Durham Maths Reading List PDF copies
The reading list for maths is pretty long and the cost builds up even buying all the books second hand. Since there are so few copies in the library and gaining access to them can't be guaranteed I'm wondering if anyone has any PDF copies of textbooks they could send me?
Original post by Bermuda
The reading list for maths is pretty long and the cost builds up even buying all the books second hand. Since there are so few copies in the library and gaining access to them can't be guaranteed I'm wondering if anyone has any PDF copies of textbooks they could send me?
Original post by Bermuda
The reading list for maths is pretty long and the cost builds up even buying all the books second hand. Since there are so few copies in the library and gaining access to them can't be guaranteed I'm wondering if anyone has any PDF copies of textbooks they could send me?
Hi I've just finished my first year of maths at Durham. Unfortunately, I do not have any PDF/online copies of the books but I do have a comment regarding the lecture notes and the reading list.
The lecture notes in the maths department a renowned for the being the best of any department so (nearly!) all the content you will be examined on are contained in the lecture notes. In this respect, you can just use the lecture notes and get a first - in fact a fair few people do this. A lot of lecturers use the same lecture notes each year and then cover some extra content in lectures so it is important to go to the lectures but >90% of the examinable content is in the lecture notes. The first year calculus lecture notes are here if you want to look at them: http://www.maths.dur.ac.uk/~dma0pms/calc/notes.pdf There are 120 odd pages of notes on the calculus course here for one term's worth of lectures for one module so it's pretty in depth.
A lot of the lecture courses cherry pick content from several books so, in most cases, no single book will cover the course content in its entirety. Many regard the reading list as providing alternative explanation if you do not understand something in the lectures/notes and to learn extra content. In my college I do not know of anyone who learnt an entire course from a book. Furthermore, there are lots of online resources such as youtube and MIT notes that can help also.
As you have said there are very few books across the libraries in Durham. And particularly early on there is a mad panic after the first lecture to get all the books on the reading list but it subsides as people become less desperate. I had a few books on the reading lists (or at least relevant books) in my first year - the most useful one was Spivak's Calculus but even then its use was only supplementary. Your best shout is probably asking the lecturer which book is best for the module when you arrive in Durham about which single book is best for the course. I can point at some of the more useful books but some of it comes down to personal preference. College libraries can have copies but are a bit hit and miss depending on the college.
Hope this helps
Original post by Cryptokyo
Hi I've just finished my first year of maths at Durham. Unfortunately, I do not have any PDF/online copies of the books but I do have a comment regarding the lecture notes and the reading list.
The lecture notes in the maths department a renowned for the being the best of any department so (nearly!) all the content you will be examined on are contained in the lecture notes. In this respect, you can just use the lecture notes and get a first - in fact a fair few people do this. A lot of lecturers use the same lecture notes each year and then cover some extra content in lectures so it is important to go to the lectures but >90% of the examinable content is in the lecture notes. The first year calculus lecture notes are here if you want to look at them: http://www.maths.dur.ac.uk/~dma0pms/calc/notes.pdf There are 120 odd pages of notes on the calculus course here for one term's worth of lectures for one module so it's pretty in depth.
A lot of the lecture courses cherry pick content from several books so, in most cases, no single book will cover the course content in its entirety. Many regard the reading list as providing alternative explanation if you do not understand something in the lectures/notes and to learn extra content. In my college I do not know of anyone who learnt an entire course from a book. Furthermore, there are lots of online resources such as youtube and MIT notes that can help also.
As you have said there are very few books across the libraries in Durham. And particularly early on there is a mad panic after the first lecture to get all the books on the reading list but it subsides as people become less desperate. I had a few books on the reading lists (or at least relevant books) in my first year - the most useful one was Spivak's Calculus but even then its use was only supplementary. Your best shout is probably asking the lecturer which book is best for the module when you arrive in Durham about which single book is best for the course. I can point at some of the more useful books but some of it comes down to personal preference. College libraries can have copies but are a bit hit and miss depending on the college.
