Mathematica is a software package that makes mathematics easier for scientists and engineers. For example, everyone expects computers to produce numerical solutions to differential equations, but Mathematica (and similar packages) can also produce closed-form solutions when such solutions are possible. Instead of students doing the algebraic manipulation needed to find the solution to a linear differential equation, they can type in the equation and let Mathematica do the tedious work. At one time, students carried table books with such things as integrals and Laplace transforms. With Mathematica, these table books are now as passe as slide rules. Boccara (Univ. of Illinois at Chicago) introduces Mathematica to upper-division science and engineering students. The book's first half is devoted to programming, with each technique described with a small example of use. The second half is a compendium of application examples. The range of examples is amazing, from trisecting an angle (yes, it can be done using the quadratrix), to RSA cryptosystems, to the van der Pol oscillator, to quantum potentials, and even skydiving. Professors will find these examples a godsend. The book is well written (there are some typos), with about 250 figures and a CD-ROM (in Mathematica notebook format) with all the examples. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through professionals. Upper-division Undergraduates; Graduate Students; Researchers/Faculty; Professionals/Practitioners. Reviewed by P. Cull.
