Understanding Symbolic Logic (Custom Edition for University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee)

I can't recommend this book enough. I have NEVER had so much fun with any subject matter. Symbolic logic should be taught in grade school. It would do away with all of the nonsensical conspiracy theories and other nonsense on social media.

I ordered this book for a college Logic class, and it hasn't disappointed. There's no getting around the somewhat boring text in this book, even though it is flavored by some humorous logic scenarios. But, I fault my lack of interest in the subject, and not the book itself. I've learned a lot from the class, and the book is essential. It arrived in great condition, even though I ordered it used, and it had a speedy delivery.

I really like this book. It's an excellent undergraduate introduction to logic for non-mathematicians. It's not dumbed down in any way. It's rigorous. The exercises are challenging and plentiful. Most importantly, it explains the basic concepts and tools of symbolic logic in a clear, unpretentious manner. (The 5th edition corrects the mistakes of the 4th.) By comparison, Copi seems unfocused and flabby; Bergmann & Moor comes off as unnecessarily muscular given the level of the material. An excellent choice.

This book is the best introduction to logic on the market. Others have made this clear--incuding professors of logic (of both the philosophical and mathematical sort). The reason why I am writing this is because I was flabbergasted to read a couple of the reviews of this book that appear on this website. Anyone that rates this book under four stars was perhaps unsuccessful in logic, tried to blame their lack of ability on Klenk's wonderful text, and didn't have enough ability to begin logic anyway. Logic is difficult. However, this book is completely readable, assuming the one reading it is careful. People that want to be more spoon-fed than how this book attempts, should not begin the topic.

This book is excellent. It is packed with information. It is concise, precise, and an excellent tool. Get it!

As a note of caution, this is not a light reader. It isn't something that you can pick up and put down and expect to gain too much from. The book moves quickly in teaching all of the fundamentals of symbolic logic, a somewhat cryptic way of proving something by means of the rules of logic. It does a really good job and isn't difficult to read.