# Combinatorics Book Recommendations

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/combinatorics-book-recommendations/634487>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [September 12, 2012, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/combinatorics-book-recommendations/634487 "2012-09-12T09:13:40Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Tehanu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ee7513/32.png) [@Tehanu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tehanu)\
**Post date:** [September 12, 2012, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/combinatorics-book-recommendations/634487/1 "2012-09-12T09:13:40Z")

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I just started a semester in Combinatorics and am looking for recommendations for books that clearly present the concepts. The textbook I am using is “Combinatorics: A Guided Tour” by David Mazur, which is great, but I would like more problems to work on. This is a slippery subject for me (I’ve been exposed to counting before in other math classes), and I feel that the more problems I work, the better my chances of understanding it are.

Rebecca

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**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\
**Post date:** [September 12, 2012, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/combinatorics-book-recommendations/634487/2 "2012-09-12T11:23:18Z")

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MOved from General Questions to IMHO.

**samclem** , Moderator

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**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\
**Post date:** [September 12, 2012, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/combinatorics-book-recommendations/634487/3 "2012-09-12T11:28:50Z")

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Have you been to [The Combinatorics Net](http://www.combinatorics.net/new/Books/Default.aspx) yet?

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**Author:** ![Tehanu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ee7513/32.png) [@Tehanu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tehanu)\
**Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/combinatorics-book-recommendations/634487/4 "2012-09-13T10:46:37Z")

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No, I haven’t (though I just took a look). Thank you! This looks extremely helpful.

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**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\
**Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/combinatorics-book-recommendations/634487/5 "2012-09-13T18:11:19Z")

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Who’s the intended audience for the class? I can think of a few reasonable other books, but they range over different levels.

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**Author:** ![Tehanu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ee7513/32.png) [@Tehanu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tehanu)\
**Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/combinatorics-book-recommendations/634487/6 "2012-09-13T22:49:27Z")

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It’s a graduate-level math course at a state college.

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**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\
**Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/combinatorics-book-recommendations/634487/7 "2012-09-14T00:36:43Z")

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Pfft. [This](http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL131D84AB05F0DBCF&feature=player_detailpage&v=w0i_ZFlGTVY) is all you’ll ever need to know.