a wide variety of topics

Vazirani's book seems well suited for a computer science researcher who has had a rigorous background in pure maths. The level of difficulty can be quite advanced. Also, it is not the sort of book that gives algorithm examples in an actual programming language. Not that this should be a handicap to a skilled reader. The algorithms are usually described in high level pseudocode. You have to manually instantiate these in the language of your preference.

The 30 chapters span a wide variety of computational topics. Some are simpler than others to understand. Like the chapter on finding the shortest vector from the integer lattice made from a set of linearly independent vectors. That requires only a year or so of introductory linear algebra.

There are exercises for each chapter. Some exercises are formidable. Essentially like little research problems in their own right. Another plus for the book.

Other Reviews

• A way in to deeper optimization algorithms
• A systematical presentation of algorithms
• a wide variety of topics
• Very nice introduction
• Short and Sweet