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I'm currently studying basic Combinatorics for a college course and my professor is awful (and that is being generous).

Therefore I'm looking for good resources to learn basic Combinatorics so that I can prepare for his exams and ace the course.

Thanks for any help

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    $\begingroup$ knuth's concrete mathematics is the first thing that comes to mind. It's a good book and quite an entertaining read. $\endgroup$
    – WWright
    Oct 7, 2010 at 2:31
  • $\begingroup$ Related can be tried. Good Book On Combinatorics math.stackexchange.com/questions/15201/… $\endgroup$
    – user782514
    Dec 27, 2020 at 12:07

1 Answer 1

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IMO there are two great references at two different levels. The first is Brualdi. This book is awesome. It is super clear, super straightfoward, and very readable by yourself.

The second is much more advanced, but even better! It is Aigner's GTM on the subject. This book is fairly advanced, but rarely have I seen such a beautiful exposition of any mathematical subject. His proofs are impressively elegant, and his exercises are very interesting.

I hope this helps.

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    $\begingroup$ Brualdi is decent but so error-ridden that it's annoying to read. That was 15 years ago, however... maybe he's finally cleaned it up in the latest editions. $\endgroup$
    – Fixee
    Apr 6, 2011 at 2:58
  • $\begingroup$ @Fixee there have been many many editions. $\endgroup$
    – BBischof
    Apr 6, 2011 at 16:44

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