Shop with your exclusive business pricing
Buy used:
$36.42
$3.99 delivery July 21 - 25. Details
Or fastest delivery July 17 - 22. Details
Used: Good | Details
Sold by HPB-Red
Condition: Used: Good
Comment: Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used textbooks may not include companion materials such as access codes, etc. May have some wear or writing/highlighting. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Kuldeep Singh
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Linear Algebra: Step by Step 1st Edition

by Kuldeep Singh (Author)
4.7 out of 5 stars 389 ratings
Linear algebra is a fundamental area of mathematics, and is arguably the most powerful mathematical tool ever developed. It is a core topic of study within fields as diverse as: business, economics, engineering, physics, computer science, ecology, sociology, demography and genetics.

For an example of linear algebra at work, one needs to look no further than the Google search engine, which relies upon linear algebra to rank the results of a search with respect to relevance.

The strength of the text is in the large number of examples and the step by step explanation of each topic as it is introduced. It is compiled in a way that allows distance learning, with explicit solutions to set problems freely available online. The miscellaneous exercises at the end of each chapter comprise questions from past exam papers from various universities, helping to reinforce the reader's confidence. Also included, generally at the beginning of sections, are short historical biographies of the leading players in the field of linear algebra to provide context for the topics covered.

The dynamic and engaging style of the book includes frequent question and answer sections to test the reader's understanding of the methods introduced, rather than requiring rote learning. When first encountered, the subject can appear abstract and students will sometimes struggle to see its relevance; to counter this, the book also contains interviews with key people who use linear algebra in practice, in both professional and academic life. It will appeal to undergraduate students in mathematics, the physical sciences and engineering.
Read more
Previous slide of product details
  1. ISBN-10
    9780199654444
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0199654444
  3. Edition
    1st
  4. Publisher
    Oxford University Press
  5. Publication date
    December 31, 2013
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    9.5 x 1.1 x 7.4 inches
  8. Print length
    616 pages
Next slide of product details

Editorial Reviews

Review

Linear algebra is an important subject not only to mathematicians but also to an ever widening range of disciplines. The effect of the broader audience is reinforced by the trend of lower levels of mathematical preparedness students have after finishing high school. It is with today's 'average' student that Kuldeep Singh has written his undergraduate text Linear Algebra: Step by Step (lasbs). Singh's goal is to assume only a limited mathematical background while still covering difficult material and to present it in such a way that students are able to learn on their own without the constant support of lecturer or tutor. Importantly, throughout the text questions are posed to the student in blue font which are then promptly answered. While many authors pose the question 'why?' after some statement to encourage thought on the topic at hand it appears to me that Singh is more concerned with making questions like 'What does this definition mean?', 'How could we prove this statement?', 'Can the statement be generalised?', 'When is this valid?' common place and showing the 'average' student that they should be asking these questions and how they might answer the questions for themselves. Questioning the content is important but quite a rare activity amongst students in my experience who seem to focus more on calculation and getting an 'answer'. If you don't already have you own set of notes or a favourite text to set students lasbs is definitely worth considering, particularly if you are wanting to ease students towards more abstract topics.Isaac Towers School of Physical, Environmental and Mathematical Sciences, UNSW Canberra - Austrailian Mathematical Society, Volume 41, Number 3.

You can read the reviews from the Amazon UK site at the following url:amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/0199654441/ref=dp_db_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

Book Description

Uses numerous examples, question and answer sections, and historical biographies to provide an introduction to linear algebra for undergraduates in mathematics, the physical sciences and engineering.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0199654441
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Oxford University Press
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 31, 2013
  • Edition ‏ : ‎ 1st
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 616 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780199654444
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0199654444
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.8 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9.5 x 1.1 x 7.4 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 out of 5 stars 389 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Kuldeep Singh

Kuldeep Singh

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

For video topics and online test questions on the book 'Linear Algebra Step by Step' is at the following url:

http://maths-for-all.co.uk/linear-algebra/

For video topics on 'Number Theory Step by Step' is here https://maths-for-all.co.uk/number-theory/

Video topics and online questions on the book 'Engineering Mathematics Through Applications' is at the following url:

http://maths-for-all.co.uk/engineering-mathematics/

More notes and other videos are at the following url:

http://maths-for-all.co.uk/

I teach mathematics at the University of Hertfordshire, UK.

