Book Description
Clear explanations, an uncluttered and appealing layout, and examples and exercises featuring a variety of real-life applications have made this text popular among students year after year. This latest edition of Swokowski and Cole's ALGEBRA AND TRIGONOMETRY WITH ANALYTIC GEOMETRY retains these features. The problems have been consistently praised for being at just the right level for precalculus students like you. The book also provides calculator examples, including specific keystrokes that show you how to use various graphing calculators to solve problems more quickly. Perhaps most important-this book effectively prepares you for further courses in mathematics. ... Read more

Book Description
The student solutions manual provides worked-out solutions to the odd-numbered problems in the text. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Fair
The solutions manual is helpful yet can be confusing bcause the manual teaches you the long way which could sometimes prove to be confusing. It is best to understand the formulas first and then use the manual as a cross check to verify that the final solution is correct. ... Read more

Book Description
A revision of McGraw-Hill's leading calculus text for the 3-semester sequence taken primarily by math, engineering, and science majors. The revision is substantial and has been influenced by students, instructors in physics, engineering, and mathematics, and participants in the national debate on the future of calculus. Revision focused on these key areas: Upgrading graphics and design, expanding range of problem sets, increasing motivation, strengthening multi-variable chapters, and building a stronger support package. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

Excellent if it si still as good as the edition from 20 years ago
I can only review an edition of this book dated at least 20 years ago. I bought it when I was in high school (in 10th grade actually) and used it by myself to learn calculus.

When I got to the actual class, I knew basicaly everything and I mean everything that the teacher taught us in 12th grade. I didn't even need anything for my first 2 university level courses in calculus, just took the notes in the class and that was enought to get A+ in both, differential and integral calculus (course 1) and Vetor calculus.

The explanation of derivatives was great and my teache just enhanced my knowledge there. The book was specially great when teaching integration. There was a chapter devoted to that. I skept the section about using tables for integration and only learned a few basic formulas. The book taught the methods and still now, after 20 years, I can integrate pretty much anyhing without any difficulty at all.

If the current edition is as good as it was 20 years ago, then this book is definitely a winner.

A totally ineffective method of teaching Calculus
I am a student at CSUSB and I have had to use this book for 3 quarters of Calculus.At the school all the professors say the book is horrible and can't wait until the department changes. In 2005 they finally changed the book to Caculus by Larson, Hostetler, Edwards. It is ironic in desperation I asked a fellow student how he was handing the problems of this book. He said that he borrowed a book from his friend who said the book was excellent. It turned out that it was the book written by Larson, Hostetler, and Edwards. I then obtained a copy for myself and found the book to be excellent.

Stein's and Barcellos's book has very poor explanations in the chapters and very few examples to explain to you the concepts. Whereas Larson's book has excellent explanation of concepts and follows it up with good examples that make the concepts easy to understand.At the present we are studying the disk and washer methods of finding volume. Stein covers these topics in approximately 3-4 pages of very poor explantions.The Larson book had 2 chapters on the subject and 9 pages just on the 2 methods. I currently have an A in the last quarter of Calculus and I attribute that to using the book by Larson.

As you can see I can not say enough bad about the book by Stein and Barcellos. Good luck and I hope you make the right choice, but don't buy this book.

Brilliant method
This book is literally the best basic calculus text you can possibly get.Anyone wanting to start learning calculus NOW should get this.No real previous mathematical knowledge is necessary.There are several appendices on algebra and series etc.The book discusses trigonometry, so you can learn the book practically without knowing a thing.The "feeling" of the book is inexplicable.Reading this book really gave me an true understanding of basic calculus.Excellent for people like me who need proofs (especially visual ones) have a solid grasp on concepts. If your only goal in learning calculus is to do well on examinations, this book is definatelynot for you.You should get "Calculus for Dummies" or something like that.The great thing about the text is that it appeals to almost everyone.If there is a certain chapter you don't care for or doesn't matter to you, for example on methods of graphing, you can just skip it, and it will not do any harm.Highly intelligently organized.If you want some help in you physics class on basic vector algebra, just turn to chaper 18 and just read! This bookis full of applications, which is great.It also has several historical notes.The colors make the book very engaging to read.Unless your colorblind, this will help engage your interest.Very adequate spacings on the paper as to keep you clearheaded and focused.The drawings rival those of Picasso.They show calculus to be a LIVELY subject.The examples (inside the chapters) are very helpfull.Stein offers several suggestions on how to solve certain problems. Its a shame; this book does not attract the amount of attention it deserves.I did get stuck a couple times; but that is inevitable.Definately get this one: its a gem to have.I can understand how some people would hate this book; its not very concise.That should not be a hindrance.If you feel there is no need to read on about a subject, skip some pages.At the end of chapters it all comes together with a summary of the most important concepts.The book prepares you for study of calculus-based sciences such as physics, and for more advanced mathematical topics as well.I worship this book.

