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Yes, this is one of the best algorithms textbooks due to a few reasons:

* It emphasizes rigor without much formalism.

* Rich number of non-trivial exercises.

* Conciseness of description of algorithms and strategies.

If you look for a textbook with algorithms translatable to C/C++/Java codes line by line, this is not one of them.

+1. CLRS is best for algorithms that are directly translatable to code. IIRC, Sedgewick doesn't use pseudo-code and instead uses Java code in his Java series.

Any suggestion for the topic, more entry level for people that can't read math notation (ie newbies?), perhaps in python?

I don't have a good recommendation for your needs. However, there are a few books that might be close:

1. Programming Pearls by Jon Benley. 2. Programming Challenges by Steven Skiena. 3. Algorithmic puzzles by Levitin.

The first two are mostly programming focus. I have not read the 3rd book, but I have a good idea what it is about (based on other books by Levitin); it should be good.

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