Good resources (book or otherwise) to learn/study basic Combinatorics

Question

I'm currently studying basic Combinatorics for a college course and my professor is awful (and that is being generous).

Therefore I'm looking for good resources to learn basic Combinatorics so that I can prepare for his exams and ace the course.

Thanks for any help

Answer 1

IMO there are two great references at two different levels. The first is Brualdi. This book is awesome. It is super clear, super straightfoward, and very readable by yourself.

The second is much more advanced, but even better! It is Aigner's GTM on the subject. This book is fairly advanced, but rarely have I seen such a beautiful exposition of any mathematical subject. His proofs are impressively elegant, and his exercises are very interesting.

I hope this helps.