Rating: 
Summary: Complete, thorough...
Review: Quote from a previous review: Instead of touching on new technologies, such as AI, graphics, or anything else remotely relevant to today's demands on programmers and designers, this book, faithful to its MIT roots, gives a pompous, eggheaded distortion to the field of computers as a whole. Its focus is mainly on such trivialities as algorithm analysis, offering about 10 pages of proofs for each simple assertion. The points that the authors hope to make have no relevance whatsoever in a world in which processor power, not meticulous code optimization, reigns. ---------- I've had Cormen (one of the authors) as a professor in class, and my algorithms class uses this book, so admittedly my view might be a bit biased. But if you read the above (quoted) review, you might have gotten the wrong impression about this book. Cormen et. al. *intentionally* left "AI and graphics" algorithms to other authors; this isn't the place to cover those topics enough to do them justice. And as someone who has actually read the book, each proof is *not* 10 pages long. The examples are usually quite good, and concisely (if thoroughly explained). Finally, prof. Cormen always explains to his intro CS students why the study of algorithms is important, even as computers get faster and faster: some problems, poorly implemented, just *will not* run as well on a machine of today compared to a much older machine running a better algorithm. There will *always* be a justified place for the study and analysis of algorithms. Had the previous reviewer actually had met Prof. Cormen, he wouldn't be able to write the book off with the title of "pompous" or "eggheaded" either...
Rating:
Summary: the definitive algorithms book
Review: This is the best CS book I've ever seen. Clearly written, with pseudo-code implementations for all the algorithms it describes. Its coverage is incredible, to this day whenever I have a need for an algorithm no matter in what area, first thing I do is look in CLR, and chances are it is in there.
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Summary: This book is fundimental for all people in Computer Science.
Review: I read this book in college and we used it through almost every computer science course that I took. It is great for reference and to gain a clear understanding of data structures and algorithms. Just a great book to have in your library.
Rating: 
Summary: excellent book. a must for every software engineer.
Review: this book was used in course for my algo course in IIT-K. this book has a nice and slow pace with lots of exercise at the end. highly recommended. chapter on computational complexity is not properly dealt with. rest of it is excellent.
Rating: 
Summary: O.K. Book
Review: This book is ok if you just want to implement the stuff. also it gives an idea of newer topics (like amortized analysis etc.) But one flaw of this book is that it lacks rigor---but perhaps that's got to do with the title---Introduction to Algos. Still a book whose code i've seen in use in the STL (silicon graphics version)
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Summary: a good book but lack of example and hard to read
Review: I was using this book for my algorithm class and found it quite usefull. My only complaint is that this book doesn't have clear example. Most examples were pseudocodes. I prefer to see graphical examples to understand the algorithm concept better.
Rating:
Summary: Without Equal.
Review: This is *the* book on algorithms -- exhaustive and rigorous. If you're not up for straining your mind once in a while, you'll have a hard time of it; this is the textbook used in MIT's 6.046, and students at the Institvte are famed for their tolerance for ridiculous complexity. Rivest is the "R" in "RSA Encryption" and Cormen and Leiserson are deities of algorithmland, so you know this is one of the true authorities. Be forewarned, however, that this is not a particularly accessible book for non-theoretical CS students. Mathematical foundation should be VERY solid.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent course and reference book
Review: Covering all important and interesting topics in computer science, this book can be used as a reference book by computer scientists as well as a course book for undergraduate and graduate level algorithms courses. I advise all computer scientists to have this book.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing Text
Review: Cormen writes with amazing style and grace, his examples are coherent and strong. Cormen is considered a god-like figure in the study of algorithms and this book shows it. A must-buy, this book has remained useful for at least the four years I've owned it.
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Summary: Too hard?
Review: Are you confused by 'recursion'? Do you think NP stands for "Not Polynomial"? Well, then this is probably not the book for you. It's an algorithms text at the intermediate level (for beginners, use Sedgewick's "Algorithms in C++" series; for advanced go to Knuth or Flajolet/Sedgewick). The coverage is incredible. Of course I have things I wish were in there in places of others, but I won't complain. Reading the book strengthens the mind; carrying the book strengthens the body. Paying for the book, well, that's what credit cards were made for.
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