I agree with all that was said by the other reviews here but add one important point. The physical layout, (typeface, drawings, whitespace etc.) of this book is brilliantly done. This is often overlooked by the producers of technical works who do it "on the cheap", but it is vital if one is to use the book day after day, as I have had to.While the subject matter is not easy, this is an excellent book to motivate one to get stuck into the underlying mathematics. The reward is a little insight into the often beatiful theorems and practical results found in this stimulating field of study.