Good Book On Combinatorics

Question

What is your recommendation for an in-depth introductory combinatoric book? A book that doesn't just tell you about the multiplication principle, but rather shows the whole logic behind the questions with full proofs. The book should be for a first-year-student in college. Do you know a good book on the subject?

Thanks.

Thanks for asking this question. It really help me out narrow my search in good introductory Combinatoric books. I'd like to add two other books: How To Prove It by Velleman and How to Solve it! by Polya both are valuable books that could help undergrads taking upper division subjects like Combinatorics. — TwilightSparkleTheGeek, Jan 12 '15 at 22:20
Victor Bryant is also good choice. Lots of sum as well as theory. — , Dec 27 '20 at 12:06
Does this answer your question? Good resources (book or otherwise) to learn/study basic Combinatorics — , Jul 03 '23 at 05:28

score 49 · Answer 1 · edited Mar 23 '17 at 10:24

My personal favorites are the following:

Introduction to Combinatorial analysis [Riordan]
Concrete Mathematics [Graham, Knuth, Patashnik]
Enumerative Combinatorics vol. $1$ [Richard Stanley]

(is not always that introductory, but for those who like counting, it is a must have)

If you want really easy, but still interesting books, you might like Brualdi's book (though apparently, that book has many mistakes). Also interesting might be some chapters from Feller's book on Probability (volume $1$).

score 29 · Answer 2 · 2012-12-12T03:25:10.490

29

Try Principles and Techniques in Combinatorics by Chen Chuan Chong and Koh Khee Meng or Combinatorics by Peter Cameron. The latter is more advanced and has more topics.

edited Dec 12 '12 at 03:25

answered Dec 22 '10 at 19:09

score 25 · Answer 3 · answered Dec 22 '10 at 16:20

25

If the student's leaning towards computer science at all, I'd recommend Knuth et. al.'s Concrete Mathematics. It's full of solid math and has the aim of building mathematical tools for CS. Other than that, a newer addition that looks promising is Russell Merris's "Combinatorics, 2nd ed." It gives a pretty broad introduction while also giving in-depth work and examples.

answered Dec 22 '10 at 16:20

3

It is unfortunate that Russell Merris's book is very expensive. I will be avoiding that publisher. – Alec Teal Dec 15 '13 at 21:01

score 20 · Answer 4 · answered Mar 17 '11 at 05:35

This is not precisely what you want, but you could look at "Generatingfunctionology". The second edition is free, and can be downloaded here http://www.math.upenn.edu/~wilf/DownldGF.html

The book is about generating functions, which are helpful in combinatorial arguments.

score 19 · Answer 5 · edited Nov 15 '11 at 07:24

19

A good suggestion is Combinatorial Problems and Exercises by László Lovász.

edited Nov 15 '11 at 07:24

Srivatsan

26,311

answered Dec 22 '10 at 17:07

minasteris

411

8

This is not a book for someone without prior knowledge. It's good as a review book (after learning the material once in a standard fashion). – Gadi A Nov 15 '11 at 12:22
2

This is hardly an introductory book. – Null_Space Feb 01 '21 at 02:37

score 18 · Answer 6 · answered Dec 23 '10 at 18:51

18

I really like "A Course in Enumeration" by Martin Aigner.

answered Dec 23 '10 at 18:51

PeterR

835

1

Do you have a solution set for this book? I really want to dig in it, but the uncertainty to check my answers has deterred me for picking up seriously. As I am an alone student (physicist in fact), I need to check my answers to see if I misunderstood a topic. – user2820579 Oct 18 '16 at 21:45

AnonymousCoward · Answer 7 · 2010-12-22T16:44:33.697

I had my first intro graph theory and combinatorics class last semester. The book we were using was pretty terrible so I looked around and found a copy of Combinatorics and Graph Theory by Harris et. al. and I really enjoyed it. The book contains a lot of topics and the explanations are very to the point. I especially liked the sections on Ramsey numbers.

The questions are all to the point and illustrate some important concept which is also nice. For example in the section on the happy ending problem the exercises reconstruct several historical proofs and introduce you to other problems like the empty polygon problem.

Here is a very positive review I read recently: http://www.maa.org/reviews/combinatoricsgraphs.html

Edit: I'm not sure if this book is appropriate for your situation specifically, but I highly recommend it none the less.

I guess I should add, since I just noticed you are a first year, that this book, as well as Concrete Mathematics, will require a certain level of mathematical maturity, especially if you plan to study them by yourself. — AnonymousCoward, Dec 22 '10 at 16:35

score 16 · Answer 8 · answered Nov 15 '11 at 12:15

I’m fond of Miklós Bóna, Introduction to Enumerative Combinatorics; it’s extremely well written and doesn’t require a lot of background. Of the books that have already been mentioned, I like Graham, Knuth, & Patashnik, Concrete Mathematics, isn’t precisely a book on combinatorics, but it offers an excellent treatment of many combinatorial tools; it probably requires a little more mathematical maturity than the Bóna. A good next step beyond the relatively elementary level is Wilf, generatingfunctionology. Tucker, Applied Combinatorics, is very elementary but gives a decent taste of a very wide range of combinatorial topics.

score 15 · Answer 9 · answered Mar 17 '11 at 04:25

15

I'm quite fond of Benjamin and Quinn's Proofs that Really Count: The Art of Combinatorial Proof.

answered Mar 17 '11 at 04:25

JSchlather

15,427

score 9 · Answer 10 · answered Mar 31 '11 at 07:45

9

Not already mentionned (oldie but goodie):

A course in Combinatorics by van Lint and Wilson (book cover with card suits).

