Thin Book of Appreciative Inquiry (2nd edition) (Thin Book Series)

Book Description

An Easy To Read Introduction To The Theory Of Change Management That Focuses On What Works. --This text refers to the paperback edition of this title

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Primer.......2007-09-13

For those that are just beginning their quest of appreciative inquiry - this is a great primer. Good text to share with employees prior to the beginning of a organization orientation.

Raises an interesting idea.......2007-05-12

This book was a required text for one of my graduate school classes. The refreshing thing about it is that it's a quick read and very easy to understand. Hammond raises the very interesting idea that instead of looking at problems from a "how do we remedy our weaknesses" standpoint, she offers that we should capitalize on our strengths. We should figure out what we do well, and then work through our strengths to improve our performance and organizational environment. That's really as far as you need to go with this book. Hammond's explanation of her theory is extremely common sense. If you're still unsure how her theory could be applied in or impact the workplace, perhaps you should read this book. Otherwise, you could probably just use your imagination.

Straight to the point.......2006-03-20

I bought this book on a recommendation of a lecturer at a recent conference. He said that this was the first book to buy if one wants to learn about AI. He was right. The author is straight to the point. The material is easy to digest. The examples are applicable. Because of this book, I can immediately put AI to use in developing better teams and groups.

Quantifiable Appreciation.......2006-02-21

Recently, I attended a monthly meeting for professional coaches where the speaker made a presentation on Appreciative Inquiry. He passed around many books on the subject as he continued his talk. I was impressed enough with Sue Hammond's Thin Book of Appreciative Inquiry to go right home and order it. I am not usually one who cares for national bestsellers, but in this case... I can see why. It is a valuable tool for any coach, mentor or anyone in life who seeks a better, clearer understanding of how to appreciate life, work, people, everything really. Learning to appreciate makes a quantifiable difference in your life and times.
Hammond writes with an easy style, touching on most aspects of positive thinking and behaviors that can and will make a difference immediately in whatever you do and how you work with family, friends, co-workers.
The focus is on "what is working?" not what is the problem. To me, it's a much better place to start, automatically gives us a leg-up to feel good about something that is already positive.
Highly recommended!
Thank you Sue Hammond.
Pie Dumas - Author & Life Coach

Helps Create Possibilities.......2005-09-10

I use this book in my coaching business. The book is a great source of usable information that can be easily understood. Hammond includes tips that can help shift one's thinking in a positive way. If we could all operate in the manner she describes we would be better leaders (at any level).

The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, 2nd edition

Average customer rating:

Tufte's Classic Is A Must Read In Our Statistical Times
Essential for anyone working with charts and graphs
Good ideas, nice layout, kinda rambling though
Fascinating. Quick. Friendly for the non-expert
An absolutely superb book.

The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, 2nd edition
Edward R. Tufte
Manufacturer: Graphics Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0961392142

Amazon.com

A timeless classic in how complex information should be presented graphically. The Strunk & White of visual design. Should occupy a place of honor--within arm's reach--of everyone attempting to understand or depict numerical data graphically. The design of the book is an exemplar of the principles it espouses: elegant typography and layout, and seamless integration of lucid text and perfectly chosen graphical examples. Very Highly Recommended.

Customer Reviews:

Tufte's Classic Is A Must Read In Our Statistical Times.......2007-10-06

This book established Tufte as the authority on the subject of graphs, charts, tables, indeed the display of data by any means. The book is readable by most anyone and will add to your library and your ability to make your way intelligently and critically through the flood of statistical and graphical arguments and pitches placed before us every day.

Simply and confidently Tufte lays out the basics of the right and the wrong, the good and the bad (and occasionally ugly) regarding graphical depictions of data and information.

This book (The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, 2nd edition )is the first and the foundation of four books by Tufte (I. The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, 2nd edition. II. Envisioning Information. III. Visual Explanations: Images and Quantities, Evidence and Narrative. IV. Beautiful Evidence.) that should be read in the order of publication. You will be a wiser person for the effort.