excellent for basic calculus ....
This book is the best place to start to learn calculus. It starts from very basic principles and also contains some more advanced stuff like Stokes Theorem etc. Some readers may find that the book contains too many basic trivial explanations, but I see this as a strength. When you start learning calculus, I think it is a good idea to explain even the trivial, to make sure that you have a good understanding of really everything. I am sure that most readers will benifit from this, even those already having some more advanced math knowledge. Yes : even this latter group will appreciate the benifits of this book, they can always skip some explanations but will benifit from the very clear exposition of more advanced concepts like Stokes Theorem etc ... Myself for instance, I like the more rigorous and abstract math like "real mathematical analysis", but when I need to refresh some calculus and geometry techniques, this book is really the best to sharpen my intuition and understanding of calculus.
Another excellent feature of the book : this book should serve as an example for the layout of math books : it contains a lot of spacing (handy to make personnal annotations), contains a lot of examples, and contains a lot of excellent pictures illustrating a concept... Also some nice anecdotes are added to keep the reader interested. I wish all math books were like this.
If math is not your strongest skill and you need to learn some higher calculus this book will be your excellent companion helping you to gain the insight and intuition you need. If you are busy with more advanded and abstract math, this book also has something to offer to you : this book serves as a fallback point for sharpening your mathematical intuition and refreshing some concepts that you might have forgotten.
Small drawbacks are : -Some more advanced concepts (like Stokes Theorem) are very well explained, but others are explained without proof (convergence of series...) or with simplified proofs (for instance limited to two dimensional cases, though excellent again to gain mathematical intuition). Maybe this is acceptable for a calculus course, but may disappoint the reader who is looking for rigour.

Conclusion : perfect book to gain insight in calculus, it suits well on the shelf of everybody busy who needs calculus...

The worst math book ever
If you have to buy it, buy it. Otherwise, avoid it like the plague.I was forced to buy it because this ass was a professor at UC Davis and made all Davis math students buy it.Even the other professors hated it, but we were stuck with it becuase of his tenure. ... Read more

Book Description
This latest edition in the highly respected Swokowski/Cole precalculus series retains the elements that have made it so popular with instructors and students alike: its exposition is clear, the time-tested exercise sets feature a variety of applications, its uncluttered layout is appealing, and the difficulty level of problems is appropriate and consistent. Mathematically sound, ALGEBRA AND TRIGONOMETRY WITH ANALYTIC GEOMETRY, Eleventh Edition, effectively prepares students for further courses in mathematics through its excellent, time-tested problem sets. This edition has been improved in many respects, including the addition of technology inserts with specific keystrokes for the TI-83 Plus and the TI-86, ideal for students who are working with a calculator for the first time. The design of the text makes the technology inserts easily identifiable, so if a professor prefers to skip these sections it is simple to do so. ... Read more

Book Description
Written by acclaimed author and mathematician George Simmons, this revision is designed for the calculus course offered in two and four year colleges and universities.It takes an intuitive approach to calculus and focuses on the application of methods to real-world problems.Throughout the text, calculus is treated as a problem solving science of immense capability. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (19)

piece of art
This book virtually made me love mathemathics. It's a book with an unique set of features in it's appendix, and the writing style of the author is almost like you are actually reading a great novel about calculus.

The Oasis
I have a big, dirty secret:I needed three tries to get through calculus.Needless to say, I went through (or at least started) three calculus books.The third of these was Simmons' first edition of the current volume.Dr. Simmons takes a historical approach to the material, following discovery after discovery.While today we define the derivative in terms of the limit, this definition (and the delta-epsilon proof machinery beneath the limit concept) came after the geometric notion of the tangent of a curve.I found it enormously helpful to know where I was going before I started.And why not?The great mathematicians that built the rigorous foundations beneath the calculus all knew where they had to end up.