A lot of small chapters, some challenging concepts, basic graph, coding and design theory.

answered Mar 31 '11 at 07:45

ogerard

1,583

score 8 · Answer 11 · answered Mar 17 '11 at 00:34

8

Something that often gets ignored is Schaum's Outlines: Combinatorics by V. K. Balakrishnan. Lots of small examples that are manageable by a beginner, shows you 'how to do it' in a straightforward manner.

answered Mar 17 '11 at 00:34

Mitch

8,591

Marko Amnell · Answer 12 · 2011-03-16T23:35:20.130

7

A Path to Combinatorics for Undergraduates, by Titu Adreescu and Zuming Feng introduces the subject by presenting a large number of problems (many from Olympiads and other competitions), and covers a broad range of methods and results.

edited Mar 16 '11 at 23:35

answered Dec 22 '10 at 19:22

Marko Amnell

759

score 7 · Answer 13 · answered Dec 23 '10 at 17:54

7

There are some excellent combinatorics books which also look at the applicability of combinatorics both within mathematics and outside of mathematics:

a. Applied Combinatorics by Fred Roberts

b. Applied Combinatorics by Alan Tucker

answered Dec 23 '10 at 17:54

Joseph Malkevitch

5,035

score 4 · Answer 14 · answered Apr 21 '11 at 14:01

4

Try also Notes on Introductory Combinatorics by Polya,Tarjan, and Woods. An earlier version is freely available online.

answered Apr 21 '11 at 14:01

lhf

216,483

score 3 · Answer 15 · answered Jul 08 '16 at 18:57

3

Alan Tucker's book is rather unreadable. I'd avoid it. Nick Loehr's Bijective Combinatorics text is much more thorough, and it reads like someone is explaining mathematics to you. It mixes rigor and approachability quite well.

answered Jul 08 '16 at 18:57

ml0105

14,674

score 3 · Answer 16 · answered Apr 21 '11 at 16:16

Applied Combinatorics by Alan Tucker is a good one. It's short, not hard to follow, a lot of problems to work through, and it's split into two sections: graph theory in section 1, and combinatorics (generating functions, counting techniques, etc) in section 2.

score 2 · Answer 17 · answered Aug 03 '15 at 11:12

2

A very good introduction to the subject is Combinatorics: an introduction By Faticoni

answered Aug 03 '15 at 11:12

Bhaskar Vashishth

11,279

score 2 · Answer 18 · answered Jan 28 '16 at 12:45

In my opinion, Cohen's Basic Techniques of Combinatorial Theory is a good introduction for who first learning about the subject. If you want to see many outstanding ideas, I suggest Proofs that Really Count by Benjamin/Quinn. For complete studies, Stanley's famous 2 volumes is a good choice

score 2 · Answer 19 · edited Jul 08 '16 at 14:45

2

1.Introduction to combinatorics by alan slomson/Applied combinatorics by alan tucker.

2.Principles and techniques in combinatorics/A path to combinatorics for undergraduates.

3.Combinatorial mathematics by vilenkin.It has problems from USSR math OLYMPIAD

edited Jul 08 '16 at 14:45

Qwerty

6,165

answered May 02 '16 at 19:26

user336016

1

score 2 · Answer 20 · answered Aug 31 '22 at 13:01

2

Another old but superb book on elementary combinatorics is Choice and Chance by W.A. Whitworth, fifth edition, reprinted by Hafner Publishing Company, New York, 1965. The companion volume by the same author DCC exercises, reprinted New York, 1945, contains 700 problems with complete solutions.

answered Aug 31 '22 at 13:01

utobi

1,232

1

Thanks for mentioning Whitworth's book. Just noticed that this book is also recommended by Feller on page 26 of his famous book: W. Feller, An Introduction to Probability Theory and Its Applications, Vol. 1, 3rd Ed. – Robertas Vilkas Jul 02 '23 at 18:33

score 1 · Answer 21 · edited Jul 06 '23 at 02:22

1

One of my favourite books on Combinatorics is "Introductory Combinatorics" by Richard A. Brualdi. Here you can get a pdf copy. It covers a good introductory concept on the field of Combinatorics, it provides hints and answers of the exercises. Thank you.

edited Jul 06 '23 at 02:22

Gonçalo

9,312

answered Jul 06 '23 at 02:13

Albert Wiles

1

score 0 · Answer 22 · answered Aug 04 '22 at 21:34

I'm surprised no one has mentioned S. Lando's "Lectures on Generating Functions". It's a great book that grew out of freshman seminars at the Independent University of Moscow. Granted, the freshmen at IUM are much more advanced than usual, but the book itself is written in a lucid manner and has great problems to think about. Literally a 10/10 choice for a first introduction to combinatorics.

Good Book On Combinatorics

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