Skillfully organized introductory text examines origin of differential equations, then defines basic terms and outlines general solution of a differential equation. Subsequent sections deal with integrating factors; dilution and accretion problems; linearization of first order systems; Laplace Transforms; Newton’s Interpolation Formulas, more.
This is a condensed book, one that will provide a very sleep slope to any reader who lacks an intimate familiarity with calculus and related notation. There are exercises with solutions, but the solutions carry no explanations. For most students, this book will be frustrating at least as often as it provides flashes of insight. I would have enjoyed a more leisurely approach to the subject matter.
Still, this is an inexpensive and thorough text on an intrinsically difficult subject. To my knowledge, the perfect textbook on ODEs has not yet been written (though I did enjoy Mark Krusemeyer's no-longer-quite-in-print Differential Equations, which I had the pleasure of using for a class taught by the author); until then, this will have to do.
