Linear Algebra, 4th edition

by Stephen H. Friedberg, Arnold J. Insel, Lawrence E. Spence

For courses in Advanced Linear Algebra. This top-selling, theorem-proof text presents a careful treatment of the principal topics of linear algebra, and illustrates the power of the subject through a variety of applications. It emphasizes the symbiotic relationship between linear transformations and matrices, but states theorems in the more general infinite-dimensional case where appropriate.

Genres: Mathematics, Textbooks, Reference, Nonfiction, Algebra, Academic, Science

624 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1979

Reviews

[Aditya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book to have a Theoretical understanding to the field of Linear Algebra.
Linear Algebra is a powerful subject and is supposed to be tough if studied for the very first time, but continuous reading of the definitions, theorems and proofs will really help in understanding, and this book is very well written, so be patient.
Exercise questions are good and can be daunting at some time, but it really makes you dig deeper to understand the concepts
(which is good to have an abstract sense of mathematics in general).

[Serpent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Focus on developing the theory and logic for linear algebra. Concise book but good & coherent enough for self-studying. Exercise is a must for mastering the material.

[Deepak Behera · Rating 4 out of 5]

Theoretical treatment of Linear algebra. its of different flavor compared to Gilbert Strang. The proofs could have been better. especially chapter 6 take on the proofs of diagonalization.

[Hmys · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best linear algebra book I've ever seen (i haven't seen that many). It has a very good balance of theory and applications. Most of the material is presented quite abstractly, but the end of each chapter has very nice applications like the pseudo-inverse, special relativity, markov-chains and quadratic forms. The exercises are also pretty good. They have a lot of them. Both computational ones, and ones relatively difficult proof-based ones.

[Jaslyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Humble beginnings.

[Omar Trejo · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good book for a strong introduction to Linear Algebra.

[Jose Seco Sanz]

This was much better than Strang's book. I still got bored. Don't know what I'm going to do to relearn Linear Algebra, I will keep trying books.

[mishu_2432 · Rating 5 out of 5]

pretty good, very good, nice read, great stuff.

[Fatima · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part of MATH416 (NetMath). The class was brutal. This book became my bff for the past 4 months. It was hard following the book at the beginning but eventually I got used to the book's style.

[Neuw Zqsl · Rating 1 out of 5]

proofs are not very clear

[Simon Eatwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best introductory text on this subject. Exposition is very clear, accompanied by lots of examples. The book doesn't jump straight into matrices like that of Strang, but, instead, starts with abstract vector spaces. This allows for a more categorical approach. Indeed, product, quotient, and dual spaces are introduced early on. Along the same line, linear maps are introduce before subjecting them to specific ordered bases to obtain matrices. There are dedicated sections that deals with fundamental issues, e.g., the existence of bases in the infinite dimensional case via the axiom of choice. Courageous are the authors to include abstract examples such as the inner product of two integrable functions over the reals by means of the integral of their product. These examples proves useful for further studies. However, the publisher excluded the essential chapter on Jordan forms from the international edition. This sort of malpractice is infuriating!

[David Shuster · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating is 3 stars, so "good". but ch 6 and maybe some other spots weighed down w notation\indexing without lucid motivation\diagrams until I watched some YouTube. Good exercises, TF questions.

I haven't read a lot of lin alg textbooks to compare to. I think often proofs took the least illuminating\illustrative route possible tho imo. A lot of stuff surrounding canonical forms I felt to be poorly presented (esp dot diagram diagrams; some minimal labeling would make them way easier to interpret). Overall nice format, clear defns, systematic treatment, etc. but a bit rigid and lacking in intuitive or motivated explanations

[Daniel Cunningham · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a solid linear algebra book, though a bit dense in parts. I would have liked more worked examples with more complex "proof" type of problems; this is perhaps a common complaint (I have) with most math books, and probably taps into the "applied" vs. "theoretical" divide.

Secondly, I would have liked to have seen more explanation/motivation for what I was learning. E.g. singular value decomposition is interesting and all that... but on Earth am I learning this? What motivates it/what use is it/etc.? This is also a common complaint (I have) with most math books.

[Vanessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Used in a two-semester intro linear algebra course. I realize the point of this book is the proofs, not the applications, but gah, I wish my university had picked a better intro linear textbook. I would have loved more examples and applications. Still, at least there was a decent set of practice problems and solutions for each chapter, unlike some other math textbooks I've had recently.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was used for the second semester of upper division Linear Algebra in a class I took at SJSU. Even the teacher said that it would be nearly impossible to master these subjects by reading the book only. But she said, it is still the best one of its kind, and I agree.

[Guy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Everything about this book could have been better. A few more examples and a bit better explanation, and it could have stood on its own, i.e. would not have required a professor/class to explain it.

[Evan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty good textbook.

[Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

rigorous as hell, robust and consistently well presented. Should have read this years ago instead of Otto Bretscher's, which was a waste of time.

[Mom's Books]

Not the correct text, but I can't find the match

[Linsu Han · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good ass book. I sleep thru lectures and just read this and score W's. Proofs of theorems so concise and on point it makes my brain tremble. Would rate 5/5 but -1 bc it's a fucking math book.

[Ramana · Rating 3 out of 5]

this is one of the good book on linear algebra