscribed polygon gets closer and closer to the circumference of the circle. He also showed that the perimeters of the similar polygons were proportional to the radii of the circles in which they were inscribed. And so, C is proportional to r, in other words C/r is a constant. By convention, pi=C/2r. (I borrowed these particular words from Jim Loy's website, thanks JL!)
   
   Therefore, the statement the book makes is perfectly, mathematically true (QED!) albeit that it substitutes "a little bit" for 0.14159265358979323846... which I find perfectly acceptable for a children's book, don't you?
   
   p.s. I'm an engineer, too. Cheers!



3. I am not sure what R. Krapf "Engineer" (below) was thinking when he/she wrote his/her review...
   
   The circumference of a circle (C) is calculated as 2 * pi * r (or pi * 2 * r)
   
   Since r is the radius and 1/2 the diameter (d), that means C = pi * d
   
   Since pi is about 3.14, that means the book is correct. The diameter of a circle would wrap around (the circumference of) the circle "3 and a little bit"



4. I believe the quote about the circumference and diameter is worded incorrectly. We all know that the size of the diameter and circumference are proportional (hence pi), but the diameter would never wrap around a circumference 3 and a little times! This is obviously false because the circumference is larger than the diameter. The circumference would wrap around the diameter 3 and a little times. Please check your books to determine if the quote is correct in R. Krapf's review - if so, then the book is WRONG!



5. C=pi*d. That means the diameter has to be **multiplied** by "three and a little bit" in order to be equivalent to, or wrap around, the circumference of the circle. It takes "three and a little bit" diameters to get around the circle one time, not one diameter to get around the circle three and a little bit times. The engineer was right! Other than that, it was still a pretty good book, though. If you're a teacher with an older class, you can see if they can spot the error.

5 comments about The Complete Idiot's Guide to Statistics, 2nd Edition (Complete Idiot's Guide to).

1. I thought this guide was a very well organized guide to statistics, which reflects very well on the author's thought processes and adds to the 'trust-worthiness' of the book (becoming rare these days).
   
   I'm not so sure about the jokes but very sure about the statistical explanation. In fact, in retrospect, I think I'd keep the jokes in, reminds you of the odd class with the slightly unfunny but very friendly professor where you actually understood and wanted to learn maths.
   
   Overall, excellent and worth owning. The only down side of this story is I was sold the 1st edition by Barnes and Noble even late into 2007, which is irritating to say the least. Nothing to do with the book or author though. Watch out always make sure you have the latest edition that's out.



2. If you are taking an online course in statistics, you need this book.
   If you are taking a statistics class where the professor is speaking over your head, you need this book.
   Dr. Donnelly breaks it down in a way that is understandable to the most liberal arts minded student. He cuts away all the clutter that most books have that are unnecessary, cuts to the chase and makes you laugh while you learn. This book is the next best thing to a personal tutor. I understood all the topics he presented, and it was perfectly in line with my Introduction to Statistics class.



3. I bought this book as a supplement for my business statistics class. I ended up using is as my main source. It explained everything so much easier and clearer than my course book. There are a few things that have changed. For instance when you get to confidence intervals the process of using z and t scores are different which created some confusion because my professor was teaching a different method. Overall I have serious doubts that I would have passed the class without this book.



4. The Basic Practice of Statistics w/CD-ROM Here's the link to the textbook we use in class. This is my second run at statistics and have been frustrated with our textbook, as it doesn't explain what I need to know. I went to Barnes and Noble and extracted all the stats books written for those of us who don't "get it." The Complete Idiot's Guide to Statistics seemed to be just the ticket for me. The author, Bob Donnelly, Jr., uses his family to explain statistics in a very real manner. He even counts the number of showers his sons take! He inserts a picture of his wife and asks us to vote on a ponytail she bought. She must be a very good sport! He brings statistics home. To make things better, he gives a link where we can ask him questions or make comments. I asked him a question about using my TI-84 calculator and he answered me within 24 hours. He's going to write another book, using that calculator! This current book is saving my bacon! I'll give it a great recommendation!



5. This is easily the best book on statistics I've ever encountered. Previous books that I've used have generally left me confused and frustrated. This is the first book that I've found that lays out statistics in a straight forward coherent manner. It's very readable and easy to follow. The author uses a limited number of simple, but clear, examples to explain the different statistical topics. Initially I started reading the book to solve a work problem, but I continued reading it because it made the subject so easy (well okay, maybe not easy -but definitely accessible). The book also gives some helpful tips on how to use Excel's suite of statistical tools (which can take a lot of the pain out of analyzing data!).

2 comments about Know It All! Grades 6-8 Math (K-12 Study Aids).

1. For most states and test this is a great resource. It is filled with lots of helpful hints, stratigies, and examples on how to attack and answer many types of test questions.



2. I am very impressed with this book! Rather than just offering pages of simple computation practice, this book provides a concentrated skill lesson on important concepts. The practice problems are high level application problems, many are followed by a "how to find the answer" section. The book does a great job providing strategy ideas. For students who are taking state tests that are heavy on word problems, I feel this book provides good practice.

5 comments about How to Solve Word Problems in Algebra, (Proven Techniques from an Expert).

1. My son Sid and I are having a lot of fun solving word problems. It gives me a lot of happiness solving problem and spending time with my son. Father son time well spent.