One other topic that Dr. Simmons enjoys is arithmetic series.This topic unfolded like a flower during its presentation.As I moved into computer science, this provided valuable background to some of the iterative methods of calculation I was exposed to.

I might have a different perspective, though; George Simmons was my Calc 2 prof :-)

solid calc book
This book is perfect if you are looking for a book that has a nice balance between theory and application.Theory is presented on an as-needed basis and there is more in the appendix if the reader is so inclined.This was an excellent book for me my freshman year and it has been a good reference for me throughout my math career.It is a nice stepping stone on the way to spivak.

Not Helpful in the Least
Another MIT student here... unfortunately not all calc. classes at MIT has stopped using this book. As a result the majority of our class is hopelessly lost... and this is at MIT!!!... now that's a testament to how bad the book is... Things aren't explained well, the examples have nothing to do with the actual problems, and without the "space wasting" graphics that so many other books have it's difficult to visualize what Simmons is talking about, and despite popular opinion visualizing what you are doing is very important to calculus. I'm relying on my HS calc book to get me through the course.

Best! ~ Best! ~ Best!
It definitly helps one who want to master Calculus or join the Calculus competiton of any kinds.

It better than "Calculus With Analytic Geometry, Seventh Edition" for it give you some useful appendixs and very simplify than it. It does not includ differential equation for as the author said that it is not useful when there is a full course on differential equation!!! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

More filler than thriller
I started using this book during my sophomore year of college and found it to be a bit rough. While the text does do a good job with proofs of theorems and propositions, it fails to show why calculus is important to a math/science student.

In many instances of the text, the material is explained, and the reader is assumed to have comprehended every word without second sight. Then, some of the problems are given and certain stipulations to some arrise and the reader is to assume to have known about it.

Bottom line, the book is great for those who already know, but for someone learning calculus the first time, I would suggest Larson.

A good read for calculus
When using this book, particularly in the multivariable section,
I found that it was pretty good. A good portion of the problems are generally challenging, and one with interest in the physical sciences might find them fun to work at despite the time they take. However I have to point out that a certain degree of intelligence is expected when using this book . . . well I assume this applies to mathematics in general. However I still had to consult the Stewart calculus text for more insight on particular theorems and proofs.
Overall the book is pretty standard.

Awesome book!
This book is the best book on mathematics I have ever read! very well written! May not be good for people who dont have any time to read though! ;)

It may not be YOUR book
I discovered that most people find this book great.Yet, it may not be what you are looking for if you are a person who (i) have some previous exposure to calculus, or (ii) have planned to do a major (or honours) in applied or pure mathematics.First, I have to stress that I am not saying this is a terrible book although I've giving it one star; it's terrible for some kinds of people, though.

This book would be very wordy to you if you have studied calculus in a very elementary fashion.The writers spend too much time explaining some very simple topics and easy examples.You will find this book covers everything that you need if you take calculus because you are required to do so or you just want to know how to compute derivatives and integrals.However, the theory is either treated poorly or even omitted.For example, the topic on convergence and divergence of improper integral is useless, or you can consider that "it's not there".The most serious omission of topic is the absent of binormal in differential geometry; quoting my instructor, "...the book pretends that binormal doesn't exist, but it's in fact very important."

The books will give you the impression that calculus is easy, as it is said by many instructors; but in fact it doesn't have to be easy.I suppose the book will be very helpful for students seeking the basic calculus for applications in social sciences and economics, but it will not be good if you are in physical science or engineering, and certainly don't even read a word from it if you're in mathematics.

this book changed my life
i was given this book when i was in the 7th grade.it took me 3 or 4 readings to finally grasp all the concepts, but i learned all of elementary calculus from this one text.it is very complete, it covers ever topic thoroughly, except Diff Eqs.due to this book, i began taking college math courses while in high school, and am going off to graduate school next year for math and physics. ... Read more

Book Description
Written for today's technology student, TECHNICAL CALCULUS WITH ANALYTIC GEOMETRY prepares you for your future courses! With an emphasis on applications, this mathematics text helps you learn calculus skills that are particular to technology. Clear presentation of concepts, detailed examples, marginal annotations, and step-by-step procedures enhance your understanding of difficult concepts. Notations that are frequently encountered in technology are used throughout to help you prepare for further courses in your career. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Technical Calculus with Analytic Geometry by Peter Kuhfittig
This is a great textbook for first timers learning calculus or just as a refresher for the basic concpets. The author Peter Kuhfittig keeps all the concepts together and doesn't bog down the reader with extremely long mathematically definitions. He gives the reader example problems and then plenty of problems to work. The only recommendation I would make to the author is to put every odd problem's solution or some even problem solutions in the solutions manual since they (even problems) or usually the harder problems to work out anyway. Only every other odd problem's solution is in the "Solutions Manual".

