Book review: Approximation Algorithms for NP-hard Problems. Edited by Dorit S. Hochbaum (PWS, 1997)

This book is the first comprehensive guide to the field of approximation algorithms. It is organized as a series of more or less stand-alone chapters on topics ranging from inapproximability proofs t o the development of approximation algorithms for several important classes of NP-hard problems . Most of the chapters are devoted to a survey of a specific class of problems; however there ar e also several chapters that focus on a specific issue or technique in the field, such as hardness o f approximation or randomization .