Textbook

Simulation Modeling and Analysis (Fourth Edition)
Averill M. Law, Ph.D.
McGraw-Hill, 2007 (768 pages)

(see below for book features, reviews, and outline)

Each book is personally signed by Dr. Averill M. Law.

• The leading simulation book since 1981 -- with more than 115,000 copies in print.
• Widely considered to be the "bible" of the simulation industry.
• Referenced two times more than any other book in the Proceedings of the 2007 Winter Simulation Conference.
• Quote from Amazon.com:  "This Senior/Graduate level text is the classic text in its field and established itself as the authoritative source on the theory & practice of simulation over 15 years ago."

New in the Fourth Edition:

• CD-ROM containing the Student Version of the ExpertFit distribution-fitting software

• Up-to-date treatment of the latest simulation software, including a common example in four of the leading products
• More comprehensive and practical discussion of how to validate a simulation model
• New and improved random-number generators
• Latest statistical techniques for estimating the performance measures of a simulated system, both for terminating and steady-state simulations 
• Ranking-and-selection procedures for choosing the best system configuration, which allow the use of common random numbers for increased efficiency
• More detailed discussion of how to use the method of common random numbers in practice
• Greatly expanded and self-contained discussion of classical design of experiments, with a particular emphasis on how to correctly implement these techniques in the context of simulation modeling
• Several detailed examples on the use of simulation-based optimization
• More than 205 examples, 320 figures, and 275 homework problems

Quotes from the Book's Reviewer's:

"The best book around.  It covers the most fundamental simulation materials with a reasonable level of theoretical and practical emphasis."

   Ihsan Sabuncuoglu, Bilkent University

"Compared to the old edition, this new edition contains up-to-date materials and provides more interesting examples and more figures to help readers understand materials better."

   Seong-Hee Kim, Georgia Institute of Technology

"The most comprehensive simulation textbook in the market."

   Francisco Ramis, Universidad del Bio-Bio

Outline:

1. Basic Simulation Modeling

2. Modeling Complex Systems
3. Simulation Software
4. Review of Basic Probability and Statistics
5. Building Valid, Credible, and Appropriately Detailed Simulation Models
6. Selecting Input Probability Distributions
7. Random-Number Generators
8. Generating Random Variates
9. Output Data Analysis for a Single System
10. Comparing Alternative System Configurations
11. Variance-Reduction Techniques
12. Experimental Design and Optimization
13. Simulation of Manufacturing Systems

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