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
389 global ratings

Review this product

Share your thoughts with other customers
Write a customer review

Customers say

Customers find the book excellent for learning linear algebra, praising its detailed examples and step-by-step approach. They appreciate its readability, with one customer noting how it presents a compelling story to the reader.

Select to learn more

ClarityLinear algebraReadability
51 customers mention "Clarity"51 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's clarity, noting its concise concepts, easy-to-follow examples, and detailed examples throughout.

"...This textbook is very methodical and thorough...." Read more

"...The proofs in this book can sometimes be dry, but it is very clear on communicating how the proof goes...." Read more

"...This book is helping me fill that gap in my education. It is easy to follow and contains a lot of interesting examples and commentary regarding..." Read more

"...The clear "step by step" exposition is amazingly helpful and clear. No hand-waving tolerated here...." Read more

22 customers mention "Linear algebra"22 positive0 negative

Customers find this book excellent for getting introduced to Linear Algebra, describing it as an amazing piece of mathematical literature.

"Linear Algebra -- A Compelling Story..." Read more

"...This book is one of the best! Its a perfect book for doing a self-study of Linear Algebra!..." Read more

"...as well as my University did not consider this amazing piece of Mathematical literature and I truly wish they would from now on...." Read more

"...On a laptop it looks perfect. Expect to read the Kindle version of this book on a computer. I can say this much so far...." Read more

10 customers mention "Readability"10 positive0 negative

Customers find the book readable and engaging, with good exercises throughout, and one customer notes that it presents a compelling story to the reader.

"...The book is aesthetically pleasing with equations, graphs, exercises, etc...." Read more

"...stress enough how much I am enjoying going through its amazing, fascinating content...." Read more

"...sequence of the chapters are excellent which encourage the reader to explore the entire book. In addition, 1...." Read more

"The book is a page-turner! Well, maybe that is an exaggeration, but not by much...." Read more

Big Crease??
2 out of 5 stars
Big Crease??
The book is supposed to be new but I'm wondering how a NEW book gets sent to me this way?? Aside from the big crease everything else is fine with it.
Hide
Thank you for your feedback
Sorry, there was an error
Sorry we couldn't load the review

Top reviews from the United States

  • william scott
    5.0 out of 5 stars Step by Step
    Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2023
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    This is my third Linear Algebra textbook that I am using to learn the math on my own. I left off from mathematics with Calculus 3 about 15 years ago and wanted to learn what Eigen functions and values were about.

    This textbook is very methodical and thorough. The author has taken the advice of many of his students and those from other countries to craft a book that will make the math clear. I would say that this book is for the mathematically challenged like myself. That is not to say it is simplistic, one must have a firm grasp of algebra and calculus to get through it.

    Compared to the other two books, this one is more practical than theoretical. This is what I want in a book because I am learning linear algebra to understand quantum physics; I am not interested in being a theoretical mathematician. One of the previous books I have tried is heavy on mathematical logic which makes no sense to me. This book does not try to frame theorems or problems in mathematical logic.

    The solutions to the problems at the end of each section are detailed on the author's web site. These are done thoroughly so the student can see each step.

    The author gives instruction on how to use MATLAB for linear algebra. I have down loaded MATLAB but so far have not found an instruction manual as to how to use it.

    The author takes time to go over the historical persons who have contributed to linear algebra such as Gauss, Cayley and others which I find interesting and important.

    The only fault with the book is the small font in the examples. The print is readable but it it causes eye strain after a while.

