Differential equation book and topics

Manaf

Hello,
I have got a book called " Differential Equations", by Paul Blanchard, Robert L. Devaney, and Glen R. Hall.
Here is the book: http://www.brookscole.com/cgi-wadswo...pline_number=1
I am doing now some self-study on it,,,can you tell me please what you think of the book? and which topics do you recommend for the 2nd year in the university?
thanks alot.

saltydog

Rock and Roll! I'm a big believer of that book. They emphasized dynamics and qualitative analysis of differential equations and although some may argue texts of a more rigorous nature, it represents from what I've been told, a fundamentally new way of teaching differential equations.

CrankFan

Funny that you ask. About 2 weeks ago I was going to ask the same question because that is the same book that my school uses. What prompted my concern were some particularly harsh reviews of the second addition of that book on Amazon:

Differential Equations ISBN:0534385141

As an example one guy wrote:

"Horrible paedagogical dreck ... his book is a DE text for students who've had the misfortune to have been subjected to "reformed calculus"--- i.e., calculus without algebra. There is very little substance here, only high-school level chit-chat and "qualitative analysis" of nearly trivial problems. The writing style is insulting to anyone other than brain-dead pedagogs."

Of course a few Amazon reviews don't make and break a book but I was very curious to know if others had used it, and what their thoughts were.