His short book, "The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint: Pitching Out Corrupts Within", while not part of the "four volume set" is a withering attack on the ubiquitous software program, an attack based on the fact that it encourages the user to break nearly every principle that Tufte has spent the last 20 years elucidating in his books regarding the reading and the writing and presentation of well thought out and presented arguments and reports. I've read it and was convinced; PP constrains complex thought, argument, and statistical (indeed any form of) reasoning with its "bullet points", and is a very inefficient means of depicting information as well, cluttering the display space with useless clip art, huge fonts, and often misleading cookie-cutter graphs. (His satirical PP presentation of the Gettysburg Address humorously makes his points, while his analysis of a very real NASA PowerPoint slide from the decision-making meetings regarding the danger to the Space Shuttle Columbia before its destruction on re-entry makes his points in a very sobering manner.)

All this being said, The Visual Display of Quantitative Information is a Great Book. In the internet age we all spend many hours per week looking at visual depictions of information. Tufte's book will make you a more critical user of nearly everything, from the newspaper, to websites, to work presentations, the sports pages, and even your car's speedometer and other gauges. It is the foundation to all of his published work from the last two decades.

Buy this book!

Essential for anyone working with charts and graphs.......2007-03-10

This book fuses mathematical information with art to tell the underlying story and get your message across to the viewer. I would reccommend it to anyone responsible for conveying objective information to others.

Good ideas, nice layout, kinda rambling though.......2007-03-08

This book was very nicely laid out, and the ideas for presenting were good. Sometimes it was a little hard to follow because it rambled a little. But I did get some good pointers that I can use to visualize my data.

Fascinating. Quick. Friendly for the non-expert.......2007-01-09

The book strikes a good balance between major concepts and academic nitty-gritty.

An absolutely superb book........2006-11-23

Tufte presents an examination of a frankly under-esteemed method of data analysis that can be accurately described as passionate. As a Behavioural Scientist trained in sophisticated methods of statistical analysis, I previously was arrogantly inclined to regard charts and graphs as simplistic and naive approaches to data interpretation. However, I now apprehend the undeniable utility of graphical representation, and have acquired a fascination with the field through Tufte's contagious enthusiasm.

If you work with data of any form, it is IMPERATIVE that you read this book.

RFID Handbook: Fundamentals and Applications in Contactless Smart Cards and Identification 2nd Edition

Average customer rating:

Needs an update... but still a must for every RFID professional
RFID (RF Coupling in the Near field)
Good collection of concepts
Great book for understanding the concepts and applications

RFID Handbook: Fundamentals and Applications in Contactless Smart Cards and Identification 2nd Edition
Klaus Finkenzeller
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0470844027

Book Description

RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) is used in all areas of automatic data capture allowing contactless identification of objects using RF. With applications ranging from secure internet payment systems to industrial automation and access control, RFID technology solutions are receiving much attention in the research and development departments of large corporations. RFID is a major growth are in auto ID, allowing emergency vehicles to safely trip traffic signals, and providing the technology behind contactless smart cards, "autopiloting" cars, and production automation. Fully revised and updated to include all the latest information on industry standards and applications, this new edition provides a standard reference for people working with RFID technology. Expanded sections explain exactly how RFID systems work, and provide up-to-date information on the development of new tags such as the smart label.

Updated coverage of RFID technologies, including electron data carrier architecture and common algorithms for anticollision
Details the latest RFID applications, such as the smartlabel, e-commerce and the electronic purse, document tracking and e-ticketing
Detailed appendix providing up-to-date information on relevant ISO standards and regulations, including descriptions of ISO 14443 for contactless ticketing and ISO 15693 covering the smartlabel

A leading edge reference for this rapidly evolving technology, this text is of interest to practitioners in auto ID and IT designing RFID products and end-users of RFID technology, computer and electronics engineers in security system development and microchip designers, automation, industrial and transport engineers and materials handling specialists. Also a valuable resource for graduate level students in electronics and industrial engineering design.