    This is a book with the student of average mathematical ability in mind, not for the MIT or Caltech genius.
    4 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • 1081
    5.0 out of 5 stars Very clear and helpful read
    Reviewed in the United States on July 13, 2024
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    I purchased this book to study linear algebra “step by step” as it says on the title. And this book is not lying; it actually teaches you linear algebra step by step.
    One of the great things about this book is that it reviews (and expands) previous concepts whenever it moves on from matrix algebra to general vector spaces. This really makes the book self contained, and suitable for self study. Not to mention, all of the answers to the exercises are posted online (even the proof questions!) by the author, and (although I did not use it) the lectures are also posted online.
    The proofs in this book can sometimes be dry, but it is very clear on communicating how the proof goes. There are mostly no gaps to fill in the proofs, and also has “what does this mean?” section where it explains less formally what the proposition or theorem is saying.
    Overall a very beginner friendly book, but also a perfect reference when you don’t understand other book’s proof styles. I moved on to Linear Algebra Done Right (LADR) starting from general vector spaces, but this book is still very helpful when LADR isn’t clear enough.
    If you want a perfect book for self study, or just a reference for clear proofs, this is the book for you.
    One person found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Bob Zuidema
    5.0 out of 5 stars THE PERFECT BOOK FOR SELF-STUDY!
    Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2021
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    "LINEAR ALGEBRA" by Kuldeep Singh is a great book!

    As a retired high school physics teacher I have enjoyed working thru quite a few text books dealing with Math, Physics, Astronomy, and Astrophysics. This book is one of the best! Its a perfect book for doing a self-study of Linear Algebra!

    In my opinion there are 2 things that make "Linear Algebra" by Kuldeep Singh great for self-study:
    #1. The book's conversational style. Instead of ideas being presented in a matter-of-fact way, the author gives you the feeling he is actually talking to you. For example, the text abounds with comments and questions which the author anticipates the reader might make or ask following important ideas: "Remember...", "Why is that?", "What does this mean?", "Can you think of why?", "How do we do this?", "You might like to show...", "This might be a bit hard to grasp on first reading...". He then explains clearly, often with examples, the answers to the questions as the ideas are presented.
    #2. The author provides ALL the answers and complete solutions to the problems at the end of each section and chapter. This is incredibly important for someone like me doing a self-study to confirm that I am understanding the material.

    Chapter topics include:
    #1 LINEAR EQUATIONS AND MATRICES: Systems, Gaussian Elimination, Matrix Algebra, Transpose and Inverse, Types of Solutions
    #2 EUCLIDEAN SPACES: Vector Properties, Basis, Spanning Sets, Linear Independence
    #3 GENERAL VECTOR SPACES: Linear Independence and Basis, Subspaces, Dimensions, Linear Systems
    #4 INNER PRODUCT SPACES: Inequalities, Orthogonality and Orthogonal Matrices, Orthonormal Basis
    #5 LINEAR TRANSFORMATIONS: Kernal, Range, Rank, Nullity, Matrices in Linear Transformations
    #6 DETERMINANTS AND THE INVERSE MATRIX: Properties, LU Factorization
    #7 EIGENVALUES AND EIGENVECTORS: Properties, Diagonalization, Symmetric Matrices, Singular Value Decomposition.

    The book is loaded with detailed examples which clearly show the concepts being discussed. Each chapter also contains short historical biographies in which key people in the development of the field of Linear Algebra are presented and each chapter ends with an interview of someone currently in the field showing how linear algebra is important for what they do.
    17 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
  • Justin S Leary
    5.0 out of 5 stars Well written, easy to read, yet sufficiently rigorous introductory book on Linear Algebra
    Reviewed in Australia on September 18, 2020
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    I spent an hour a day for nearly 11 months just studying this book, and managed to complete it and every exercise within it.

