The Maple Handbook is an efficient, well-planned, and comprehensive reference and learning tool for the Maple V Release 2 symbolic computation language. All Maple commands are described in a precise, concise, and consistent manner. Topics which include calculus, linear algebra, number theory, programming, etc. are explained in context. This book will be an indispensable tool for all Maple users.

The Maple Handbook begins with a “Getting Started With Maple” tutorial that lays the groundwork for using Maple efficiently and effectively. The following 12 chapters cover the commands and structures for specific disciplines of computation; each chapter is prefaced by a quick introductory tutorial providing simple explanations and examples.

Entries for individual commands contain information on various aspects, including common parameter sequences, what type of output to expect, additional hints and information, and page references to the standard Maple manual set. (From the back cover)

This handbook would be helpful for someone who expects to be a frequent user of Maple. It gives a summary of all the commands in the system, grouped by subject. It is attractively packaged, in a ring binder, opening flat to occupy a space of 9.25 inches by 8.75 inches. The novice user will probably require additional material beyond the handbook, however, since it contains only a few examples in the “Getting Started With Maple” tutorial and in the introductions to each chapter. More comprehensive examples are contained in other Maple references [1-4].

Given this, a prospective purchaser is entitled to ask whether his or her money would be well spent in buying the handbook, given the other Maple references that are available and the online help that is included in the Maple system. Redfern has this to say about the Maple online help system:

The on-line help files for Maple were written by many different researchers/developers and lack a common voice and a completely unifying style. By putting all the information in one voice, with consistent handling of similar situations throughout, The Maple Handbook furthers comprehension.

An example might best illustrate what a Maple user could expect to learn about a Maple command from the handbook, as compared with the books by Char et al. [1–3], although the handbook may be the only source of information for many commands. The command asympt(expr,var), listed in the calculus chapter, allows the computation of an asymptotic expansion of expr as the variable var approaches infinity. This description, the output to be expected, argument options, pointers to related commands, and references to the three other manuals occupy nine lines in the handbook. No examples of the use of the asympt command are given in the entry itself, in the tutorial, or in the chapter introduction. Char et al.’s introductory book [1] gives one example of the use of asympt. Their language reference manual [2] contains four examples of the use of asympt in two different sections. Their Maple V library reference manual [3] contains a fairly complete synopsis of asympt and includes four examples. If a Maple user already owns that book, it may be sufficient, and this handbook may not be needed. Bear in mind, however, that Char et al.’s library reference is bulky and awkward to use compared with Redfern’s handbook. The handbook also has the advantage that its commands are grouped by subject and its command list is more comprehensive than that of Char et al. [3].