Schaum's Outline of Logic, Second Edition

This book is an excellent introduction to what I call the mechanics of logic. If you are interested in metalogicproofs, like the deduction theorem, then don't look here.This book teaches the basics of logic. It presents logicin several different ways: using Aristole's version (strictlyfor historical reasons), using Venn diagrams, a Hilbert-stylelogic (rules to introduce and remove boolean operators), andsemantic tableaux. Also, it first introduces propositionallogic, then it proceeds to predicate logic. The book hasa peculiar approach that it does not introduce functions (notpredicate functions) until much later.One of the more interesting chapter covers fallacious arguments.

This is by far the best textbook that I have seen. It's clear and detailed, and full of solved exercises which help the reader verify their understanding of the material. Too bad the cover suggests it's cheap, because it is really a thorough introduction to logic. You'll love it for sure. (To the reader from Miami: First-order logic is the same thing as predicate logic, so what you were looking for IS in this book!)

Although it is thinner than Copi's, I think the author processes the tutorial in a better way, more appealing to me, at least. It is a necessary for a beginner at the gate of logic. It suffices the three standards of a good textbook: general, simple and clear. After that, you can go deeper in some specific areas. In short, I recommend this book without reservation.

I have purchased quite a number of Schaum's Outline books. Most of those books give the reader the sense of being rushed. The material isn't always comprehensive or is so abbreviated as to be incomprehensible. On the other hand, this particular outline on Logic is not merely an outline but serves extremely well as a standalone textbook. In fact,it covers in great detail most of the topics it discusses. The examples and explanations of the topics were very easy to understand, and the structure of the books is very logical.I heartily recommend this book.

If you only study one logic book, this Schaum's outline should be the one. This book makes clear what other books leave fuzzy and unclear. And its price is a fraction that of other books! If, after studying this Schaum's book, you want to go deeper into sentential logic, then study "Intro. to Logic" by Copi. If you want to understand the more informal use of logic in mathematical proofs, then I recommend studying Schaum's first, and then "How to Prove It", by Daniel Velleman.