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I am an experienced software developer, want to refresh discrete math back in uni.

I am looking for a book that is easy to read, contains more examples, and exercises and solutions for self study beginner.

There are two books below that are recommended by others. Which one should I pick:

Below are their books in uk, one of which I will buy based on the US edition.

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    $\begingroup$ I don't know much about these types of courses, but isn't Knuth et al.'s Concrete Mathematics considered the standard text? $\endgroup$
    – Jack M
    May 15, 2014 at 22:29
  • $\begingroup$ Thanks. I knew that. Maybe I am wrong. But others said, it is a bit old and part of it is very advanced, not for beginner. $\endgroup$
    – Pingpong
    May 15, 2014 at 22:38

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I took Discrete in the fall and we used that Susanna Epp's Discrete Mathematics with Applications which I found to be pretty good and had a lot of examples. It's not easy reading though.

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  • $\begingroup$ Thanks. Could you please tell me a bit more about the book, e.g. is the author's writing easy to read, are those examples helping understanding, what about the exercises for each chapter? Will those exercises be enough for self study considering the an additional solution book. Do you know why Suanna's book is used for your course over Kenneth's if applicable. $\endgroup$
    – Pingpong
    May 15, 2014 at 22:43
  • $\begingroup$ I liked the writing and how it is set up. Its like 1000 pages, and much of that are examples and problems. I found it to be a bit tough for a beginner depending on the topic and your math background, but it was my first CS class so perhaps that's normal. I'm not sure why it was chosen. $\endgroup$
    – Terry Schmidt
    May 15, 2014 at 22:49
  • $\begingroup$ Thanks. Did you buy its Student Solution book? $\endgroup$
    – Pingpong
    May 15, 2014 at 23:01
  • $\begingroup$ I didn't but I can imagine it being useful if you can't follow the examples, but also I found that when I had a question people welcomed me asking it on this site. :) $\endgroup$
    – Terry Schmidt
    May 15, 2014 at 23:07
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I am actually using Susanna Epps book right now. Our professor made us read the Schuams Outline of Discrete Math but I just couldn't engage with the content of that book, so i decided to read Susanne Epp's book instead.

I also rented a copy of Grimaldi's Discrete Math textbook. My conclusion is this, Susanna Epp's textbook is perfect for those beginning in Discrete Math. It is filled with examples. The practice problems in each section have detailed answers that allow you to grasp the problem solving mechanisms behind each problem. I also believe that the ordering of the chapter flows really smoothly. I would definitely self-study with Susanna Epp's book because it is well written and self-contained. She also does not assume that the reader knows any discrete math.

After reading Epp's book, I would recommend getting Grimaldi's discrete math textbook. It covers a lot more advanced topics and it has interesting and challenging problems. My course of action is to finish Epp's book and then reading the later chapters of Grimaldi's book.

Check samples for the books you are interested and see which text provides a level of clarity that you can understand.

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I used Rosen when I took discrete mathematics in college. It's very readable and well-organized.

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I like Lehman, Leighton and Meyer's "Mathematics for Computer Science" a lot. It is lecture notes, updated roughly once a year in fall (modify the URL in the obvious way). Very thorough (aimed at Computer Science applications, obviously), it covers much of the whole range of discrete math and related areas. Not exactly a one-semester course. Nice examples, clear explanations. Might need to complement it with the exams and homework for this (or some other) course. Best of all, can't beat the price.

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  • $\begingroup$ Thanks. I liked that too. But there is no exercise solutions publicly available. Even I want to buy it. $\endgroup$
    – Pingpong
    May 15, 2014 at 22:48

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