Customer Review: An approachable and entertaining introduction to the design and analysis of algorithms.
I strongly disagree with the first comment on this item, entitled "'Cutesy-poo' approach detracts from the content."
As a student in the Computer Science major at Yale University in spring 1994, I used this textbook in Professor Michael Fischer's course, "Computer Science 365b: Design and Analysis of Algorithms."
This book was a welcome breath of fresh air compared to every other title on algorithms that I had ever seen. It described how the study of algorithms need not be daunting, by explaining that every problem at some point did not have a solution, and described in great detail the exploratory process for finding solutions for designing and analyzing algorithms.
Further, it approached the topic in a fun and humorous manner, with numerous quotations and illustrations from works by Lewis Carroll.
It proved an ideal textbook for overcoming the formidable topic of designing and analyzing algorithms for students lacking self-confidence in this topic. This textbook proved to be a key tool for conquering this required course.
Benjamin L. Russell
Customer Review: Making algorithms interesting
Algorithms can be very dry and boring. Anyone who has had a boring tenured professor read directly from his textbook during class understands this.
Rawlins accurately captures the essence of solving theoretical problems, and presents it in a way accesible to a computer science major. (Relevant at the senior or 1st year graduate level) You'll come away with less depth than the Knuth title, but much more appreciation and understanding for the How and Why of problem solving.
This book is one of the very few that survived the trip from classroom to permanent bookshelf.
