With some saddness, I noted the death of Dr Kalish this month. As an undergrad at UCLA during the mid 60's, I was fortunate to take Dr Kalish's class in Symbolic Logic. Over the years, I realized that his course using this textbook was the most valuable class I took, either as an undergrad or a graduate student. The text offers disciplined procedural logic that clarifies thought processes. At various times, I worked as a mathematical programmer in several higher level languages without ever taking a formal course in any of them. I attribute my success in this area to the Techniques of Formal Reasoning.

If taught by the right person, this book will reveal all of the issues of contemporary logic. It is best supplemented on first reading with Schuman's "logic" guide. As Kalish was influenced by Russell, I found the Theorems in the Principia matched perfectly those found in this book. The latest edition of this book is much improved, in my opinion. It offers more guidance to understanding how to solve problems, and offers a great many useful hints and tips. Kalish is/was (?) the Chair of the department of UCLA. He is a modern master and authority on this subject. In my opinion, if you wish to spend time on understanding the strengths of contemporary symbolic logic, there is no better book to buy.