Find a different book
For an expensive book such as this one, you would expect the author to explain the concepts in greater detail.Unfortunately, he doesn't and that is why I am looking elsewhere for an explanation of the material.Also,there are not enough useful examples in the book.If you are looking for abook that explains the concepts in detail and gives an ample amount ofexamples, save yourself the time and money by purchasing another book. ... Read more

Book Description
This latest edition in the highly respected Swokowski/Cole precalculus series retains the elements that have made it so popular with instructors and students alike: its exposition is clear, the time-tested exercise sets feature a variety of applications, its uncluttered layout is appealing, and the difficulty level of problems is appropriate and consistent. The goal of this text is to prepare students for further courses in mathematics. Mathematically sound, ALGEBRA AND TRIGONOMETRY WITH ANALYTIC GEOMETRY (CLASSIC EDITION), Eleventh Edition, effectively prepares students for further courses in mathematics through its excellent, time-tested problem sets. ... Read more

Book Description

Customer Reviews (1)

Really Complete and Comprehensive
If you read this book thoroughly.. there will be nothing left you should know, as the Preface also emphasize, it's nice to have all the theorems proven + Challenging problems... ... Read more

Book Description

The theory of rigid (analytic) spaces, originally invented to describe degenerations, reductions, and moduli of algebraic curves and abelian varieties, has undergone significant growth in the last two decades; today the theory has applications to arithmetic algebraic geometry, number theory, the arithmetic of function fields, and p-adic differential equations. This work, a revised and greatly expanded new English edition of the earlier French text by the same authors, is an accessible introduction to the theory of rigid spaces and now includes a large number of exercises.

Book Description

This traditional text offers a balanced approach that combines the theoretical instruction of calculus with the best aspects of reform, including creative teaching and learning techniques such as the integration of technology, the use of real-life applications, and mathematical models. The Calculus with Analytic Geometry Alternate, 6/e, offers a late approach to trigonometry for those instructors who wish to introduce it later in their courses.

Customer Reviews (8)

Can't say much It was a course book but understandable
Exactly as I said in the title. We completed Calculus 1, 2 and 3 on this. Great for beginners.

Fantastic text
My son is currently at Harvard where he is taking Calculus II.He called home, requesting we forward his Larson textbook that he used for AP Calc in high school.It helped him tremendously with concepts he just wasn't getting at one of the top schools in the nation--and he has shared this textbook with his professor at Harvard!

Kudos to the author of this wonderfully written book.

Calculus Ain't Easy
First things first: If there was a ten star rating it would apply
to this book. Secondly, I found these authors through another of
their books, "Precalculus With Limits - A Graphing Approach". That book was just as well written. Truth be told, I would buy any of their books, sight unseen. They are a students
teacher and a teachers teacher. They don't sacrifice rigor, nor do they forget the mathematical maturity of their student audience. Using their books alone, and self-study (no classes,
tutors, or the intellectual diet pill category of "Calculus Made
Simple" or "Calculus The Easy Way" silver bullets I filled a forty year gap in math studies in 1-1/2 years to the point of
acing the AP Calculus and AP Physics Exams. Knowing calculus prior to beginning physics with calculus is an absolute necessity. I am no genuis. I do not have exceptional ability. I simply had the advantage of two textbooks written by teachers who
really care and take a mentoring approach to writing. All of this
has really been a long-winded way of saying that with this book
and a healthy dose of strong motivation and perserverance you will succeed in your calculus courses.

A great book!
The best book about Calculus I ever seen. Read it and you will know all about you need to love mathematics.

Absolutely Fantastic Textbook
This is no doubt the best textbook I have ever owned in any subject.I've never been able to actually read through a math text untill this book came along.The analytic graphs are colorful (and the 3-D generated ones are simply astounding) which is totally different from the dull, dreary, and nightmarish math texts from my past.This math book is unlike any other I have seen before -- in a class of its own.There are plenty of examples, charts, and many many exercises(some especially challenging).I went through Calculus I and have taught myself Calc II within a matter of weeks.Highly recommended. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (31)

Great book especially if you have a good teacher.
I've used this book for AP Calculus BC in High School and had a blast with it.

