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Graph Theory with Applications to Engineering and Computer Science

Narsingh Deo
Publisher: 
Dover Publications
Publication Date: 
2016
Number of Pages: 
496
Format: 
Paperback
Price: 
29.95
ISBN: 
9780486807935
Category: 
Textbook
BLL Rating: 

The Basic Library List Committee suggests that undergraduate mathematics libraries consider this book for acquisition.

[Reviewed by
Robert W. Hayden
, on
11/16/2016
]

Because it is outstandingly useful for applications, this book should be on the shelf of anyone teaching a course in graph theory to non-mathematicians or a unit on graphs in a discrete mathematics course. It should also be on reserve in the library or suggested reading for students whenever it is not the main text in those situations.

The title is accurate and, as it suggests, this book presents graph theory with an eye to its practical applications. It begins with basic material on graphs in general. Here the “applications” tend to be to games and the like. That does make them accessible to a wide audience, but readers with serious problems to solve may grow impatient. We then move to specific types of graphs, such as trees and planar graphs. An algebraic interlude relates graphs to vector spaces and matrices, the latter because computer manipulation often depends on representing a graph as a matrix. Then we have more on types of graphs and general classes of applications, followed by a chapter that discusses computer solution of many applications of graph theory. Specific algorithms are provided in a number of cases, usually presented as flow charts, and often accompanied by tested Fortran code. These make excellent case studies in algorithm design. Finally there are chapters on specific areas of application, such as switching and coding theory, network analysis, and operations research. Each chapter has an annotated bibliography, and there is a four page author index at the end of the book, as well as an eleven page subject index.

Your reviewer is a former engineer and found this book to be a model of communicating mathematics to those interested in its applications, i.e., nearly all of our undergraduate students. The writing is clear, friendly, and touched with humor. Following the proofs will require some mathematical maturity, but those take up a small amount of page space, and following them is not required to get a basic idea of the results. (For those who do read the proofs, they are constructive whenever possible.) Setting aside the proofs, any undergraduate in a field where the content is applied can be expected to find this book readable. In particular, such readers will find this book an excellent guide to matching the mathematics to a specific application. An engineer could browse this book and identify what topics in graph theory might apply to the problem at hand, and if the book itself does not tell them all they need to know, the extensive bibliographic support will be there to help.

One particular problem users have in applying what is in a mathematics textbook to their field is the differences in terminology. Deo provides lists of alternative terminology for key concepts, usually with clues as to which areas use which names. This is just one example among many of the ways in which the author is attuned to the needs of his audience.

What little one could say in criticism of the work stems from its being a reprint of a book nearly 40 years old. While much has happened in graph theory during that time, this book can still be extremely useful in conveying basic ideas and terminology so that a reader would know what terms to search for to get more recent results.


After a few years in industry, Robert W. Hayden (bob@statland.org) taught mathematics at colleges and universities for 32 years and statistics for 20 years. In 2005 he retired from full-time classroom work. He now teaches statistics online at statistics.com and does summer workshops for high school teachers of Advanced Placement Statistics. He contributed the chapter on evaluating introductory statistics textbooks to the MAA's Teaching Statistics.

The table of contents is not available.