Customer Reviews:

Needs an update... but still a must for every RFID professional.......2006-05-19

Book provides a solid foundation for RFID physics and the fundamental concepts. It gets really boring at times because of its staright forward approach and technical jargon. There is no other book in the market that capture RFID in such a depth; however the book is requires a immediate update to incorporate EPCglobal standards and other recent developments in the RFID industry.

RFID (RF Coupling in the Near field).......2005-04-07

RFID is a well written book. It covers hardware, regulations,
and RFID applications.
What I like about RFID is that it explains rF devices
in the near -field. Almost every other book I have read is about RF far-field.
The knowledge is useful in understanding the sources of noise in lab equipment caused by high frequency induction fields.
(These signals go right through the usual metal enclosures.)
Its useful.

Good collection of concepts.......2004-04-16

This book has a very good collection of most of the concepts related to RFID and is very useful especially for beginners in RFID. I gave only 4 stars as I was dissappointed not to see any examples for any or almost all the concepts explained. For what it costs, I think it makes sense to add some examples liked to some important concepts.

Great book for understanding the concepts and applications.......2003-06-04

If you are an Engineer looking to understand the history, technical aspects, implementation, standards and details of RFID systems, this book provides an excellent introduction for you.

The chapters are well laid out and paced. The author explains the most common devices and systems available in the market, their technology and concepts quite well. Most of the RFID related standards have been covered along with relevant examples. The author covers such things as the hardware design specifications for devices, software requirements, and some basic RF concepts that are required to understand Transponder and Receiver designs.

If you need specifics about recent products however, you might want to research for other sources of information because this book does not cover vendors and products in detail. For readers without technical background, the book introduces the concepts well; but some content might not be relevant because of the [technical] nature.

Average customer rating:

Worst book about Project management

Book Full of Errors

This is not the book.

Many Errors

Project Management: Processes, Methodologies, and Economics (2nd Edition) (Prentice-Hall International Series in Industrial and Systems Engineering)
Avraham Shtub , Jonathan F. Bard , and Shlomo Globerson
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Project Risk Management: A Proactive Approach (Project Management Essential Library)

A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, Third Edition (PMBOK Guides)

Project Management Institute Practice Standard for Work Breakdown Structures

Managing Organizational Change

SimProject Player's Manual and Access Code

ASIN: 0130413313

Book Description

Centering on theory and practice, this book presents tools and techniques most suited for modern project management. From budgeting to scheduling and control, the authors show the relationship between project planning and implementation. Expands analytic techniques using the latest standard software. Contains fundamental concepts in project management. Builds case studies with continuing compounded information. For those interested in learning more about project management and as a reference for managers, engineers and technology experts.

Customer Reviews:

Worst book about Project management.......2006-03-31

The authors didn't go through in details how to calculate Present worth, installments, etc.Before using this book, it is better to read Principles of Engineering Economy textbook.

Book Full of Errors .......2005-09-07

This was a required textbook for a graduate-level project management class I am taking. Unfortunately, it is full of mathematical errors (Our professor pointed out 4 errors during one class session alone!). The other major downfall to the book is that it is heavily skewed toward an engineering perspective of project management and does not consider a business approach. I have had better financial textbooks explain formulas to use when calculating future and present value of cash flows in a more straightforward manner than this book. If you must buy this book, buy it used and save a few dollars.

This is not the book........2003-11-30

If you want to learn project management or get better at it, don't read this book. It brushes over important concepts and spends and inordinate amount of words attempting to describe the profession. It assumes detailed knowledge, gives very poor examples and, in summary, is a total waste of time.

Many Errors.......2003-05-04

The material contained in the text is generally well written and well organized, but beware of using it as your only source of information. There are an unacceptable amount of errors in the text which can lead to a very frustating learning experience. The authors do a good job of incorporating many real-world examples into the text which helps the reader to avoid becoming bogged down in theory.

