In his preface, the author expresses gratitude to different professors who helped him make this book "easy to teach from and easy to learn from." I had some knowledge of linear systems before trying to read this and similar books, so I am not sure how far a person would get going into a book like this completely cold, but of the several books I ve used to try to complete my understanding, this book has been by far the easiest to learn from. It also seems to be very thorough. For example, where other books give you a formula that uses derivatives to solve a partial fraction expansion that involves multiple, identical roots, this book gives you the same formula, plus it takes you step by step through the simple derivation that the formula itself is based on, which it turns out, just as the book suggests to you, is much easier to remember. Self study is always difficult, but some books are much better for it than others. I would not be surprised to hear someone more expert than me say that this book is the best available for self study of this important subject matter.