B74-21 Patern Classification and Scene Analysis

This book covers most of the major topics in pattern recognition at a level appropriate to a new student of the field. Therefore it can be very useful as a textbook either for an introductory graduate, or an advanced undergraduate course. The authors have deliberately played down the mathematical formalism (no long or rigorous proofs) and assumed only that background which students in such courses are expected to have. They supply numerous problems and quite a few illustrative and instructive examples. One attractive feature is the critical evaluation of many of the techniques discussed which their own experience enables them to do. I enjoyed reading statements like the one on p. 179 about the literature on linear discriminant functions. Finally each chapter is followed by extensive historical and bibliographical remarks.