Applied Econometric Time Series, 2nd Edition

Average customer rating:

Excellent reference
Good intro and review of the material
Excellent as a practical quide - a must have handbook - recent development are here too
Practical book on time series econometrics
An Elementary Book

Applied Econometric Time Series, 2nd Edition
Walter Enders
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0471230650

Book Description

Amstat News asked three review editors to rate their top five favorite books in the September 2003 issue. The first edition of Applied Econometric Time Series was among those chosen.

This new edition reflects recent advances in time-series econometrics, such as out-of-sample forecasting techniques, non-linear time-series models, Monte Carlo analysis, and bootstrapping. Numerous examples from fields ranging from agricultural economics to transnational terrorism illustrate various techniques.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent reference.......2007-09-18

This book is an excellent reference guide and a must have book to everyone interested in time series analysis.

Good intro and review of the material.......2006-03-09

Having read a few books on time series analysis, Enders provides the best introduction to the area. The approach is simple and practically oriented. Explaining the basics of the area with limited use of math is beneficial. With this area developing so rapidly, a new, updated edition would be a welcome book on my shelf.

Excellent as a practical quide - a must have handbook - recent development are here too .......2006-02-04

I bought this book as an introductory reading to time series. And found it very easy to understand, both the theoretical explanations and practical applications. I think it is a "must have handbook" for any economics student. The last edition also covers the recent panel unit root tests, not the 2nd generation ones but Im, Pesaran, Shin panel test is explanained pretty well. Graphical illustrations of series and visual detection of possible problems are nice for beginners. Also, shows how to analyze data step-by-step with plenty of examples. In overall I think it is a great investment for those doing empirical studies and/or starting to learn/work with time series.

Practical book on time series econometrics.......2005-03-29

I am a Financial Engineer working primarily in risk management. Over the past few months I've had to study up on time series-related topics (both GARCH and cointegration-based analyses). This book is excellent for someone who needs to find time-series information and then apply it to a problem in a hurry. The explanations are clear and intuitive, yet mathematically precise. There are plenty of examples on how to apply techniques to real world problems, including lucid discussions of the proper statistical tests to use for the various methodologies.

Like many engineers, I often find myself scrambling to find a good source for a model or system component I will have to design, usually under tight time constraints. This is a perfect example of the type of textbook I always hope to find when starting such a task.

An Elementary Book.......2001-05-20

The book is an introduction to time series and covers ARMA, VAR Unit roots and Basic Cointegration, is a good book for people that want learn time series quickly, the book has some elementary theory of time series and many examples and exercises, the computacional problems needs some of RATS ...the book describes time series without advanced mathematics.

Average customer rating:

What an awful book...
Bayesian approach to decision theory

Making Decisions, 2nd Edition
Dennis V. Lindley
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0471908088

Book Description

Making Decisions Second Edition D.V. Lindley Formerly Professor of Statistics, University College London This book looks at the problems involved in decision-making and argues that there is only one logical way to make a decision. By the use of three basic principles—assigning probabilities to the uncertain events; assigning utilities to the possible consequences; and choosing that decision that maximizes expected utility—decisions can be reached more efficiently and with less disagreement. It shows that only maximization of expected utility leads to sensible decision-making. This extensively revised second edition uses only elementary mathematics and will be of interest to all those concerned with decision-making and its consequences. Since his retirement from University College London in 1977 Professor Lindley has held visiting appointments at Berkeley, University of Florida, George Washington University, University of Sao Paulo, University of Wisconsin, Monash University, Australia, and University of Canterbury, New Zealand. Contents

Decisions and uncertain events
A numerical measure for uncertainty
The laws of probability
A numerical measure for consequences
The utility of money
Bayes' Theorem
Value of information
Decision trees
The assessment of probabilities and utilities
An appreciation

Appendix Answers to exercises Glossary of Symbols Subject Index

Customer Reviews:

What an awful book..........2003-04-28

I'm currently a student at the University of California, San Diego. I feel that this book is an awful piece of writing that does not explain things clearly. Many of my colleagues feel that this is one of the most awful books that have been forced on us as well.

