Introduction to Linear Algebra with Applications

Need it for school. Haven't looked at it yet but I figure it'll be fine.

DeFranza and Gagliardi's "Introduction to Linear Algebra with Applications" falls into what I like to call "The New Order" of science textbooks. Chances are if you're a student of the mathematical sciences, your institution's library is full of archaic tomes that your professor's professors used. Tried and true, these books have most of the information you'll ever need, as well as a lot of obscure facts that confuse rather than enlighten the reader. In addition, the modern student is likely to spend hours with these old texts simply trying to decipher the outdated notation. Speaking as an undergraduate math and physics student, I can honestly say that we just can't learn from these types of texts anymore. The book in question is a modern version of an introductory undergraduate linear algebra course, with enough material to last two full semesters. The writing style is comfortable and casual. As opposed to many older math and physics textbooks, the material is presented in a way that makes the reader feel like he or she is having a conversation with a friendly and patient professor during office hours, rather than reading a 50 year old lecture transcript. In this reader's opinion, the style is similar to that used by David Griffiths in his line of intermediate physics texts. There are six chapters in this text covering systems of linear equations and matrices, linear combinations and independence, vector spaces, linear transformations, eigensystems, and inner product spaces. Each chapter begins with an interesting and relevant example of an application of each of the covered topics, before the reader is introduced to the actual material. Then, throughout the chapter, and for that matter throughout the book, ideas are introduced that build upon previously covered material, ensuring that the reader doesn't forget central ideas that may have been first presented sections or even chapters earlier. Examples are plentiful and insightful, often taking the form of additional applications. Chapter subsections conclude with "Fact Summaries" as well as the obligatory problem sets (and rest assured, answers to odd-numbered problems are given in the back of the book). At the end of chapters, there are open ended review questions which cover material from the entire chapter, as well as unique "Chapter Tests" -- collections of 40 to 45 true/false questions which test the reader's understanding of the material in a rapid-fire "either you know it or you don't" fashion. These questions may be particularly useful for those reviewing for multiple choice exams where time is limited and answers should be found without much mechanical effort (I'm looking at you, GREs). Indeed, this book is not perfect, but no textbook is. Some topics, particularly those later in the text, may be confusing without proper reinforcement from outside sources, be it a good professor or previous courses in discrete mathematics. Some problems can be a little proof-heavy (not my particula