Product Description

Graph Theory has recently emerged as a subject in its own right, as well as being an important mathematical tool in such diverse subjects as operational research, chemistry, sociology and genetics. This book provides a comprehensive introduction to the subject.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #252582 in Books
• Published on: 1996-03-05
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 184 pages

From the Back Cover
Graph Theory has recently emerged as a subject in its own right, as well as being an important mathematical tool in such diverse subjects as operational research, chemistry, sociology and genetics. Robin Wilson's book has been widely used as a text for undergraduate courses in mathematics, computer science and economics, and as a readable introduction to the subject for non-mathematicians.
The opening chapters provide a basic foundation course, containing such topics as trees, algorithms, Eulerian and Hamiltonian graphs, planar graphs and colouring, with special reference to the four-colour theorem. Following these, there are two chapters on directed graphs and transversal theory, relating these areas to such subjects as Markov chains and network flows. Finally, there is a chapter on matroid theory, which is used to consolidate some of the material from earlier chapters.
For this new edition, the text has been completely revised, and there is a full range of exercises of varying difficulty. There is new material on algorithms, tree-searches, and graph-theoretical puzzles. Full solutions are provided for many of the exercises.
Robin Wilson is Dean and Director of Studies in the Faculty of Mathematics and Computing at the Open University.

Customer Reviews

A largely excellent short introduction
The book provides a solid introduction to graph theory for the beginner, and has the advantage of still being of use to those without a strong mathematical background.

The book covers all the basic terms and theories, and then tackles the classic problems: traveling salesmen, map colouring, who you should marry (!) etc. It provides detailed proofs for those who like that kind of thing, while still being a accessible book for those who want to skip the reasoning to move straight onto the algorithms for solving problems.

It does, however, have some down-points. The later chapters rely quite heavily on ideas introduced during the more complex exercises. Although this is pointed out by the author, it wouldn't help those wanting to dip into sections. In addition, the book flits somewhat rapidly through flow calculations and could also do with updating to include some mention of small-world theory in order to really cover all that's likely to be interesting to a beginner. Otherwise a sound introduction for a broad audience.