What do you think?
Rate this book
Ordinary Differential Equations
Skillfully organized introductory text examines origin of differential equations, then defines basic terms and outlines the general solution of a differential equation. Subsequent sections deal with integrating factors; dilution and accretion problems; linearization of first order systems; Laplace Transforms; Newton's Interpolation Formulas, more.
832 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1985
55 people are currently reading
901 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
February 21, 2014
Ordinary Differential Equations by Morris Tenenbaum is a great reference book,it has an extended amount information that you may not be able to receive in a classroom environment. The book goes over a range of topics involving differential equations, from how differential equations originated to the existence and uniqueness theorem for the linear differential equation of order n.
Throughout the book all essential terms are defined clearly, and readers are able to interact with the author of the book, as you would with an actual teacher. You are able to take tests and quizzes throughout each lesson you learn making sure the reader has a strong grasp of the information presented.
This book concludes to be an extraordinary and informational read, that allows readers an in- depth look into the key aspects and topics based upon differential equations, and offer a classroom experience to the reader.
Throughout the book all essential terms are defined clearly, and readers are able to interact with the author of the book, as you would with an actual teacher. You are able to take tests and quizzes throughout each lesson you learn making sure the reader has a strong grasp of the information presented.
This book concludes to be an extraordinary and informational read, that allows readers an in- depth look into the key aspects and topics based upon differential equations, and offer a classroom experience to the reader.
March 8, 2015
Ditch Boyce and DiPrima (the textbook you were probably assigned) and get this. Really good explanations and problems that help to build an intuitive understanding of ODE's.
I really like the ordering of the chapters and the fact that they don't tend to skip even simple algebraic steps in proofs and explanations. If you're having a hard time in class I'd definitely recommend this book. It helped me a lot!
I really like the ordering of the chapters and the fact that they don't tend to skip even simple algebraic steps in proofs and explanations. If you're having a hard time in class I'd definitely recommend this book. It helped me a lot!
May 7, 2020
Imagine you're learning to drive a car. But before you're allowed to sit behind the wheel, you have to set through lesson after lesson on such things as the finer points of motor vehicle maintenance, and the appropriate style of driving in case you are caught behind a horse and cart in a hurricane.
That's what studying Tenenbaum and Pollard is like.
It actually starts well enough with a motivation based upon the use of carbon dating. A little woolly and loose at this stage, because what a D.E. is has not yet really been established.
But then with lesson 2 it goes into details of what a real function is, from a horribly outdated and clumsy approach, using notation that nobody uses any more and does not easily extend to the general mapping. As a result, readers who then go on to study other areas of mathematics may find that they have to completely re-learn this stuff, and those who come into this after having studied more abstract and modern approaches will find their patience tried.
By the time they actually get round to the actual business of starting the work of classifying the various equation types, they get bogged down in so much technical detail that it is hard to grasp the basic simplicity of what we are trying to establish, particularly on lesson 6, where separable variables are considered.
As for the examples and exercises, far too many are too straightforward and repetitive, with the result that you are tempted to skip them and say: can't be bothered, they're too easy, it's a waste of time, thereby missing what may be far more challenging work later in that exercise group.
Some people may like this approach, but I found this horribly dull, and I gave up halfway through chapter 1.
I far preferred the approach of George Simmons; his Differential Equations with Applications and Historical Notes plonks you straight into a wealth of fascinating applications of which the decay equation is just one such (his account is a joy to read), couched as well-crafted and supremely challenging problems.
That's what studying Tenenbaum and Pollard is like.
It actually starts well enough with a motivation based upon the use of carbon dating. A little woolly and loose at this stage, because what a D.E. is has not yet really been established.
But then with lesson 2 it goes into details of what a real function is, from a horribly outdated and clumsy approach, using notation that nobody uses any more and does not easily extend to the general mapping. As a result, readers who then go on to study other areas of mathematics may find that they have to completely re-learn this stuff, and those who come into this after having studied more abstract and modern approaches will find their patience tried.
By the time they actually get round to the actual business of starting the work of classifying the various equation types, they get bogged down in so much technical detail that it is hard to grasp the basic simplicity of what we are trying to establish, particularly on lesson 6, where separable variables are considered.
As for the examples and exercises, far too many are too straightforward and repetitive, with the result that you are tempted to skip them and say: can't be bothered, they're too easy, it's a waste of time, thereby missing what may be far more challenging work later in that exercise group.
Some people may like this approach, but I found this horribly dull, and I gave up halfway through chapter 1.
I far preferred the approach of George Simmons; his Differential Equations with Applications and Historical Notes plonks you straight into a wealth of fascinating applications of which the decay equation is just one such (his account is a joy to read), couched as well-crafted and supremely challenging problems.
April 15, 2021
Super clear--
What I love about this text is that it's super reader-friendly, showing EVERY single step in the proofs, giving whatever review material you need to know to understand the chapter material (like complex numbers and power series), and having all the answers to the exercises.
My only beef with this is that the exercises are just too easy, and there isn't much coverage of Laplace transforms (nothing on convolutions, for example) or applications of special differential equations like Bessel, Legendre, and Hermite equations. Also, because the text is only about ODEs, it doesn't cover the Fourier series or partial differential equations (like the heat equation). It does have good coverage of operator methods for finding particular solutions, though.
Overall, this is definitely a solid text, but might need a companion textbook to go in a little more depth. After like 5 years of not doing any math, though, this book was a perfect one to pick up, as it helped me review so many topics I'd just forgotten.
