The Manga Guide to Linear Algebra Paperback – Illustrated, May 1, 2012

The preface of this book states that it is "meant as a complement to other, more comprehensive literature, not as a substitute." It would of course be wise of me to agree with this statement, but I'm tempted not to. I have my reasons.I took Linear Algebra in college as part of my Computer Science curriculum. Having persisted through three semesters of Calculus by will power alone, and having heard horror stories about Linear Algebra, I duly invested the effort required to get a decent grade. With that hurdle behind me, thus completing my mathematics requirements, I focused the rest of my college thoughts exclusively on computers until the last residual matrix reduced to null in the outer reaches of my mind space. I was free!But then the unexpected happened. Years later, firmly settled into my minimal-math computing career, an intermittent musing continued to flounder about in the back of my brain. "What is Linear Algebra? Why don't I feel like I learned anything?" I eventually realized that my course's extraordinary emphasis on crunching numbers, solving simplistic problems, and working out proofs had left a giant void in my conceptual understanding of the topic. If somebody had asked me at that time what Linear Algebra is and what it's good for, my response would have been a face slowly contorting into frustration.When I stumbled upon The Manga Guide to Linear Algebra, I just knew I had to read it. In addition to the unabated glee that came from broadcasting such a ridiculous selection to my Goodreads comrades, I thought, "Maybe these Japanese cartoons can teach me what the university failed to?" If I learned a little bit about martial arts and love in the process, so be it.This book exceeded my expectations. It's absurd and unassuming, and these two things combine to make it impossible to put down. I was knee deep in matrices before the "What the heck am I reading?" factor wore off. And to my delight, I found myself understanding matrix and vector algebra in a more intuitive way thanks to the book's highly visual presentation of darn near everything.It's this latter point that makes the book so effective. It's a comic book about math. There are no rules. Whatever is proper in a math textbook - whether it's visual consistency, formal language, or being rigidly organized, compartmentalized, and sterilized - this is of no concern to Misa as she works around Reiji's karate schedule to tutor him on eigenvectors. There's no pressure for it to conform to comic book conventions, either. Every chapter concludes with several pages of math, sans the comic flair.While this is not a substitute to "comprehensive literature," it may in fact be good enough to get the job done. The proof is in the purin. I've recently ventured into the 3D video game programming landscape, and I'm using vector and matrix math concepts to solve some fairly sophisticated problems of my own creation, a feat that would have been virtually impossible without the intuitive understanding I gleaned from this book.So what is this book, then? To my mind, it's simply the most effective way to convey the conceptual framework of Linear Algebra. It's not a textbook. There are no homework problems. But, then again, cranking through problems with a pencil and paper won't necessarily get you any closer to understanding what it's all about. Besides, can't computers do that?

I love the Mathematics unconditionally; she makes me laugh and cry more than anyone or anything else in my life. I know that most students, myself included, have a hard time getting through a math book; sitting down and reading can be a learned habit, but actually retaining the information is another story. This book goes over all of the fundamentals of Linear, covers the how and the why (which is impressive considering how abstract Linear Algebra is), and does so following an actual storyline. Though I use this book to supplement a higher-level college course and as a quick refresh reference, it crystallized several concepts I did not even know I was unclear about. The storyline is adorable and pretty funny; the way the main character teaches the material is relatable and memorable; I am able to picture concepts or laws because of some anecdote or quip he makes. The pictures are awesome. I This book makes my soul smile. It is a fun read, a quick read, and an unbelievably educational read. I love it. The Manga Guide to Statistics is sitting here next to me waiting for me to switch to my Stats homework. I am pretty confident that all of his books are amazing and plan on ordering more. Whether it be a single book or as a series, I highly recommend The Manga Guide to....'s.

While this book is far from comprehensive, it was really quite a fun way to study a new subject and get the basics.

I love this book! You may, ... or may not.This is a summary. It is not rigorous (no proofs) and it is not a textbook (no proofs and no homework). The book works best as a supplement to something else, i.e., as a supplement to a more formal book or class. I found the book easy to read and easy to understand.I bought this book in desperation after starting (but not finishing) the MIT OpenCourseWare linear algebra class (way too hard and too confusing) and the Kahn Academy class (excellent and understandable presentation, but way too detailed and too "proofy", probably 100 hours of videos). The main point is that the material presented in the two classes is also presented in this book. Therefore, I think this is the "real deal" for linear algebra, but in a very brief summary. In other words, I think the book is written by a "real" mathematician.The strange thing is that half the book is a straight-forward summary of linear algebra and half the book is a cartoon (Manga) romance/karate story. I skimmed the romance/karate part. I assume the presence of the romance/karate in this book is "motivation. In all of math, and in linear algebra especially, motivation is important. If the romance/karate motivates you, good. However, the romance/karate and the math are clearly separated, so there is no confusion. You can easily skip the romance/karate part.After reading this book, I feel I am in a much better position to go back to the more formal classes. The book really helped me.

Came across this title at our public library and thought it was so adorable that, why not buy it for my 17 y/o daughter? It was affordable, and it had been years since Algebra 2, I figured, it might make a good supplement; I'm not a maths person and I just wanted an excuse to buy the book.My daughter was not impressed. "It's just algebra with matrices, Mom."By the time it arrived she had made it 3 lessons into MIT Open courseware (our community college does not offer linear algebra) and felt no need at all for the book, but she thumbed through it, and actually found it interesting enough to start reading. She quickly found it so intriguing and great for conceptualizing that she ended up taking a time-out from the course so as to finish the book. She strongly endorses it.I suspect that the maths student who would enjoy this book would be one who is well on her way and is just looking for a supplement, but if one is hitting up against the ceiling, this comic book probably won't help.