Difference between Strang's Linear Algebras?

[brocks]

There are two linear algebra books by Strang, both in 4th editions: "Introduction to LA," and "LA And Its Applications." Can anyone tell me which is more advanced?

I know, duh, one is an introduction, and one has applications. But I looked through them at a bookstore, and they seem to cover the same topics.

And in the preface to "Introduction," Strang says that it is the text used at MIT, and that it is full of applications.

Looking through the reviews at Amazon, some say "Applications" is not advanced enough, and others say it is too advanced.

Can anyone familiar with both books tell me what the difference is between them?

 

[Fragment]

I've briefly look over Strang's book, and I must say I wasn't very impressed. Some others might have opposite feelings, but I found that Strang just doesn't do well in the "clearness" of explanations. I find his text awfully informal, and as such is quite annoying, to me at least.

I can't say which one is more advanced, but I would suggest you look for another textbook (This is my opinion only).

I liked either Anton, Axler, or Poole. I would suggest looking at those three. Don't make the mistake of buying Schaum's Linear Algebra (I liked the Calculus one though). The book spans the space "Awful".

 

[lurflurf]

What specifically are you looking for in a linear algebra book? LA And Its Applications is more advanced, but both are for readers that do not know any linear algebra, or math in general. I do not know why you would bother with either though, so many better books are available.
Consider

Linear Algebra by Kenneth M Hoffman and Ray Kunze
Finite-Dimensional Vector Spaces by P.R. Halmos
Linear Algebra Done Right by Sheldon Axler
Linear Algebra by Georgi E. Shilov
Advanced Linear Algebra (Graduate Texts in Mathematics) by Steven Roman
Introduction to Linear Algebra (Undergraduate Texts in Mathematics) by Serge Lang
Linear Algebra (Undergraduate Texts in Mathematics) by Serge Lang
Matrix Analysis by Roger A. Horn and Charles R. Johnson

I paid 2$ used for my third edition of LA And Its Applications, and that is really more than it is worth. Singular value decomposition and Jordan form are included, but relagated to appendix. At least Strang is much better than Jack L. Golderg Matrix Theory with Applications.

 

[Leptos]

I found these books to be far superior to anything else I could find:
1. Linear Algebra Done Right by Sheldon Axler
This book offers a rigorous approach to linear algebra and I'd recommend it for any serious math student.

2. Linear Algebra by Georgi E. Shilov
This book is well worth the price(brand new it's around $11) and even has some problems for each chapter.

Also you can check out this free e-book, Linear Algebra Done Wrong:
http://www.math.brown.edu/~treil/papers/LADW/LADW.pdf

 

[chingkui]

I have read part of Strang's LA and Its Applications, and I am definitely among those who dislike this book because of the way the author approach the subject. I expect a math book to teach you through a theorem-proof approach with clear step by step proof. Instead, this book is annoyingly wordy without showing you the real math. This book is definitely not written for those who want to master the theoretical basis of linear algebra.

I know people who do (heavily computational) engineering research who like this book though. So, it depends on what you are looking for.

 

[brocks]

Thanks to everyone for the responses. The reason I wanted a Strang text is because he teaches the OCW class at MIT, which is what I'm using for self-study. I just thought I might want the more advanced text for later use.

Strang's texts don't seem to be very popular on this forum, but when I googled around it seemed that a lot of professors taught from his texts, or strongly recommended them as supplementary texts. I guess math has its subjective side, too.

 

[brocks]

I paid 2$ used for my third edition of LA And Its Applications, and that is really more than it is worth. Singular value decomposition and Jordan form are included, but relagated to appendix.

I don't know about the third edition, but I respectfully suggest that you take a look at the fourth edition, which is what I ended up buying. He devotes several pages to both topics in the main text, with a proof about the Jordan form in an appendix.

 

[marcusl]

You heard from a number of people who dislike Strang's LA And Its Applications. Here's a comment on his other book. I made the mistake of buying his Intro to LA. The book's explanations were not clear, and Strang's approach is a little weird (he says the usual matrix multiplication where a row of the first matrix multiplies the columns of the second is wrong, for instance). You have to start by unlearning everything you already know. I tossed the book--a total loss $$--and bought a copy of Meyer, Matrix Algebra and Applied Linear Algebra, which I like.

 

[brocks]

Well, this is really getting interesting. This isn't the only thread here where I see almost universal dislike for Strang. And yet, many people recommend Anton. I looked at his book, and he had about three lines on the Jordan form, where Strang had several pages plus an appendix discussing it. Yet a fellow earlier in this thread singled out Strang's lack of attention to the Jordan form as a reason he disliked his book.

I don't understand why an MIT professor whose books are used very widely gets such bad reviews here. Are most of you guys pure mathematicians, by any chance? I was thinking (and I'm just a beginner, so I may be way off base) that maybe Strang's books appeal to physicists who just want the concepts to help them with QM or whatever, but mathematicians might think he's not rigorous enough.

 

[jbunniii]

Strang's "Linear Algebra and Its Applications" was my first encounter (late '80s) with linear algebra, and I liked it well enough at the time, but these days there are far better texts.

This thread already contains many excellent recommendations. I'll add one, which has more of an applied flavor than the others, while remaining perfectly rigorous: Carl Meyer's http://www.matrixanalysis.com/" , which is free of charge in PDF form. It covers more ground than Strang, it's user-friendly without being overly informal as I found Strang's book to be, and it comes with a full solutions manual.

 

[marcusl]

Are most of you guys pure mathematicians, by any chance? I was thinking (and I'm just a beginner, so I may be way off base) that maybe Strang's books appeal to physicists who just want the concepts to help them with QM or whatever, but mathematicians might think he's not rigorous enough.

I, for one, am a physicist.

 

[brocks]

Carl Meyer's http://www.matrixanalysis.com/" , which is free of charge in PDF form. It covers more ground than Strang, it's user-friendly without being overly informal as I found Strang's book to be, and it comes with a full solutions manual.

Thanks very much for this. I like the philosophy he expressed in his preface, and free is always good.