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Quantum Computing: A Gentle Introduction

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This book is in the MAA's basic library list.

MAA Review

According to the preface: “This book is concerned with theory: what changes when the classical model underpinning conventional computing is replaced with a quantum one.” So the classical bit is replace by the quantum bit (or “qubit”) and the classical operations are turned into quantum operations. The authors spend much time covering quantum algorithms, most notably Shor’s algorithm, quantum entanglement, and robustness.

If you want to learn about quantum computing, this is a good source. Is it “gentle”? Well, maybe as gentle as a book of this nature can be, which is not much. But it is rigorous — the necessary theory is laid out, along with a lot of exercises for practice. If you want to get the most out of this text, you’ll need a solid foundation in computing and linear algebra; and some additional background in abstract algebra and information theory wouldn’t hurt.

Donald L. Vestal is an Associate Professor of Mathematics at South Dakota State University. His interests include number theory, combinatorics, spending time with his family, and working on his hot sauce collection. He can be reached at Donald.Vestal(AT)sdstate.edu.

BLL — The Basic Library List Committee suggests that undergraduate mathematics libraries consider this book for acquisition.

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