Bayesian approach to decision theory.......2001-05-24

Dennis Lindley is a strong believer in the subjective approach to probability that is called Bayesian. He has written texts on probability and statistics that presents strong arguments for why he believes it is the only correct way to formulate a theory of probability and to coherently apply probabilty to problems in statistical inference.

Statistical decision theory developed in the 1940s and 1950s as a way to incorporate statistical methods in general decision making processes. Abraham Wald helped develop the classical (frequentist) approach to this in the late 1940s.

Book Description

Globalization and Diversity is an exciting contemporary approach to World Regional Geography that explicitly acknowledges the geographic changes that accompany today's rapid rate of globalization. Organizes each regional chapter into five thematic sections: Environmental Geography; Population and Settlement; Cultural Coherence and Diversity; Geopolitical Framework; Economic and Social Development. Features approximately 15 standardized maps in each regional chapter, including a chapter-opening map with countries and place names; a physical map, showing landforms hydrology, and tectonic boundaries; a climate map, with climograph call-outs giving temperature and precipitation data for specific cities; a "transformation of the Earth" map with call-outs to environmental issues and solutions within the region; a population map for the region; a map of regional languages; a geopolitical map with call-outs to current issues and tensions. For anyone interested in learning more about world geography.

Fundamentals of Probability (2nd Edition)

Average customer rating:

Too Much Talking
It's actually somewhat readable.
Good book on probability for all but mathematicians...
Good at a first look, but turns out to be a poor product
VERY POOR QUALITY

Fundamentals of Probability (2nd Edition)
Saeed Ghahramani
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0130113298

Book Description

This book is a valuable reference to Basic Probability and related problems, featuring unique discussions published in recent journals to support individual investigation. Chapter topics include combinatorial methods, conditional probability and independence, random variables, distributions, and simulation. For professionals in the fields of computer and actuarial science, electrical and industrial engineering,, operations research, applied mathematics, and statistics, who desire additional input to help solve the indeterministic business, government, and engineering problems they encounter at work.

Customer Reviews:

Too Much Talking.......2006-02-18

The author of this book just can't shut his mouth! He babbles on and on about all kinds of nonsense, because he doesn't know how to bring the material clearly, concisely, and in logical order. Don't get me wrong: it's pretty good textbook, and relatively rigorous too. It's just that this book is smiply too long. If Mr Ghahramani wants to illustrate concepts with an endless stream of babble and examples, at least give some sort of overview at the end of paragraphs. Don't burden the reader with the task of seperating what is important from what is meant more as an illustration in case you didn't understand the theoretical concepts.
What's perhaps even more irritating, though, is the absense of a study aid with answers. This makes it virtually impossible to use it for self-study. There are (ironically) very concise answers to the odd-numbered questions at the end, but I prefer to check my answers immediately and learn from any mistakes I may have made.
I may have fired away a bit too strongly at the beginning. Instructors might even be delighted by this book; its division of questions into easy and difficult is also useful. However, I'd scout the market a little more closely before using "Fundamentals of Probability" in a course.

NOTE: I MEANT TO GIVE THIS PRODUCT 2.5 (OR 3) STARS, BUT I CAN'T CHANGE THE ONE STAR SHOWN FOR SOME REASON

It's actually somewhat readable........2005-06-24

This book is all right for a math book. Every time I forget something in probability, I can go back to this thing and find exactly what I'm looking for. I guess it could be more rigorous, but I think that would ruin it's understandability. It could definitely use more examples, but I say that about every book. I'm sure it contains its share of typos, but I'm so used to seeing typos in math texts I don't give them a second thought.

This book can sure help you with figuring out how to compute odds in poker, so check it out.

Good book on probability for all but mathematicians..........2005-06-01

This book is probably not rigorous enough for a serious mathematics student in probability/statistics, although I am basing this partly on the fact that I (EE Ph.D.) can read and understand this book whereas I can hardly get through a page in a book like Mathematical Statistics by Wilks without extensive background reading. Ghahramani's book has many interesting examples, such as Polya's problems on estimating the number of misprints in a book when two proofreaders each catch a certain (differing) number of mistakes (estimating an unknown frequency). It is quite readable. My only real criticism, and this is not unique to Ghahramani's book, is that "a picture is worth a thousand words" i.e. it is lacking in figures - e.g. if you are going to talk about the central limit theorem, it would be more easily grasped to students to show how the sums of some non-normal distributions quickly approach a normal through a figure or two. [...]