Hope this helps
The lecture notes in the maths department a renowned for the being the best of any department so (nearly!) all the content you will be examined on are contained in the lecture notes. In this respect, you can just use the lecture notes and get a first - in fact a fair few people do this. A lot of lecturers use the same lecture notes each year and then cover some extra content in lectures so it is important to go to the lectures but >90% of the examinable content is in the lecture notes. The first year calculus lecture notes are here if you want to look at them: http://www.maths.dur.ac.uk/~dma0pms/calc/notes.pdf There are 120 odd pages of notes on the calculus course here for one term's worth of lectures for one module so it's pretty in depth.
A lot of the lecture courses cherry pick content from several books so, in most cases, no single book will cover the course content in its entirety. Many regard the reading list as providing alternative explanation if you do not understand something in the lectures/notes and to learn extra content. In my college I do not know of anyone who learnt an entire course from a book. Furthermore, there are lots of online resources such as youtube and MIT notes that can help also.
As you have said there are very few books across the libraries in Durham. And particularly early on there is a mad panic after the first lecture to get all the books on the reading list but it subsides as people become less desperate. I had a few books on the reading lists (or at least relevant books) in my first year - the most useful one was Spivak's Calculus but even then its use was only supplementary. Your best shout is probably asking the lecturer which book is best for the module when you arrive in Durham about which single book is best for the course. I can point at some of the more useful books but some of it comes down to personal preference. College libraries can have copies but are a bit hit and miss depending on the college.
Hope this helps
This was super helpful; thank you so much! I'd definitely appreciate you pointing out more useful books too
Original post by Bermuda
This was super helpful; thank you so much! I'd definitely appreciate you pointing out more useful books too
I've done some research into online resources that can only be accessed once you have a university login and there are some useful texts! So I've compiled a mini-list of potentially useful books that can be accessed with a uni login. But there are many more that can be found. A lot of the books in the list probably aren't on the reading lists but cover all the same content.
The one book I would recommend buying for a reading list is Calculus by M. Spivak. It covers most of the Analysis course and covers some topics on the Calculus and Dynamics courses. It turns out the other books I would have recommended have online versions.
Online resources
Format is: Title | Author | Relevant modules | My comment
I will confess that I have never actually fully read nearly all of these but have had a quick browse through and given my opinion on the text. They are many more books but these are potential useful ones that I have found. Linear Algebra does seem to lack books which is a bit of a bummer. But, in my opinion, you don't really need books for Discrete Mathematics and Programming & Dynamics so I have omitted these from the list.
Understanding Calculus | H.S Bear | Calculus (and a bit of Analysis) | At a glance it covers nearly all of the calculus course. However, it seems to perhaps tackle it at a slightly simpler level but would be good book to help with the lectures!
An Elementary Course of Infinitesimal Calculus | H. Lamb | Calculus and Analysis | An old school text written yonks ago but covers a lot of the maths in the analysis and calculus courses. But it seems to differ a fair bit in style to the lectures and takes a geometric approach.
An Analytical Calculus Volumes 1-4 | E. A. Maxwell | Calculus | Another old school but appears to cover all anyone would ever need to know to pass the calculus course (apart from Fourier series).
A course of pure mathematics | G.H. Hardy | Analysis | A text by a legendary mathematician covering nearly all the analysis course and with lots of extra bonuses. Looks like a good read if you're keen.
Analysis | R. Beals | Analysis | If you look at the first 5 chapters this seems to be a useful resources
Lectures on Real Analysis | F. Larusson | Analysis | I have read this book and it was actually very useful!
A Course in Mathematical Analysis | D.J.H Garling | Analysis | A modern text in which chapters 1-7 cover most of the analysis course. Looks like a very good book!
How to think like a mathematician | K. Houston | All | A very useful resource on how to actually write and do maths. I have read some of this one.
A First Course in Linear Algebra | A.G. Hamilton | Linear Algebra | Seems to cover most of the first term content. Perhaps a bit easy but nevertheless a good introduction.
Understanding Probability | H. Tijm's | Probability | Seems to cover the entire course at an appropriate level.
Elementary Probability | D. Stirzaker | Probability | Chapters 1-8 seem very useful and cover the course.
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