VERY SOUND! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
It is not unusual for those who failed to pass (or understand) their courses to look for cheap scapegoats. Some have blamed their lecturers, and some have blamed their textbooks. But I am not swayed! Thus, despite all the negative rantings some reviewers have labelled against this "Advanced Engineering Mathematics", I will advise you to see for yourself. This book is superb! Erwin Kreyszig should be honoured with a twenty-one gun salute, for compiling this outstanding compendium. The way this book dissected Numerical Methods, Differential Equation, and Vector Calculus, will rouse envy in many academic circles. The same applies to its unsurpassed analyses of Oscillation Matrices, Quantum Symmetries, and Linear Algebra. I wonder why all those condemnations! In fact, I will advise those complainants to go back to primary school. As its name depicts, this text is an advanced book, and not an introductory one. Still, its author took the necessary pains in tabling an uncomplicated presentation. I will, with great pleasure, recommend it to any Engineering or Science student who needs an advanced mathematics textbook.
the key is to use it as a reference text
I am currently using this massive book as it is the required text for my Engineering Math I course (MS Mech Eng). I heartily agree with others who claim to find this book is not thorough enough in the subjects it covers. BUT, out of curiosity I have delved into the book and studied the chapters covering material I am familiar with I saw in previous courses (Diff Equations, 4 Calculus courses, Control Systems, Linear Systems, Numerical Methods) and I have to say... it is an ALL encompassing book, and the tremendous amount of material in it has is a credit to itself. Do not criticize this book because you failed in understanding a subject when using it, I myself am currenly a victim of this situation. Go find a book which treats only the topic (Laplace, Fourier, Linear Algebra, etc.) you're covering now, study it, and return it. Keep Kreyszig's as a handy reference. Mathematics is an extensive science, this "handbook" for us beginners is one of the best there is. Question: Did any of you Mechanical Engineers use MARKS' Handbook for your Fluid Mechanics course, or Shigley's Machine Design Handbook for learning how to design gears?
Jack of all trades and a master of none
This text of Kreyzig tries to cover too many topics in one text. For example, partial differential equations chapter 11 does not even introduce the student to the Sturm-Lioville problem. As a physics student I do not recommend this so-called engineering text to supplement your understanding of PDEs. Its not even good as a reference. I highly recommend "Boundry Value Problems" by David L. Powers. His book treats the subject of PDEs rather well
Its fine for engineering students, i.e. cook-book approach, but not a very good text for science students
VERY SOUND! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
Jack of all trades and a master of none