Good at a first look, but turns out to be a poor product.......2005-05-30

This is a review for the 3rd edition of this book

(see the Updates that I added at the bottom before moving on to another review)

Here's how this book was rated 4 stars by me, and then slowly got down to 2 stars.

Original Review
-----------------
A lot of Probability texts tend to suffer from one of the two issues. Those that are meant to be read by engineers are oversimplified and are not mathematically correct. Those that are meant to be read by scientists are just too boring.

This book is probably neither. The math is really good, and the book is fun to read. It is not ideal, however. There were a couple of places, where shortcuts taken by the author were too short, so I had to prove to myself why A is really a consequence of B. I have Maters Degree in Mathematics, so I had no problem with this. Too many problems in the exercise section at the end of each chapter are ambiguously defined. However, it is clear or can be guessed what the author meant in most cases.

I almost loved that book, when I found a problem solved in the text of a chapter that had a wrong solution! And I am only 2 chapters down. I hope it won't get worse as the material gets harder.

Should be an OK book to anybody who needs a book that is not too boring. But you need to get ready to filter out some negligences before putting it in your brain.

Update #1:
------------
I am 3 chapters down now. Found another problem incorrectly solved. And the fact that the solution is wrong is so obvious! I had to change my 4-star rating down to a 3-star one. I am quite disappointed that students are taught by a book that has wrong solutions in it. What will the students grow into?

Update #2 (edited):
------------
I thought I found another wrong solution. But after the next reviewer argued with that, I spent some more time on it and found that the solution was, in fact, correct.

One way or another, I think the solutions and the thoughts along the lines in the book are not the most clear you can find. I didn't like the analysys of a solution of the prizoner problem.

In my opinion, solutions of contradictory problems that are twisting, or tricking your mind are explained quite poorly in this book. If you want to get a good insight on that type of problems, as well as train yourself at "feeling", imagining, and understanding the solutions rather than "calculating" them, have a look at this book - "Paradoxes in Probability Theory and Mathematical Statistics" by Gábor J. Székely (available here, at Amazon).

I am somewhat disappointed with this product that I paid my money for. It looks like I will have to keep reading it though because another book will mean another $100 to me, and it is not guaranteed that it is going to be any better. If you look at other books on probability, you will find the reviews on them to be quite controversal, too.

VERY POOR QUALITY.......2004-03-26

This is a pathetic book. You can study as hard as you like, but you will not be able to solve the problems at the end of each section. Why? Because those problems are totally unrelated to what's explained in the chapter. I know most people say this book is good -- its because they're either paid by the publisher to praise this book or they're phd or graduate students. And please don't think I'm making a bad review because I'm a weak student. I have an excellent background in calculus and other pre-requisits for this course. I have aced most of my math courses at my university, and never have I gotten anything less than B in any math course I took. I have done over 26 credits in math for my BS in EE -- calculus, linear algebra, Differential Equations, etc and I got A in 16 and B in 10 of those credits. However when I took this course, the book is so extremely poor that I got 60 in the first test. And thereafter the professor said exams will be open book and open notes because the material is simply too poor. Only students having a very strong background in probability would understand this. For a beginner in probability, this book sucks big time.

Mathematical Methods for Economics (2nd Edition)

Average customer rating:

It's good because of what it covers
Not Very Helpful
Better be good at math to understand this book
Doesn't explain JACK!!
Finally a step-by-step introductory graduate Econ-Math book

Mathematical Methods for Economics (2nd Edition)
Michael Klein
Manufacturer: Addison Wesley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0201726262

Customer Reviews:

It's good because of what it covers.......2007-07-20

To one of the reviewers: The "delta-epsilon" definition of the limit really is tough - don't blame yourself or the book. Try Googleling it - everybody has a hard time explaining it.

