Differences between 2nd and 3rd edition of Rudin's Principles of Mathematical Analysis

[QuantumP7]

I was wondering if there are any big differences between the 2nd and 3rd edition of Rudin's Principles of Mathematical Analysis. Because used copies of the second edition can be had for much cheaper than the third.

 

[mathwonk]

without even looking at them i advise buying the cheaper one. in my experience, later editions of books are almost ALWAYS worse, not better. The only exception I can think of is spivak's calculus on manifolds, where the second edition just corrects an error in the first. nothing else. so i would prefer the first edition if available.

 

[mathwonk]

the following discussion on amazon seems to summarize the changes, which appear minimal:(Dedekind's construction is now treated in an appendix to Chapter I.) The topological background needed for the development of convergence, continuity, differentiation and integration is provided in Chapter 2. There is a new section on the gamma function, and many new and interesting exercises are included.

 

[QuantumP7]

Thank you SO much, Mathwonk!

 

[jbunniii]

I used to have a copy of the 1st edition and I recall that while the content wasn't very different from the 3rd edition, the typesetting was noticeably poorer, if you care about such things. E.g., it used $$\varepsilon$$ instead of $$\in$$ to indicate set membership, the summation signs had that awkward look that you often see in older books, and so forth. The 3rd edition looks a lot more modern. Not sure about the 2nd, but it might be worth a look before buying.