Pro's:
-Great sample problems that really hit the spot as far as techniques and methods go.They get progressively harder, starting off with simply plugging stuff into formulas and ending with problems that require the use of several techniques learned in the current as well as past chapters.
-Awesome graphics.There are lots of visual aids for each topic, especially when you get to multivariable calc and 3D graphing.(though AP does not cover that so I honestly don't know how the graphs hold up when you actually do the work...but they look awesome =) )
-Many formula sheets for easy referencing.
-Lots of cool facts about math.

Cons:
-Ok this is a bit tricky.I had an amazing calc teacher who basically taught us all the topics himself.Only reason we used the book was for sample problems.Now, when it came time to review for the AP test, I tried reading the book for some stuff that I forgot.Did not really find the explanations to be that good.My class notes (from teacher) explained things much more clearly and in a simple manner.I understood what the book was trying to get across, but it took some thinking.Teacher notes were way better.
-It's huuuuge!

Conclusion:Great book that has tons of sample problems, formulas/derivations, interesting facts, and visual aids.As far as understanding the actual material goes, like I said earlier I had a very good teacher so don't trust my limited experience with actually trying to learn from the book myself.

But, highly recommended because it was a fun book to study with.Some good problems covering many sides of a topic, good graphs to go along with the material, and lots of references (integration tables, stuff like that).There is also a basic PreCalc review in the back which might help some.

**As a side note, I believe there are answers to all the odd problems in the text.Which kind of reminds me of another con.The problems that are fully worked out with steps and solutions are few and are not that complicated when compared to the hard sample problems that only have the answer but no worked out solution**

Your Average Calculus Text, but not the best by far
This year my school switched Calculus textbooks and used my class as the guinea pigs to test out this book. I did not care for it as much as the brand we had used in the past. My main complaint is about the explanations and example problems. I felt the explanations were frequently incomplete and after reading them over many times, it was still confusing as to how they got from point A to point B. I did not feel the sample problems were representative of the type of problems asked in the exercises for each section. On the otherhand, the problems were very wide-ranging which is nice considering many math textbooks just have the same problem over and over again but with different numbers. If you don't depend on the explanations too much and just need the book for the homework problems, this shouldn't be bad. And even if you do need the explanations and sample problems to help you, I did and I still maintained an A average in the course.

Great Calculus Book!!!!
Clear and concise with many examples.Compared to other Calc books I've had to suffer through, Larson writes his book with the student in mind.Very user friendly.

Best Math Book I Have Seen
This is the best, most exemplified, thorough, and user friendly math text that I have seen to date.

Excellent Book for Self Study
I am using this book in a correspondence course.I have never hadcalculus before and I can only communicate with my instructor by mail. This means that I have to rely primarily on the textbook for explanations. I was worried about taking the course because I have had trouble with mathin the past.However, this book is so well written that I have had veryfew problems.When I have had troubles, I can usually get them answered bygoing to the Internet site that accompanies the book.A couple times, Ieven wrote to the author and both times he wrote back to me with answers tomy questions.I recommend this book to any student who is afraid of takinga calculus course. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (30)

Perhaps The Finest Academic Accomplishment of the 20th Century
To easily make myself understood in the most important of technical and scientific circles, I have so far found two scenarios that work.One is first thinking through a concept on an emotional, gut, intuitive level (body as vector, particle, motion, mass, or what not) and then just sharing with the APPROPRIATE, well-behaved AUDIENCE.The other approach is to prepare a massive amount of simple, yet accurate terminology and then make brief, accurate statements to the APPROPRIATE, well-behaved AUDIENCE.For either situation where such scientific explanation is needed, this book has proven itself again and again.

Whether I'm imagining myself traveling along a three dimensional surface or learning exactly how the words "rise" and "run" can be used in relation to the concept of a derivative, this book makes it easy to look up concepts by index or table of contents and then review, refresh, and better understand the terminology and symbols.

Of all the required course materials purchased during my 6 year pursuit of a bachelor's and master's, out of the 5-6 thousand dollars spent, this book has proven itself the most worthy, above all others.In comparison, the rest of the required course materials come off as part of some sort elaborate book-store, department, publisher money-making kick-back scheme.With only a few exceptions.

