From the reviews:
“This work uses a concise presentation style with an efficient problem-solution approach for selected algorithms to solve most common situations in the modern world. The book outlines algorithms that can be applied in areas such as cryptography, evolutionary distance calculations in bioinformatics, and Internet search engines. … this book will be most useful as a resource for computer science students. … it may also be of interest to mathematics students with the appropriate background. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through professionals.” (V. Mathura, Choice, Vol. 48 (11), August, 2011)
“Presents 41 articles designed to communicate the fascination of algorithms to high-school students and interested adults. Indeed, most of us will easily find something fascinating here. … a wonderful resource for students as each chapter can be the basis for further study and research projects. … Every library used by computer science or mathematics students should include Algorithms Unplugged. It admirably achieves its purpose of engaging readers and making a book on algorithms fun to read. Many readers will be motivated to explore further.” (Art Gittleman, The Mathematical Association of America, April, 2011)
The greatest improvements in the area of algorithms rely on beautiful ideas for tackling computational tasks more efficiently. The problems solved are not restricted to arithmetic tasks in a narrow sense but often relate to exciting questions of nonmathematical flavor, such as: How can I find the exit out of amaze? How can I partition a treasure map so that the treasure can only be found if all parts of the map are recombined? How should I plan my trip to minimize cost? Solving these challenging problems requires logical reasoning, geometric and combinatorial imagination, and, last but not least, creativity – the skills needed for the design and analysis of algorithms.
In this book we present some of the most beautiful algorithmic ideas in 41 articles written in colloquial, nontechnical language. Most of the articles arose out of an initiative among German-language universities to communicate the fascination of algorithms and computer science to high-school students. The book can be understood without any prior knowledge of algorithms and computing, and it will be an enlightening and fun read for students and interested adults.
