Linear algebra is relatively easy for students during the early stages of the course, when the material is presented in a familiar, concrete setting. But when abstract concepts are introduced, students often hit a brick wall. Instructors seem to agree that certain concepts (such as linear independence, spanning, subspace, vector space, and linear transformations), are not easily understood, and require time to assimilate. Since they are fundamental to the study of linear algebra, students' understanding of these concepts is vital to their mastery of the subject. Lay introduces these concepts early in a familiar, concrete Rn setting, develops them gradually, and returns to them again and again throughout the text. Finally, when discussed in the abstract, these concepts are more accessible. It includes easily identifiable Matlab icons in the margins next to Matlab examples and exercises and a CD-Rom bound in the back of the book includes additional Matlab exercises and programs. Instructor's Edition now includes selected solutions and MyMathLab. In this book fundamental ideas of linear algebra are introduced within the first seven lectures, in the concrete setting of Rn, and then gradually examined from different points of view. Later generalizations of these concepts appear as natural extensions of familiar ideas. The focus is on visualization of concepts throughout the book and it has icons in the margins to flag topics for which expanded or enhanced material is available on the Web; a modern view of matrix multiplication is presented. Definitions and proofs focus on the columns of a matrix rather than on the matrix entries; Numerical Notes give a realistic flavor to the text. Students are reminded frequently of issues that arise in the real-life use of linear algebra; and each major concept in the course is given a geometric interpretation because many students learn better when they can visualize an idea.

David C. Lay 在美国加利福尼亚大学获得硕士和博士学位。他是马里兰大学帕克学院数学系教授，同时还是阿姆斯特丹大学、阿姆斯特丹自由大学和德国凯泽斯劳滕大学的访问教授。Lay教授是“线性代数课程研究小组”的核心成员，发表了30多篇关于泛函分析和线性代数方面的论文，并与他人合著有多部数学教材。