Bottom Line: For learning about functions of one or more variables including calculus vector analysis, this is THE one-stop shopping experience.The selection and presentation topics are its best features.(If a little more depth in problem solving is truly needed, just pick up one of the great Schuam's like the one on Vector Analysis.)

Calculus when you are alone
The approach to the self study of calculus that I've adopted involves working through every problem in each section.This text is excellent for that technique. The authors present the material in sections that usually build upon on another and can be read in about thirty to forty five minutes while working through the examples.The writing is for the most part clear and easy to follow.Every now and then a section seems disjointed.The progress through differential and integral calculus of functions of a single varible (Chapters 1-7) is very thorough and smooth. The approach is both intuitive and mildly rigorous so that the student is not left thinking that calculus is not without rigor.The emphasis is on applications hence engineering and applied physics students will benefit most from this text. The introduction of transcendental functions is divided into two parts with most material in chapter six.The best aspect of this text is the problem set found at the end of each section.The authors have worked hard to build into the problems the material put forward in the text of the section.The problems are designed to reinforce both calculations as well as to provide stimulation to deeper thought (Theory and Examples section).Problems are divided into sets of problems reflecting the divisions in the section.These problems start as computational exercises and progress into applications and thought problems.Every concept can be looked at from different perspectives and the problems are designed to bring out this understanding of the ideas that are presented in the text.The emphasis is of course on the board applications of the concept.In addition the problems vary in the type of function so that there is a constant review of the techniques of approaches to solving the functions.
An average classroom problem set for a section would be fifteen to twenty problems that would take about an hour and a half for the average student.To work all the problems in a section (range 40-100) takes about six to eight hours.
I bought this text four years ago and a new edition has since been published.I am very satisfied with both the content and approach.I can pick up most texts on the subject and find that my working knowledge as learned from Thomas and Finney is more than adequate to follow the study.

More complete than other mainstream texts.
I used the 5th edition.
This is a standard textbook. It is a bit more detailed than the competition (because it was written by mathematicians, I guess).
Calculus books all cover standard topics. Where they differ is in the quality of the exposition and the bag of tricks they teach. You want a book with both, and this might be it.
It's on the recommended reading list of the Mathematical Association of America as the first choice - as in "***" - for introductory Calculus (i.e., not "advanced") (see: http://www.maa.org/BLL/calculus.htm).

Good solid textbook
This is a good, thorough, well-written text.There are no errors that I have found.We used it for a few years for Freshman college calculus.

This is the best
I recall seeing this book in my living room when I was seven or eight. I'd pull it off the shelf, open to chapter one, look at the word "limit" and feel my mind go blank.

Well, six years later, I took AP Calculus AB and I made a five on the test. Many factors went in to that. This is one of them.

This book feels very comfortable to read. The margins are very wide and there is a good space between the examples and the text.

Professors Finney and Thomas wrote so clearly. Precise and concise. Whenever I didn't understand what was going on in my AP class, this helped to clarify it better.

There are ample problems for you to practice and apply what you've learned.

It's a shame that this isn't really sold anymore. This is the best. If you can get a copy of this, keep it. So good. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

my favorite math book of all time!
Gillett's love of mathematics and his love of teaching shine forth in this book.

His narrative is conversational and easy to follow. He motivates new ideas with both historical context and conceptual considerations. He helps the reader to see math as a living and historical process, rather than a fixed body of facts. His style--for instance, asking questions at key junctures to prod the reader's own thinking--invites the reader to join in the adventure of discovery.

He opens every chapter with insightful quotations on math, the universe, and everything from a broad constellation of luminaries--from Newton, to Whitehaed, to Einstein, to Twain, to Plato, to Whitehead...

The proofs are excellent and easy to follow. More technical or difficult ones are placed at the end of the section so as to not interrupt the flow of ideas.

The illustration are appropriate and ample.

Exercises are a good mix of computations and theory. My favoritesare the multipart puzzles that he guides the reader to explore and, with effort, conquer. I still recall the proof, using double integrals, that int(e^(-x^2))[0 to infty] = sqrt(pi)/2...

