Summary: Like any preface, the preface of Algorithm Design by Kleinberg and Tardos serves to introduce the book and the topic at hand. In the first two pages specifically, the authors deliver a message about how rampant algorithms are in everyday life and, consequently, why it is important to study them. The authors give numerous examples of the use of algorithms to drive this point. They make sure to note, though, that the numerous applications for algorithms is not their whole point. The authors suggest as the takeaway that algorithms are so important that they're a “lens through which to view the field of computer science in general.” The authors finish this first section of the preface by letting readers know what to expect in the book: a thorough lesson on how to approach algorithmic problems, including underlying issues and design principles. The first subsection of the preface is an overview of the book. It includes information of which types of students for whom the book is appropriate, the authors' thoughts on why they chose to include information as either an introduction or review, and topics to expect when reading through the book. Note: I was unsure if “first two pages” meant to include the Overview section that begins on the second page and ends on the third. I included it in the summary, and when thinking about the rest of this Wiki, in case you did intend for me to do so.
My Questions: This section was just the preface, so it doesn't lend itself to sparking many questions. I suppose I'd ask why the authors thought it necessary to have a whole paragraph at the end of the Overview about computational intractability and NP-completeness since they also wrote the book to accommodate students who might lack some prerequisite knowledge. Computational intractability and NP-completeness are Theory of Computation topics, not intro-level (at least at W&L), and even in Theory they aren't fully explored.
Second Time Around: Since this section is just the preface and no information was really presented, it's hard to say that anything makes more sense after reading.
Note to Self: I want to remember the line “Algorithmic problems form the heart of computer science but they rarely arrive at cleanly packaged, mathematically precise questions“ (pxiii). I think it's important to remember when I'll eventually get frustrated that algorithms won't always be simple or easy to define. Furthermore, I want to remember the two elements of an algorithm: “the task of getting to the mathematically clean core of a problem, and then the task of identifying the appropriate algorithm design techniques, based on the structure of the problem” (pxiii).
Readability: I would give these pages a 10 for readability (It's the preface - it should be easy to read.), but as mentioned in the Questions section, the last paragraph seems unnecessary this early in the preface. So I give these pages a 9.