5 comments about The Complete Idiot's Guide to Calculus, 2nd Edition (Complete Idiot's Guide to).

1. I purchased this book given the title "idiot's guide" thinking it would simplify the teachers lecture and show step by step how to work out problems. Boy was I wrong! It did help explain a few things, but not enough to really help. I also bought the HUMONGOUS BOOK of CALCULUS. That book claimed to have 100's of problems worked out. None of them were worked out with step by step instructions. Spend your money elsewhere.



2. I used this book to help both my high school junior and college freshman understand the basic concepts of Calculus, and in that respect it was way better than the dense textbooks that they have. Highly recommended!



3. This book is handy when you need a little more explaination to some concepts in calculus, however the only thing I didn't like about the book was that it only gave a two page, vague description on almost all of the concepts it covered. A little more indebth explainations would have been more helpful, but as a secondary resource, it was a very nice aid for studying.



4. Excellent book. I like much i can refresh all my knowledge in quick but secure way. This book include since the history of begin of calculus,trigonometry,limits derivate and finally integrals. If you look for remember old theorems,rules,derivate,integrals of calculus course this is a good book. If never before take a course is also a good book to understand the hard math rules in easy way but remember you will need additional workbook to practice it. This is a excellent guide book not a workbook. Recommended !!



5. The thing to do before starting calculus is to be sure you are GREAT at algebra and trig. That is job #1. Job # 2 is to then buy this book, spend a couple hours a night with it, do ALL the problems---you should be through it all in a few weeks. THEN take Calculus and get a great grade.

No comments about Basic Math & Pre-Algebra Workbook For Dumm (For Dummies (Lifestyles Paperback)).

2 comments about Pre-Calculus For Dummies (For Dummies (Math & Science)).

1. The aim of this book is to introduce the subjects of pre-calculus in an easy, yet complete way. For the most part it accomplish it's objective, nevertheless, it has some typos and errors that will cause the student to get confused (i.e. the first time the student is shown the formula for the difference of cubes the book says something like this (a-b)(a^2+ab+b^3) which is wrong and in latter examples the formula takes the correct form of (a-b)(a^2+ab+b^2) which causes some confusion). Overall, this is a very good book specially for a review of the subjects.
   
   UPDATE
   P.105 Changing a Log's Base
   log5/log3 does not equal ln3/ln5... it should read log5/log3 = ln5/ln3.



2. I translate for engineering students from foreign countries, and I use this book to help me with my limited knowledge of Calculus, pre-Calculus, etc. I find all the "for Dummies" series very helpful.

5 comments about How to Solve It: A New Aspect of Mathematical Method (Princeton Science Library).

1. If you want instructions on how to become a genius, read and practice this book. If you don't want to become a genius, but want to become a killer engineer, accountant, physicist, doctor, scientist, teacher or any other professional using math, read and practice this book.
   
   Modern Math texts cite this book constantly. They elevate the 5 step process to the word of the (something). Unfortunately, the rest of the text is about performing step 3, solving the algebraic equation. Step 2, writing the equation is the harder part for most students. Practice step 2 every day, and you will become master of time and space. We got computers to do step 3, that's not the hard part.
   
   I tell students this book is about how to solve word problems. It is not about math, but how to use it.
   
   I found a copy of it in a stack of books in a sandwich shop on Main street. It belongs in every stack of books everywhere. It will improve the world.



2. I actually tried the techniques in this book while taking freshman physics at Harvard. They weren't all that helpful. I remember it sounding good, but being fairly useless when it came to attacking challenging textbook and recitation problems (which are a far cry from actual scientific questions). What I eventually learned was that the key to such so-called "problems" is to understand the problem writers and the choices they make. Polya operates in some idealistic and trivial world, as if being methodical were sufficient to win that game. People who find this book helpful may feel unprepared when they step it up a notch.



3. There is a reason that this book has been in print for decades. It should be required reading for teachers, students, and anybody interested in thinking. Problem-solving is a useful skill that can be learned. Polya does the teaching.



4. Every teacher and parent should read this book. Every person interested in problem solving should also read it.
   
   This book is not just about mathematical methods, mathematical problem solving, or teaching mathematics. It is about solving problems. It presents concrete methods (or heuristics) and illustrates by guiding the reader using these methods through clear and cogent examples.
   
   The problem solving insight this book provides is extremely useful. It is about how to go about solving a problem. There are many different ways to approach a difficult problem and often in complex problem solving one does not know where to begin to even think about the problem.
   
   I recall Andrew Wiles, the mathematician who proved Fermat's Last Theorem (a very famous, long-lasting, and seemingly unproven theorem - unproven for centuries), discussed how during his initial work on the problem, work which ultimately took Wiles about seven years to figure out how to prove, and then to go ahead and prove the theorem, had to study problem solving methodologies just to know how to approach the problem. He needed to learn how to attack the problem - where to begin.
   
   This book is great for learning the different approaches to problem solving. One method discussed in detail is to work similar problems or simpler problems that are similar to the main problem. This allows one to start gauge the issues surrounding the problem and the assist the mind in thinking about the problem and its boundaries.
   