What I like about the book is that I feel it is giving me a solid preparation for an advanced degree in economics. You just have to plow through it, and have confidence in the fact Klein chose the right material.

Nobody has said this stuff is easy...

Not Very Helpful.......2005-10-14

This textbook is simply not very helpful. Many of the questions test knowledge that is not presented in the textbook. Additionally, the questions are quite often poorly worded. These weaknesses detract so much from the functionality of the textbook that they render it relatively useless. I would not recommend this book, especially if you are a professor choosing a book for your class to use as a guide. Also, answer keys are nearly impossible to come by, thereby making it difficult to learn the processes presented by the problem sets, especially ones that are not well integrated with the text (which are quite a few).

Better be good at math to understand this book.......2005-04-16

I am currently using this textbook in an undergraduate Mathematical Economics class. I understood the material in the first chapter...until I came across the concept of limits. I have never taken a calculus class in my college career...I was only required to have taken finite mathematics before taking this class. So, when I read the material on limits, I had no idea what a limit was. And this textbook did not help in understanding it either. I had to check out a calculus textbook from the school library in order to finally understand what limits were. I bought Schaum's Outline of Introductory Mathematical Economics from Amazon, and so far, have found it more helpful in understanding Mathematical Economics than Klein's book. This book would probably be suitable for graduate students that have already obtained sufficient knowledge and proficiency from previous economics and math courses.

First, I would like to see more examples of the concepts in this book. MORE EXAMPLES!!!! Secondly, I would like to see the solutions in the back of the book expanded...maybe including all of the problems in the textbook worked out with correct answers...not just the odd problems and the answers. This would definitely help students check their work and know see where they made a mistake in working out a problem. I have seen this in two of the math textbooks that I have used for previous classes...my finite math book for example, not only had the solutions of odd numbered problems in the back of the book, students could also buy a solutions manual seperately. The solutions manual not only includes the right answers...it shows students how the problems are worked out to reach those answers. This helped me alot when working on a problem. When I realized that my answers were not correct, I checked the solutions manual to see where I made a mistake in working out the problem.

Michael Klein should publish an updated edition of this book and make it more student friendly.

Doesn't explain JACK!!.......2002-05-06

I agree with the other bad review about this book. I had it for a junior/senior level undergraduate class and I found it very confusing. It seems like it already expects you to know how to do most of the stuff. A lot of the problem sets have problems that I swear aren't explained ANYWHERE in the text. Poorly written, hardly any examples (which hint hint, are very useful in a math book) Overall a very bad book I would say, unless you already have extensive calculus/economics knowledge, but then I ask WHY WOULD YOU NEED THE BOOK ANYWAY???

Finally a step-by-step introductory graduate Econ-Math book.......2001-07-21

The first year as a Ph.D. student in Economics is very hard, especially if you are coming directly from the undergraduate level. After reading very formal and pseudo-user friendly books such as Simon and Blume (1994) and Novshek (1993), when it comes to the practical stuff, you end up looking at Varian's (1992) appendix, using Silberberg (1990) and (of course!) Chiang's 1984 masterpiece. But, on the other hand, if you need a careful and very user-friendly explanation of topics such as continuous and discrete dynamic optimization as well as applications of the Envelope Theorem, I have not found a better book than Klein's Mathematical Methods.

Statistics, Data Analysis and Decision Modeling and Student CD-ROM (2nd Edition)

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Statistics, Data Analysis and Decision Modeling and Student CD-ROM (2nd Edition)
James R. Evans , and David L. Olson
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0130783838

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Excellent Quality, quick delivery.......2005-09-18

The product was in excellent condition and arrived rapidly. The book was the paperback version, which is what the item listing by Amazon stated, although I had thought that the seller had listed it as a hardcover. No worries, though. The book (softcover) was in excellent condition and the service was fine. A smooth experience at a nice price.

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