Anyone considering this text should start by watching some of Dr. Strang's 18.06 lectures from MIT OCW, because this book channels his personality and style perfectly. Is that good? Maybe. Like his lectures, the book is full of brilliant insights and connections that occasionally meander, hinting at or touching on terms and ideas that aren't yet carefully defined. Still, I find the text's exposition clear enough despite the occasional meandering. The problem sets I'm more ambivalent about. I like that many problems try to reach beyond standard calculations and proofs to get at the conceptual thinking behind the ideas. But in their attempts to do that, they're not always clearly stated and sometimes have misleading language. The basic task of a problem is not always evident and you end up guessing at what's intended.<br><br>This text would be a terrific supplement for a course taught in a computational manner that lacks conceptual depth. And it would be great for an experienced instructor to teach from, provided that they take care with their homework assignments. For independent study or review, it's still pretty solid considering the available video lectures and recitations along with the free, complete solutions available on the book's website. Just expect that if you start working random problems from the book then you might hit some clunkers.<br><br>Overall, I admire the text - and Dr. Strang generally - very much. There are brilliant ideas and terrific problems here. I'd just like to see the problem sets tightened up a bit more.