Introduction to Ordinary Differential Equations

Rating:
Summary: Not perfect but a very good intro to ODEs.
Review: Although this text has its problems, its an overall strong introducton to ODEs. Just exactly like another reviewer said, Some techniques (such as the operator method) are not given enough attention, while others are given a little too much attention. The applied sections can get a little flaky as well (Why the author does not use metric units is beyond me)

That being said, it is a very clearly written book. It is rarely (if ever) confusing, and the examples are generally good. His language and notation is not difficult to understand, and the plainly written style is a plus for any beginner to differential equations. I used this in my ODE class and this book alone is enough I would say. If it were a little more balanced with the methods and had a more robust applied sections I would give it five instead of four stars.

Rating:
Summary: A nice book for beginner
Review: I rated this five stars for several reasons:
1. English isn't my native language. But when studied ODE in
sophomore life, I could read this book thoroughly without
any difficulty. It's style is clear, plain.
2. For a beginner to ODE, I thought an "introduction" is most
important. This book undoubtedly provides an introduction
to ODE and more to make you aspire to study other deeper
books.
3. "An example speaks more than thouand words of
explanation."
Besides giving you complete and good explanation, the book
also has wonderful examples to them. Read the explanations
and examples, then do execises.
I found that I had more clear concepts about ODE than others.
Thank you, Mr. Ross. ^_^

Rating:
Summary: A good book on ODE
Review: I used this book when I was an undergrad student...as far as I can remember it is an easy to read book. The exercises are well chosen and helps to reinforce the basic principles quite well. In other words, whatever is discussed in that book is discussed well. However, some very important techniques in solving ODE's are left out such as the operator methods which could been easily integrated into the text. Instead, methods such as variation of parameters and undetermined coefficients are discussed at length. Furthermore, more emphasis should have been given to the Laplace transform. That is the reason why the book was given 4 stars. Overall, Ross' book is a good introduction to ODE and the interested undergraduate student would most likely enjoy reading it.