A FIRST COURSE IN THE FINITE ELEMENT METHOD provides a simple, basic approach to the course material that can be understood by both undergraduate and graduate students without the usual prerequisites (i.e. structural analysis). The book is written primarily as a basic learning tool for the undergraduate student in civil and mechanical engineering whose main interest is in stress analysis and heat transfer. The text is geared toward those who want to apply the finite element method as a tool to solve practical physical problems.
This book gave me experience to apply linear algebra extensively. It uses vectors to analyse nodes in structures. The vectors are calculated using matrix (Gauss Jordan etc.). If you are really good in programming, you can use this book as basic theory for writing optimation software.