Textbook on Basics of Formal Systems

Question

Whilst trying to learn more about logic I came across Smullyan's Theory of Formal Systems on Google Books.

What I liked about the book was how clearly it managed to describe (on pages 3-5 in chapter 1) how to build up a formal system from virtually nothing. I have yet to see this concise and understandable (and devoid of unnecessarily cryptic symbols) an explanation of things in any kind of logic related literature.

Now I have 3 questions:

1. Does the rest of the book maintain this quality of writing/teaching?

2. How valuable/relevant and current is the content, considering the book's age and price?

3. Are there any other books that cover logic from the ground up in as understandable and comprehensive a fashion as this one?

To give some context, my background is in CS and while I've had some logic education forced onto me so far during the course of my studies, the topics were covered haphazardly at best, and the material in whole was certainly not coherent (as it was spread across different lectures and semesters).

Answer 1

I have the book

1) It contains the quality from the pages you saw.

2) I think its content is still relevant in its subject, but if it is worth its price, I am not sure.

3) I don't think it is a good book to learn logic from (it is about an other subject and it is an advanced book)

And before I answer your question about what is a good book to learn logic from, I need to know what you want your level in logic is, and what you want to learn.

Answer 2

I have similar background as you and I have picked 'Mathematical Logic' by Ian Chiswell and Wilfrid Hodges. It was one of the best books I have ever read. It was rigorous yet lucid. It covered syntax, semantics and computability in accessible pace. Every section ended with exercises -- many of them had full solutions.