This is definitely not a book for the faint-of-mathematical-heart. As the title indicates, this is a user's manual for the GSLIB software (which is included on CD-ROM), and it includes discussions of all the supporting statistical mathematics. This makes the book invaluable to the user who is already well-grounded in statistics, and difficult to follow for the rest. There are very few lifelines to pull non-statisticians out of the jargon mire.

Nevertheless, if you're well-versed (and you probably are if you're considering purchasing this software), this is one heck of a powerful set of tools. The software includes a Kriging smorgasbord, simulation, variography, display tools, and is self-contained with few exceptions. The software is platform-independent, requiring only a Fortran compiler. All routines are written for Fortran77, and are uncompiled. I found the software user manual to be useful, well thought out, and complete.