What I love about this text is that it's super reader-friendly, showing EVERY single step in the proofs, giving whatever review material you need to know to understand the chapter material (like complex numbers and power series), and having all the answers to the exercises.
My only beef with this is that the exercises are just too easy, and there isn't much coverage of Laplace transforms (nothing on convolutions, for example) or applications of special differential equations like Bessel, Legendre, and Hermite equations. Also, because the text is only about ODEs, it doesn't cover the Fourier series or partial differential equations (like the heat equation). It does have good coverage of operator methods for finding particular solutions, though.
Overall, this is definitely a solid text, but might need a companion textbook to go in a little more depth. After like 5 years of not doing any math, though, this book was a perfect one to pick up, as it helped me review so many topics I'd just forgotten.
November 23, 2014
This is an amazingly complete reference on differential equations.
The authors offer techniques with lucid explanations and shortcuts.
There are ample problems and answers to cut your teeth on.
The categorizations are brilliant and the techniques really get under your skin.
There are also whole sections devoted to real life problems that lead to differential equations, again replete with examples and solutions.
The miraculous part of this book is just the number of problems provided.
The authors offer techniques with lucid explanations and shortcuts.
There are ample problems and answers to cut your teeth on.
The categorizations are brilliant and the techniques really get under your skin.
There are also whole sections devoted to real life problems that lead to differential equations, again replete with examples and solutions.
The miraculous part of this book is just the number of problems provided.
February 3, 2017
I bought this book back in the day because a reviewer on amazon.com said that it read more like a Tom Clancy novel than a math textbook. I found it to be mostly true. There are probably better diffeq books out there, but this was my first and I have fond memories of reading it.
May 12, 2011
As the description says, this is a well-organized text on how to solve various types of ODEs. It is not a text that you read cover-to-cover, it is best used as an excellent reference.
February 20, 2020
Many people consider this one of the best books among introductory materials on ODE's and I have to agree. If one puts in the time to wrestle with all the concepts as introduced, I believe they will come away with a very strong understanding of this subject. A few nitpicks are that the format is a bit tiring for the eyes, and there is no solutions for problem sets. There is no legitimate electronic book for this edition. The solutions can be helped with Wolfram Alpha or the like these days.
September 20, 2021
A textbook on various techniques in applied mathematics for scientists and engineers, with an emphasis on ordinary differential equations. Extremely broad coverage and probably too much to cover in a single course.
April 29, 2025
bro whatever fuck this class. pretty good book though
June 3, 2025
really good. three stars means really good.
June 15, 2014
The virtue of the text is that it gives a very clear understanding of applications of differential equations, both within the field of mathematics, and to physical systems. In fact, I've read other popular Differential Equations texts like those by Zill and Boyce, and I would say that no other book on the market deals as comprehensively and intelligibly as this one.
However, the book's vice is that it makes so much effort to connect the applications with the equations, that the flow of concepts feels very distracted, indirect, and does not adequately emphasize and make sense of the importance of linear differential equations and the ability of matrix methods to use them in understanding other types of equations.
It's rigorous, well-written, has a lot to offer to engineers, and some things to offer mathematicians. But I do think there are modern books that offer more in other important respects.
However, the book's vice is that it makes so much effort to connect the applications with the equations, that the flow of concepts feels very distracted, indirect, and does not adequately emphasize and make sense of the importance of linear differential equations and the ability of matrix methods to use them in understanding other types of equations.
It's rigorous, well-written, has a lot to offer to engineers, and some things to offer mathematicians. But I do think there are modern books that offer more in other important respects.
June 3, 2014
Good intermediate level college text for learning ODEs. Chapters are extensive, concepts clearly presented, and practice problems are a good blend of that evil but necessary plug-and-chug grinding, physical modeling, and extended special cases that require ingenuity and dedication. I didn't get through the entire book, instead focusing on the second order ODEs, from the Method of Undetermined Coefficients to Variation of Parameters to Reduction or Order, and then covering some physical models using second order ODEs, like spring systems, pendulums, chains, beams, RLC circuits, and rotational systems. My goal is to solve and understand every practice problem of the book by the end of this summer...good luck to me.
May 30, 2013
Good intermediate level college text for learning ODEs. Chapters are extensive, concepts clearly presented, and practice problems are a good blend of that evil but necessary plug-and-chug grinding, physical modeling, and extended special cases that require ingenuity and dedication. I didn't get through the entire book, instead focusing on the second order ODEs, from the Method of Undetermined Coefficients to Variation of Parameters to Reduction or Order, and then covering some physical models using second order ODEs, like spring systems, pendulums, chains, beams, RLC circuits, and rotational systems. My goal is to solve and understand every practice problem of the book by the end of this summer...good luck to me.
June 13, 2016
This book is actually incredible. I've never seen a math book that explained things so clearly, especially for are more difficult subject such as this. Without this book there is no way I would have passed my Differential Equations class, as they book selected for that class only had one use and that was as kindling to start a fire, despite it's $150 price. The Funny thing is that this book cost $12, but the authors of the $150 book where so cheap that they left out example to save paper or referred to things talked about 4 chapters ago instead of explaining wha they where talking about.
I highly recommend this book.
I highly recommend this book.
July 22, 2015
This book answered some questions I had about differential equations. It is quite extensive so that like many mathematical texts or papers I can't claim to have tested all the examples or theorems.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews