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Mathematical Analysis for Engineers

Bernard Dacorogna and Chiara Tanteri
Publisher: 
Imperial College Press
Publication Date: 
2012
Number of Pages: 
359
Format: 
Hardcover
Price: 
58.00
ISBN: 
9781848169128
Category: 
Textbook
[Reviewed by
Allen Stenger
, on
04/18/2013
]

This is less a textbook than a workbook. It gives a few definitions, theorems, and a lot of worked examples — but no proofs. It seems to be intended as a companion to an advanced calculus course. In treatment and coverage it is similar to volumes in the Schaum’s Outlines series. It is a recent translation of the 2002 French-language work Analyse avancée pour ingénieurs.

The book covers vector calculus, complex variables, and Fourier analysis (including Laplace transforms). The first half of the book has brief statements of the theorems, worked examples, and many exercises. One selling point of the book is that, although no proofs are given, everything is stated carefully and rigorously. The second half of the book gives complete solutions to all the exercises. Applications are skimpy, and of a pure-math type: evaluating definite integrals, and solving differential equations without knowing where they came from. The translation is smooth, except that it consistently calls Green’s theorem “the Green theorem”. Somewhat mysteriously, the book uses the words div, grad, and curl in formulas instead of the del (nabla) symbol ∇.

A comparable book is Murray R. Spiegel’s Schaum’s Outline of Advanced Mathematics for Engineers and Scientists (McGraw-Hill, 1971). Spiegel’s book covers the same topics to the same depth, but has a much more thorough exposition on differential equations, including a lot about the special functions of mathematical physics.

Bottom line: a reasonable cookbook or reference for review and drill, but nothing special, and not competitive with the much-cheaper Schaum’s Outlines series.


Allen Stenger is a math hobbyist and retired software developer. He is webmaster and newsletter editor for the MAA Southwestern Section and is an editor of the Missouri Journal of Mathematical Sciences. His mathematical interests are number theory and classical analysis. He volunteers in his spare time at MathNerds.org, a math help site that fosters inquiry learning.

  • Vector Analysis:
    • Differential Operators of Mathematical Physics
    • Line Integrals
    • Gradient Vector Fields
    • Green Theorem
    • Surface Integrals
    • Divergence Theorem
    • Stokes Theorem
    • Appendix
  • Complex Analysis:
    • Holomorphic Functions and Cauchy–Riemann Equations
    • Complex Integration
    • Laurent Series
    • Residue Theorem and Applications
    • Conformal Mapping
  • Fourier Analysis:
    • Fourier Series
    • Fourier Transform
    • Laplace Transform
    • Applications to Ordinary Differential Equations
    • Applications to Partial Differential Equations
  • Solutions to the Exercises:
    • Differential Operators of Mathematical Physics
    • Line Integrals
    • Gradient Vector Fields
    • Green Theorem
    • Surface Integrals
    • Divergence Theorem
    • Stokes Theorem
    • Holomorphic Functions and Cauchy–Riemann Equations
    • Complex Integration
    • Laurent Series
    • Residue Theorem and Applications
    • Conformal Mapping
    • Fourier Series
    • Fourier Transform
    • Laplace Transform
    • Applications to Ordinary Differential Equations
    • Applications to Partial Differential Equations