Ill begin by noting the unintended humour on Amazons part, the Preface is signed Derek Richards, Milton Keynes, January 2001, by Derek Richards of Englands Open University. Milton Keynes, named for John Milton and John Maynard Keynes, is, of course the location of the Open University. Amazon credits the preface to Milton keynes. Not the first work that Milton Keynes has been credited with, certainly not the last. Anyway, to the book. Books on mathematical methods for physics have been lagging behind technical innovations. This book introduces Maple in the first three chapters and then uses it extensively in chapters that begin with functions, series and limit, and ranges through most topics in differential equations to dynamical systems. I would have liked to see an introduction to symmetry methods and Lie groups as they are particularly easy to implement on computer algebra systems. But then again the book is already long at 862 pages. Anyway, this book is a must have for working physicists and applied mathematicians. A good text for advanced undergraduates and beginning graduate students. Many solutions are available through the authors web site.
