A team of Czech applied mathematicians, all experts in their own fields, have combined to produce this unique survey of applicable mathematics. Czechoslovakia is a country where mathematicians work in close association with engineers and scientists, and it is with the needs of such workers in mind that the authors have written his book; while the mathematics is always sound, accurate and comprehensive, it is the applications of the theory that have at all times been in the forefront of the writers' minds. All proofs, which in general only interest mathematicians, have been omitted, but every theorem or formula is carefully and precisely stated, so that a nonmathematician knows exactly when and under what circumstances it can be used.
An engineer or scientist – or social scientist – who needs to use mathematics at any level will find virtually all his requirements met in this book, whether he wants merely to check a half-remembered formula or whether he is interested in surveying a whole branch of mathematics. It contains the equivalent of a small library of specialized reference books, compressed into one volume by the expertise and skill of its authors. Even professional mathematicians will find it a compilation of immense value because of the range it covers; its thirty-five chapters range from algebra through the calculus, modern analysis, probability, and statistics. There are chapters on such unusual topics as nomography, functional analysis, variational calculus, and Fredholm integral equations.
This is a mine of information – the table of solutions of differential equations, for instance, is the most complete ever published in English; it is a book for any user of mathematics to keep, not on his bookshelves but within arm's length on his desk.
The complete English translation has been edited by staff of the Mathematics Department of the University of Surrey.