Shifting the paradigm from formal calculus to numerical computation, the text makes it possible for the reader to

·         discover how to escape the dictatorship of those particular cases that are simple enough to receive a closed-form solution, and thus gain the ability to solve complex, real-life problems;

·         understand the principles behind recognized algorithms used in state-of-the-art numerical software;

·         learnthe advantages and limitations of these algorithms,  to facilitate the choice of which pre-existing bricks to assemble for solving a given problem; and

·         acquire methods that allow a critical assessment of numerical results.

Numerical Methods - a Consumer Guide will be of interest to engineers and researchers who solve problems numerically with computers or supervise people doing so, and to students of both engineering and applied mathematics.