• Matrix Computations (third edition) by Gene H. Golub and Charles F. Van Loan (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996, ISBN 0-8018-5414-8), available from the publisher and from amazon.com

• Matrix Analysis by Roger A. Horn and Charles R. Johnson (Cambridge University Press, 1985, ISBN 0-521-38632-2), available from the publisher and from amazon.com

These are standard reference books which go significantly farther and deeper than needed for this course. We will generally follow Golub and Van Loan; Horn and Johnson may be useful for more background on theoretical topics. Both are relatively inexpensive; you should buy Golub and Van Loan at least.

Note that this course assumes you've already studied linear algebra at the undergraduate level (as in the Clarkson course MA339--Applied Linear Algebra). Having an undergraduate linear algebra textbook available for reference would be a good idea. Here are three possibilities:

• Linear Algebra and its Applications (third edition update) by David C. Lay (Pearson/Addison Wesley, 2006, ISBN 0-321-28713-4). This is the book currently used in MA339--Applied Linear Algebra. It's an excellent book to learn from, but it's not cheap.

• Matrix Analysis and Applied Linear Algebra by Carl D. Meyer (SIAM, 2000, ISBN 0-89871-454-0). This widely recommended book goes from the basics to advanced topics with a lot of explanation and examples (but not nearly enough on numerical methods for this course). It's available from directly from SIAM at a reduced price for SIAM members (all Clarkson students are eligible to join SIAM for free). If you buy it, be sure to select the SIAM Member Price!

• A First Course in Linear Algebra by Robert A. Beezer. This is a free "open-source" textbook; I have not checked it out carefully, but the price is right (it's free). See the author's website.