I still have my copy from 20 years ago when I first learned calculus! The book is that good! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Examples directly relate to the questions
I'm doing calculus and intending to use it for computer programming. This book gives full coverage of several pieces of material which are not in or are poorly explained in the recent books on this subject. The author does an excellent job of giving a solid set of examples and exercises (that directly relate to the examples) that you can immediately dig into.

An excellent reference!
I used this book in my freshman calculus course quite some time ago, but found it very readable and well laid out. Since then I've gone back to grad school and am taking courses in mathematical physics and quantum mechanics. This book has been such an invaluable resource that I just bought another copy to replace the old one (which is totally falling apart!). It has been an essential tool for solving the grueling problem sets that have been assigned to me this semester.

Being that this is an old and out of print edition, I was able to buy it for next to nothing, which makes it even better!

Besides, calculus doesn't change, just the pretty pictures and graphs that get put into the calculus text books. Unless you need a certain book for a particular class, you'll be better off buying the 6th ed. of this book. It's much more affordable and has all the information as a $100 text...just less pictures.

Avoid like the plague.
Incomplete explanations, poor exposition, and left-out steps make this a poor choice for the calculus newbie.I tried to learn calculus on my own with this book and was tripped-up repeatedly by this totally inadequatetextbook.I then picked up a copy of Calculus with Analytic Geometry byGeorge F. Simmons which was a pleasure to read and work-through.This bookeven manages to make the concept of limits fuzzy; a problem which theSimmons book cleared up immediately.This text might be a conciserefresher for someone who has studied the subject before, but if you arelooking for a textbook to study on your own, steer clear. ... Read more

Book Description

Customer Reviews (1)

appreciate the achievements of great minds
Analytic geometry is where the maths student first encounters the combining of traditional Euclidean geometry with algebra. A profound mix, though perhaps most students won't appreciate it as such. Boyer shows how, slowly, the necessary ideas in analytic geometry came together. He traces the first stirrings back to the classical era of ancient Greece and Rome. But the greatest step may well have been due to Rene Decartes and his laying down of the x and y grid in two dimensions. Plus, of course, analytic geometry was necessary for the development of calculus, with the concept of a slope.

You probably are already familiar with all of the maths that the book covers. What Boyer offers is an appreciation of the great minds that preceded up and made these achievements. ... Read more

Book Description
This respected text makes extensive use of applications and features items such as historical vignettes to make the material useful and interesting.The text is written for the one-term analytic geometry course, often taught in sequence with college algebra, and is designed for students with a reasonably sound background in algebra, geometry, and trigonometry. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Manditory reading for college bound students
The writer seems to understand the areas where students would have conceptual difficulties. For example, he states after a proof, you may not be comfortable with that proof because we used vectors. Lets show this again using elementary algebra. This allows the student to assure themselves that the proof is correct, and begin to be exposed to proofs using more unfamiliar methods such as with vectors. Soon they will find that their comfort zone widens, and they have more methods available to prove statements.

I find that students are actually ready for the exercises at the end of each section after covering that section of material. In other math books it all too often occurs that the material is elementary and yet the questions are pitched at a much more advanced level. If students can NOT answer the questions at the end of a subsection, it is not well taught. This writer seems to want to actually prepare students, so that they are successful by the time they reach the questions. These questions also serve as a review of algebra and geometry.

To read this book with understanding, students must have taken geometry. If this has not been done I suggest the geometry course available at www.teach12.com as well as a reputable geometry book such as that by Harold R. Jacobs. For an algebra background I suggest the math courses through www.thinkwell.com. For this text, you will need a knowledge of vectors such as can be found in the thinkwell or other standard precal text.

There is usually an attempt to cover the material in this book in Precalculus texts. Typically about 100 pages is allowed in a high school Precalculus text. This book allows over 400 pages. This gives room for more depth of coverage, more examples, and a bit slower progression. I would recommend this text strongly to bright Precalculus students wanting more challenge, as well as to students that just don't seem to be getting the concepts from the abridged version found in the one year high school or college Precalculus texts.

There seems to be an unfortunate gap between the knowledge necessary to do well in college and what students have as the come in the door. If you look at the grade curve, most of our children are making C or WORSE in college mathematics and physics. Is it time we admitted that some of the concepts that we throw at children are given out without adequate practice?Analytic Geometry is an area where skill improves with practice, just as does throwing a baseball or playing a piece of music. If you are a student in a school system that firmly believes that students need no more math practice, consider independent study of this text over a summer term prior to calculus.



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