Hopefully this question is appropriate. Has anyone read Frank M. Stewart's, Introduction to Linear Algebra and how good of an introductory level book is it? It was published in 1963.
Stewart, Introduction to Linear Algebra
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0@AhmedMasud: Could you be more specific? – 2012-01-05
1 Answers
I actually have much experience of linear algebra self teaching (I missed all the linear algebra lectures of my first term (which was not an intro course - it was a top 2 uni [I would rather not say]). Needless to say, with one month before start of term tests, I had my work cut out.
Lecture notes were provided, but incomplete (e.g. no proofs) so I went out and bought S. Axler's Linear algebra done right (L.A.D.R).
The first four chapters were the best of any book I have read to date - layout was easy, proofs were easy and his sentences flow well. There are not any solutions to the exercises but certainly for the first 6 chapters you won't need any (the first three chapters take up a 2 mth course in many unis and reading up to 7 will be one year usually) because the questions are extremely easy (though illuminating!).
The negatives: Many people here discredit Axler - I'll admit the book is strange after chapter 5/6 though on the whole doesn't get too weird. By strange I mean some extremely non-standard approaches (i.m.o. incorrect) are put in. I had to unlearn the material in chapter 5/6 (whatever one was the eigenvalue chap.) and find a book on determinants. He doesn't treat things well in this section (his approach doesn't work well for vector spaces over R and C for instance and - obviosuly - he doesn't emphasize the minimum polynomial as much as he should).
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0+1 Thanks for the useful info, even though it doesn't actually answer the original question :-) – 2012-01-16