An Introduction to Inequalities

Anneli Lax New Mathematical Library

by Edwin F. Beckenbach, Richard Bellman

Most people, when they think of mathematics, think first of numbers and equations – this number (x) = that number (y). But professional mathematicians, in dealing with quantities that can be ordered according to their size, often are more interested in unequal magnitudes than in magnitudes that are equal. This book provides an introduction to the fascinating world of inequalities, beginning with a systematic relation of the relation “greater than” and the meaning of “absolute values” of numbers, and ending with descriptions of some unusual geometries. In the course of the book, the reader will encounter some of the most famous inequalities in mathematics. (from the back cover)

Genres: Mathematics

133 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1961

About the author

Edwin Ford Beckenbach

Reviews

[Esraa Gibreen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish I'd read it before studying real and functional analysis courses.

[Bojan Tunguz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very good and well written introductory math book, presented at the high-school or the early college level. The highest prerequisite in terms of math background knowledge is a good familiarity with algebra. Many introductory math texts suffer from the lack of clarity or from relaying too much on the background that is not covered in the book, but this slim volume is fairly self-contained and covers all the material that is used in the problems. The problems are interesting and well formulated. The solutions at the end of the book are informative, but could have been longer. They are more of a hints than full-fledged solutions, but for the most part this is more than sufficient. The book is useful for anyone who wants to learn about the most important inequalities for the first time or brush up on his/her knowledge. It is also a good exercise book for any math enthusiast.