Schaum's Outline of Linear Algebra Fourth Edition (Schaum's Outline Series)

The book is a bargain, no matter how it is used. Whether it's used as a supplement, a review, or a classroom text, this book should get the job done.The amount of information that the book presents is more than enough to cover a semester of linear algebra. The amount of problems are plentiful, and the topics are covered in a way that leaves some syllabus flexibility.One problem, as mentioned before, is that the book has errors. The Kindle version does not display all characters correctly on my Kindle Fire. These, at times, as as simple as numbers, letters and/or parentheses. On the bright side, I am usually able to obtain the missing pieces from intuition, skimming around the missing text, or using another text as reference.The explanations (if one actually writes down and works through the examples, while reading, then he/she should find it readable) are great. Here's where opinions may start to differ.Chapter 1 starts by describing vectors and vector operations, and chapter 2 starts with linear systems and matrix operations. These chapters are extremely plentiful in worked-out problems too. This leaves the student and/or the instructor with a bit of a dilemmaFrom my experiences, linear algebra texts always start with sets of linear equations, but this one likes to start out with vectors. I, personally, like this method, as it coincides with our calculus program very well. We do not use vectors at all until the beginning of calculus 3 w/analytic geometry.Matrices...well. After 3 and a half years of being out of high school, I went back to college; I placed into calculus, which I had already studied in high school.I re-took calculus I and II (we combine the analytic geometry part into the calculus sequence), and we did not have to use a single one. In fact, the last time I actually had to do any matrix operations for a class was Honors Algebra 2 in High School...This is not atypical. Many students are rusty on matrices and systems of equations before going into linear algebra.For students with a background in the following topics: vectors in space, matrix operations/notation, sequences and series, and at least a semester of calculus; the first two chapters should go by quickly. There will be a lot of review, as well as some new concepts.Read the book carefully and take notes.For students who have a limited background on matrices, I would recommend using a college algebra book to refresh on the operations, so that when matrices come, the student can focus on the logic behind linear systems. It's a lot easier to focus on linear algebra, when you don't have to review something 'old' each section.The use of calculus is shown early. I also liked this. The amount of calculus is, for the most part, avoidable, and should not be required to study linear algebra. However, any student learning linear algebra, without a calculus background, may be intimidated by the rigor.Speaking of rigor: that is another great thing about the book. It is concise, proof oriented, application oriented, practice guided and easy to understand. This makes approaching the topic less intimidating.Linear algebra is a "weed out" course for a lot of people though. A lot of texts make this worse by overwhelming the student with notation, before he/she even understands Guassian elimination. Shaum does a great job at introducing notation slowly, with great care.I'd recommend grabbing a couple other cheap college algebra and/or linear algebra books on Amazon as references. Having a proof oriented book, Shaum's Linear Algebra, and a College Algebra texts that covers matrices, has all been hepful. I use the college algebra book for practice on matric operations, Shaum's book as my main text, and a more rigorous (cheap) proof-oriented book to skim through as I read Shaum's text.All in all, the book is very good. Early on, it makes connections between calculus, analytic geometry, physics, and matrices. These concepts are also introduced like they're brand new to the reader.For the price of this book, I get a lot more out of it than I paid for. No negative outweighs the positives in this situation.

So, I did not have this book while taking linear algebra, but I now wish I did. You see, I let my girlfriend borrow it for her class, and now, despite the fact that we've broken up since then, she still has the book and tells me it is saving her life. I did look through the book before letting her use it, and it seems to be a great, fairly comprehensive outline of linear algebra (go figure from the title, eh?). You will need a math-ish background to be able to follow the concepts presented, so I recommend this for use in a class or as a reference, but not so much as a "first time" study aide. However with all the worked examples it provides (and a little gumption) you could still learn a lot about linear algebra even without much of a math-background. It will be, almost certainly, much easier to understand than your typical text book. I would put in a word of caution, though, if you are planning to lend it to your girlfriend...

I ordered this book as a supplement to the book I'm using in class, and I am happy with it overall. It is not the best, but it is very concise. I wouldn't recommend this book as a one and only guide to linear algebra, but it's nice to have some extra information when you get stuck on certain concepts. If you have a little more money to spend, I have found that the book titled, "Elementary Linear Algebra" - 6th edition by Larson to be extremely helpful. That book provides many solved examples, plenty of homework problems, and organizes the material in a very logical sense. Whatever you do, DON'T BUY THE BOOK TITLED - "Linear Algebra and Its Applications" by David C. Lay. My professor is using that book in my linear class, and I find it to be utterly useless. Bit of a tangent there, but I would say if you are looking for an additional book, or even just one book on linear algebra, this is a good book to choose not only for the book itself, but also considering that it's quite affordable relative to most textbooks.

I purchased the kindle version (convenience) and the paperback and was surprised to find the kindle version had too many errors that were not in the paperback version. The errors make it difficult to follow the arguments with missing or plain ol' incorrect information. In addition, on the kindle version entire sections (parts of answers) suddenly changed into a smaller font that could not be expanded. It all appears to be errors in translating or moving to an e-book version of this text. It makes it almost impossible to see the problems worked out. (That is what we buy Schaum's outline for!)Miserable editing job!!I have decided to abandon trying to use the kindle version. I do not recommend anyone purchase that version until they correct the numerous errors. Note, I gave up after Chapter 1 since it was just too painful. The topic is difficult enough and with the kindle version it will be impossible.

The books of the Schaum's outlines are very preferred to quick reference in Mathematics, yes, they have some errors, but there are not perfect books. I like this edition because is easy to carry, you can find basic principles of linear algebra and you can use it like complement of another books.This edition was printed in a brilliant paper, and for the price, this is a really good and cheap options for beginners with some help of Internet material. Concepts are explained in easy way and direct, this book is not to give a strict following of theorems, but to have a quick idea of the concepts. I use this to review and refresh linear algebra objects in design and development of video games.If you want to have a reference book this is the better option.

Good reference book and sets of problems. Prepared my kids and helped them in linear Algebra courses.

Another great book from the Schaum's outline series, I couldn't ask for anything more to help me catch up on old skills

Dieses Buch beinhaltet eine gute Einführung in das Thema. Mir haben auch die sehr vielen Anwendungsbeispiele mit Lösungengefallen. Kurz dieses Buch macht dieses komplexe Thema für Leute mit Fach - oder Hochschulniveau gut verständlich.

昔の版よりずいぶん良くなった。非常に使いやすい。できれば、もう少し具体的例題を増やしてほしい。

I bought this e-book to read while traveling. I've actually got a paper copy at home, which I haven't read yet (becuase i don't like traveling with physical books any more). Anyway, the digital copy appears to be full of typos. OK, I'm at the start of the book, and I can spot the mistakes. What happens when I get into the real nitty-gritty?