Differential Equations

Normally I get the homework from the professor and that is usually the only time I crack open any textbook. However, with this book I was able to enjoy the authors' humor and clear description of the material. It is true that the answers in the back of the book are not very helpful, but I think I think the book is written well enough to help you get to the right answer. Furthermore, the CD that comes with the book is not compatable with Mac OS X, but if your University has access to Maple, Mathematica, or Matlab there is no real loss in not being able to use the CD. I would disagree with one of the book reviews that graphical solutions are not important to science majors. Analytical solutions are extremelly important to science and that is why this book is heavy on the graphical solutions, and as a physicist I find these problems and examples the most useful.

I used this book in a 2003 summer course in DE, and found it to be a wonderful introduction to the subject. I am not sure what some of the other people meant by saying it wasn't for math majors- I am one and found it wonderful. Not everything needs to be concise, (I gave Rudin's book five stars too BTW, so I AM a fan of some concise books). It gave diverse examples of applications from all over--physics, EECS, ecology, biology, etc. The CD-Rom is a great learning tool. Ultimately analytic techniques are NOT what DE is about, and this book tries to show the student how to use qualitative and numerical methods early on. Anyone who wants to know DE must become familiar with numerics and the qualitative way of analyzing the equations. This book will show you how to THINK about DE, and not how to mindlessly attack an equation based on its form. This is the intro ODE book to which all others ought be compared. If one wants an analytic reference just buy a cheap used copy of any of the countless DE cookbooks out there (I own a Shaums).

I have been teaching differential eequations for over 20 years so am very familiar with the "traditional" approach along with the more "modern" treatment. I have been using this text in my courses for several semesters now and really like it. Finally students can get a real feel for the topic which is/was completely absent from more traditional texts. Frankly, the traditional approach gives one the impression that differential equations (at this level) is simply a collection of party tricks. Nothing could be further from the truth!!I have discovered that a different kind of student excels with this format; one who is not afraid to actually think about the material - what a refreshing change from the common, mindless "crank and grind" student approach!! Sadly, the latter group doesn't really learn any mathematics, just how to calculate - a task computers handle much better!!The problems are fine and allow considerable classroom discussion and flexibility. The CD (DETools) has some shortcomings but you can't beat it for the price! The topic is fundamentally geometric in nature and much can be learned from playing with DETools.Some reviewers complained about the numerical aspect of the text. Having worked as an industrial mathematician, I must say that more, rather than less, about numerical techniques would be good. In the real world, forget analytic methods (they simply don't apply) and reach for RK4 and better.If you're looking for a text to use in your DE class, try this one. One warning, you can never go back!!

As a differential equations instructor I used Boyce and DiPrima for many years. Its a good, solid presentation of differential equations and a great reference. However, I was always disappointed that my students ended up with no "feel" for differential equations. Also I became convinced that more methods were needed for nonlinear differential equations. After using a couple of other books which seemed to be slanted toward more qualitative approaches I came across Blanchard's book. I used it as a textbook for my class for several years now and I have found it to be a near perfect match to my goals. Some consider it wordy but I appreciate the motivation and insight the authors try to bring to the concepts. As a result it is not a good reference but as a textbook it is great. There are plenty of graphical tools. Quite suprising to me is how much the book illuminates DE's by simply analyzing the components of the DE, even before any solution is attempted. These features, along with some integrated applications, gives students much more of the "feel" for differential equations I have been looking for.

I have to admit this is the first book that I really liked in a long time. It gives great explainations, and does an excellent job with the concepts and has a very nice natural progression of topics. I strongly dislike math, but needed it for economics, and it actually was extremely useful. It made the previous three semesters of math have meaning