Please recommend me a good textbook for Differential Equations?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around recommendations for textbooks on Differential Equations, focusing on those that provide ample practice problems rather than theoretical content. Participants share various titles, editions, and authors, reflecting on their personal experiences with the books.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation
  • Exploratory

Main Points Raised

  • One participant requests recommendations for a textbook with many practice problems and less theory.
  • Another participant notes that most differential equations books are theoretical and similar, suggesting an older edition that is less expensive.
  • Several participants agree on the merits of Edwards and Penney's book, as well as Martin Braun's and Guterman and Nitecki's works.
  • One participant recommends Tenebaum and Pollard, highlighting its suitability for self-study and the inclusion of answers to problems.
  • Another participant mentions G.F. Simmons' book, emphasizing its quality and the availability of answers in the back.
  • A participant points out the abstract nature of Vladimir Arnol'd's book, suggesting it may be challenging for some readers, while also recommending a more accessible option from the 'for Dummies' series.
  • Boyce and DiPrima's book is also mentioned as a potential resource.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express varying preferences for different textbooks, indicating no consensus on a single recommendation. Multiple competing views on the best resources remain evident throughout the discussion.

Contextual Notes

Some participants express concerns about the cost of newer editions and the theoretical nature of many differential equations textbooks, which may limit their recommendations.

Math10
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Can someone please recommend me a good textbook for Differential Equations that has lots of practice problems and less theoretical problems? Please tell me the name of the textbook, edition, and author. Thanks.
 
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I didn't respond till now because my answer was always going to be somewhat disappointing: differential equations are very theoretical and most books are quite similar. They also seem to be quite expensive.

But I've found an older edition book for you that should have sufficiently many problems and answers for you to have no trouble learning from it. The authors also write a very good calculus book, and you can always ask questions here on the forums, so this is my recommendation for you.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0130113018/?tag=pfamazon01-20.

I chose this 4th edition because the newer editions are very expensive; this one is from 1999, not so long ago.

Hope this helps.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thank you!
 
i agree with edwards and penney, and i also like martin braun's book, and guterman and nitecki, and more advanced: arnol'd.
 
How about Tenebaum and Pollard. Or you may want to take G.F. Simmon's Differential Equations with Historical Notes. I had this, and it is a very good book. The good thing is you won't need any solution manual. They give answers at the back of the book (I said answers, not whole solutions, just answers).

Or you may want to get Dennis G. Zill's book.
 
mathwonk said:
i agree with edwards and penney, and i also like martin braun's book, and guterman and nitecki, and more advanced: arnol'd.

Off topic: If I am not wrong, you also write reviews on amazon.
 
Modest Learner said:
How about Tenebaum and Pollard.

I second this. T&P is probably my favorite DEs book. It's good for self-study and has all the answers to the problems. It's only like $16 on Amazon too.
 
Modest Learner said:
Or you may want to take G.F. Simmon's Differential Equations with Historical Notes.

I recommend this book very highly. It's truly excellent.
 
The famous book by Vladimir Arnol'd might be worth mentioning. However, like all of his books, it is considerably hard to read. Its level of abstractness might be somewhere between typical math and physics books. In case you're looking for a totally unmathematical book - no proofs - with a lot of technique, I recommend the ODE book from the 'for Dummies' series by Steven Holzner. You can get the most important theoretical aspects (that, in my opinion, every physicist should be familiar with) from "Analysis, Manifolds and Physics" in an utterly condensed manner.
 

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