Why Read This Book?

Still another book on finite math? Why? Hasn't everything that should have been said been said? No, I would argue. The shortcoming that troubles me most about the books I am familiar with is their failure to provide perspective on what math technique and the use of technology can do for us and its limitations. This can only be addressed through vigorous and sustained use of the mathematical modeling perspective, which is a hallmark of this book's exposition.

A point continually stressed is that reaching a mathematical answer to a problem is not the end of the story. It is in a sense the end of a chapter, but the next chapter is concerned with questions about whether and how the mathematical answer should be implemented. Also addressed is the question of what to consider when more than one answer is obtained for a problem.