2. Speedy delivery, great condition, and seems to be what the advertisement said it would be..Thanks



3. This is a fun book. I'm not really very good at algebra. This made it more interesting.



4. I have been studying pre-algebra (hoping to move to on to algebra soon) in order to prepare myself for an assessment test. When I saw this book while researching what books to buy so I could study and get myself up to date after many years away from school, I thought it would probably come in handy.
   
   I had been over 1/2 way through my other book when I got stuck on a word problem. Because it was an end of the chapter quiz, I had the correct answer, but not the detailed explanation of how they got to the answer. I was already getting frustrated when I saw this book sitting on the bedside table.
   
   I pulled the book and opened it for the first time, hoping I would be able to find what I was looking for without having to read through the chapters looking for it. What a pleasant surprise! The book has an index showing types of problems and where to find them. The problem I was having issues with was about calculating "age" so I went straight to the age section, hoping they would have a problem that was similar enough to the one I was stuck with so I could figure out what I had to do. There it was, among the 5 or 6 problems, there was one similar enough that I was able to figure mine out. I was very, very happy!
   
   To be honest, that has been my only experience with the book so far, but in my opinion it was an experience worthy of writing this review.
   
   Good luck!



5. I am taking a college-level algebra class to fulfill some pre-reqs. I really regret that my high school algebra texts never devoted a full section on word problems, as this book does. I see now that's why I never really "got" them. This book categorizes the problems by type and offers a systematic method of setting up each type. That's what I needed all along!
   
   The only negative about the book is that there are a couple of types of problems for which the author didn't develop a drawing or chart. That's too bad, but the book has helped me immensely overall.

3 comments about Basic Math & Pre-Algebra For Dummies (For Dummies (Math & Science)).

1. I've been out of high school for almost 14 years and really need a refresher. These "dummies" books are great. The book explains math very well. A great help!



2. I love the Algebra for Dummies book. It is just what I needed at a price I could afford.



3. I ordered this book on March 17th and I still have not received my order. It is now April 24th so it's a little disappointing.

5 comments about Statistics for Dummies.

1. Great Transaction, Very fast. Product was flawless. Will do business again with this seller



2. Excellent book. In my opinion the author does a great job in taking a complex subject matter and breaking it down so that it could be understood. Well worth the expenditure and will recommend this book to my students.



3. I'm usually a big fan of Dummies books. Chemistry for Dummies gave me a little edge when taking Chem 101 and 102. It helped a lot.
   I'm taking college statistics now and this book has been no help at all. Most of the time, whatever it is I'm working on isn't even in the index. Some other reviewers have mentioned this book lacking a lot of essential components, and this does seem to be the case. I got The Complete Idiot's guide at the same time and that's only a hair more helpful than this, but both are pretty bad.
   
   I've already taken my mid-term (got an A by the way) but this book has not helped me a single bit. No exaggeration. I always have it handy, JUST IN CASE my current subject is covered. And even if I do find what I'm looking for, it's not explained any clearer than my class text. Most times it's more cryptic and confusing. I've found I do better NOT looking at this.
   
   Not recommended at all.



4. I've used "Chemistry for Dummies" and it was a lifesaver. With such faith in this company's production of books, I bought this.
   
   It's terrible. A ridiculous amount of it is wasted on, "Why Statistics is Important" and "Why Statistics is Relevant in the Real World"-- at the expense of actually SHOWING YOU HOW TO DO STATISTICS.
   
   The probability section was so brief it didn't even cover the content of my second week in a community college statistics course. The explanations are poorly worded and far too brief, the demonstrations nearly non-existent. It seems Ms. Rumsey chose to save the majority for a supplemental workbook to double her profit.
   
   [...]
   
   Fortunately, there are alternatives, and I'm going to look into those from now on. If such a substandard product is on the market, clearly this company's more concerned now with how to exploit the consumer than to actually explain concepts in laymen's terms.
   
   I wish I had my money back.



5. Not very helpful for my beginning Stats (221) class I did not use it

5 comments about The Ultimate Math Refresher for the GRE, GMAT, and SAT.

1. Its Very Basic Book, though it says refresher for GRE etc. It starts with 2+3=5 and continues with only very very basic details with the most complex formula in the book being "Area of Circle=Pi*r**2".



2. This book starts you off with very basic math, building up to the more complicated mathematics that are included in the GRE (geometry, arithmetics, up to logorithms, etc.). Step by step, you fill the exercises right in the book. Simple and very useful. Helped me out a lot personally



3. It gives an okay overview of the basics, but it is not challenging enough for the GRE.



4. 
   I bought this book based on amazon reviewers comments and I was wrong. This book is so simple it's not even funny. Just skimming through it, I can not even say that it will help with the GMAT in the slightest way.
   
   For a far better math review guide for gmat preparation, I would reccommend the Arco Gmat/GRE Math review book. This book assumes you know how to add and multiply (unlike the "Ultimate" refresher) and goes through topics in great detail. I am almost done with the entire Arco book and love how it introduces new topis and gives you problems that range in difficulty - from easy to hard. This is how you build up a mathematical skillset.
   
   Not to mention, the Arco book covers the bredth of math-related topics which are likely to appear on the GMAT.
   
   Anyone looking to get a serious score, steer clear of this waste of $. Your $ is better spent on the Arco book.



5. I think this is a good book to go through before you jump into the official exam books. I really liked the Geometry section since that was where I was feeling the pinch when I started looking at the GMAT books. However I think you would get away by not doing the Algebra & Arithmetic since they were pretty simple.