    The author writes in a style that draws you in, it is easy to follow along no matter your maths proficiency level, yet it still has a level of rigour that doesn't seek to "water down" the material.
    The other excellent aspect of this book is that the author spends a fair amount of time proving results, and in doing so he gives examples on the various ways of proving something mathematically - for example: directly, proof by contradiction, or by using mathematical induction. What is especially useful is that proving some results is left to the reader to do as exercises, and so personally I found my abilities to prove results has improved via this book.
    This was my first book on Linear Algebra, although I was exposed to some of the tools and ideas in Linear Algebra a long time ago as an undergraduate studying economics and statistics, so I can't really compare it to other texts. However, I can say that the book would be both accessible to an average reader, yet sufficiently sophisticated and rigorous to appeal to those more advanced with mathematics. In this book the author treats the main areas of Linear Algebra:

    * Systems of equations, solutions, matrices and reduced row echelon form (rref)
    * Euclidean space, vectors and the dot product
    * General vector spaces, linear independence and span, basis vectors or basis
    * Inner products and inner product spaces
    * Linear transformations, rank, nullity, compositions
    * Determinants
    * Eigenvalues and eigenvectors, diagonalization and techniques, singular value decomposition

    Linear Algebra, as far as I can gather, is a huge field, with so many techniques, so a book like this can only cover perhaps the most essential techniques.

    The only criticisms of the book (and these are fairly minor) are:
    1. Errors. A few errors in the body of the text, mostly typos in nature, and a few errors in the linked solutions pdf files. However, funnily enough, I often found that I learned more from the errors and being forced to re-think my work.
    2. I feel that in some areas (for example in the chapter on eigenvalues and eigenvectors) that things could have been given more explanation. The book does give some time to explanations and real world scenarios, but I think that I will not really grasp some of it completely until I am exposed to this material in other contexts.
    3. Some of the key "aha" moments for me came not from the text itself, but from trying to figure out what went wrong in my logic due to an error in the text. For example, an orthogonal diagonalization question that was confusing made me realise that the order of the matrices matters, but somehow I never gleaned this from the text, and so a lot of the time the "number crunching" type exercises can overwhelm the focus and so as a reader I missed some of these aspects.

    But to summarize, I think this is an excellent, well-written introductory level book on Linear Algebra that will enable the reader to then more easily further their studies on more advanced topics or on practical applications. I have already found that reading more advanced physics texts that are predominantly mathematical in nature is a lot easier now that I have a good grasp on the language and tools of Linear Algebra, and I owe this to my 11 months with this book.
    Report
  • panagiotis.follas
    5.0 out of 5 stars a great book
    Reviewed in Germany on February 16, 2023
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    explains very difficult parts very easily, step by step. Little bit the first chapters are not so perfect but the rest of the book shines.
    It is for someone to start and can be for self learning. It does not cover the two semesters of the mathematics, but for information science is very good. The solution manual is online. This book can be an example for others books to follow.
    I have read many books for linear algebra and this goes to the top 5.
    Report
  • Arthur Ronald
    5.0 out of 5 stars Um dos melhores e mais didáticos que eu já vi
    Reviewed in Brazil on July 29, 2019
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    Uma didática ímpar no campo da álgebra linear
    Report
  • Marcel
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, especially if learning on your own
    Reviewed in Canada on February 4, 2022
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    I bought this book during the pandemic and I finished it in about 45 days (about 4-5 hours per day). This book is great if you're learning on your own, it really is ''step-by-step''. There's a lot of emphasis on proofs which help you understand the intricacies of the subject at hand and it's a really good guide on how to prove mathematical statements: by the end of it, I became really good at it and actually enjoyed those type of questions. The answers to the exercises on the book's website are complete and clear and, as always, ''step-by-step''. The only drawbacks are that it does not cover complex numbers and does not offer many real life examples of the applications for linear algebra. I highly recommend this textbook for first time linear algebra students (undergraduate level) and for those that are self-studying: you do not need a teacher to master the subject covered in this book, everything is explained in detail and clearly.
    Report
  • Subhasish Chakraborty
    5.0 out of 5 stars Very much useful
    Reviewed in India on June 30, 2025
    Verified Purchase
    Best book for learning Linear Algebra.
    Report