   Anyone interested in becoming a better problem solver, a better teacher, or a parent trying to teach or help their children learn mathematics or science (or to help them with their homework - but to do so by teaching advanced problem solving methods implicitly), then this book is for you. It is not a difficult book and you do not have to be an expert in mathematics or mathematically inclined.



5. Very interesting book on how to solve problems, which can be applied to both mathematical and real-life problems. It contains general themes of problem-solving, attitudes one should have towards problems, and detailed methods of how to go about solving problems. It also discusses the optimal teacher-student relationship in the context of problem-solving.

5 comments about Calculus (Stewart's Calculus Series).

1. Great Condition and a great textbook you can actually read this book and teach yourself... if nessicary



2. I would gladly give you a review but you clowns have failed to ship the text. I get nothing but the run around concerning this.



3. I ordered this book new from Amazon and was expecting it to be, in fact, in new condition. However, I was disappointed. The binding was worn away on the front cover as if someone had picked away at it. There are now ugly ridges on the front cover. The rest of the book is in great condition, but I was not expecting there to be any damage. The only reason I can't return it is that I need to use it.



4. I AM BOOKLESS B/C OF THIS SELLER. I had to barrow the text book for my Cal. III class from my teacher because I never got my own book. I e-mailed the seller and he said that he sent it and would check in on it. I have been trying to get a hold of him after his e-mail and have not been able to. If he was tring to make good with me I did not know about. I do not know if anything is happening.



5. I'm a high school junior and I used this for my calculus II class for Fall 2008 at my local community college as my school does not offer AP Calculus BC. So far, so good, I have no problems with it, the examples are a bit weak though as they pail in comparison to the level of difficulty in some of the exercises. However, as my teacher follows the format of the book directly, (Ch. 7-12) I can learn directly from the book as well as from my teacher, so the book is a good supplement. Since its a calculus II class, I cant comment on Ch 1-6, but I'll assume they're acceptable. We're only about 1/5 through the semester though, so I don't know how the rest of the book is, but the ample examples for integration by parts and the entire chapter on inverse functions are really well organized and simple to read, learn, and understand. Hopefully Ch 9-12 are as good as 7 and 8 so the semester goes by smoothly.

5 comments about The Algorithm Design Manual.

1. Nice to have this book handy if you need to design efficient algorithms for your programs. This is more of a reference than to teach you what algorithms are out there, so you better know them before using this book. That said, this book is quite unique since it differs from a typical algorithm book on the market. Skiena has done a great job in presenting the material. I find this book really handy, definately recommanded.



2. There are many reasons I like this book more than other Algorithms books I own (e.g. Sedgewick). One is that Skiena's book comes with an HTML version, so it's easy to keep it with you at all times (e.g. on your laptop, at work, and at home). Another is the "war stories". I found that I wanted to read the war stories first, rather than the technical content. Another is that the book points you at existing implementations, which really is what you'll eventually need to look at if you're going to use or write any code.
   
   Overall, I found that when confronted to real world problems, the "Algorithm Design Manual" was a better resource than other Algorithm books. This is why I'm recommending it to software engineers out there. It seems to be written for people working with algorithms to solve problems, rather than as a support for an academic course.
   
   On the negative side: I find the resource catalog to be exhaustive but somewhat shallow. As I'm getting older and slower, some things are not as obvious as they used to be. For example, I was quite unable to derive how to use Voronoi diagrams to perform nearest neighbour search, although it is supposed to be "a simple matter".



3. I found this book extremely practical, especially for professionals that don't have everyday the occasion to be confronted with real algorithmic problems (I assume that most of the industry-related software programmers / designers / analysts are in this category), thus beeing in need to have a reference at hand "just in case" :-).
   
   Together with "Programming challenges" also from Skiena & co. constitutes a powerful known algorithms references, and supplied with some natural problem-solving talent, could be a succesfull preparation for something like ACM contests or topcoders.com



4. For those computer science students and programmers who are put off by the style of "Introduction to Algorithms" by Cormen et al., this book is a good alternative. Rather than just being a catalog of algorithms with code and little explanation, this book covers a much needed middle ground and contains a good deal about the analysis and design of algorithms in general along with discussions of common algorithms themselves in an accessible style. In fact, the author makes a point of mentioning in his preface that you will not find a single theorem in this book, and that the purpose of his book is to get working programmers up to speed quickly on both the generalities and specifics of algorithm design.
   The first part of the book is on techniques, and covers the basics of modeling algorithms along with "Big Oh" notation, data structures and sorting, dynamic programming, graph algorithms, combinational search, and the concept of intractibility. What makes this section of the book particularly interesting are the author's "war stories" that talk about real world applications of the ideas discussed in each chapter.
   Part two of the book, "Resources", is an extensive catalog of algorithmic problems organized by type. For each problem mentioned, the book includes a problem description and discussion, possible implementations, and other algorithmic problems that are related to this one. In the implementation section for each algorithm, the author demonstrates the kinds of questions that the reader should ask when designing his or her own implementation. The C, C++, Fortran, and Pascal code for all algorithm implementations mentioned is on the accompanying CD rather than in the book itself, which helps make the book more compact.
   This book is a very good introduction to the methods of algorithm analysis and design, and an encyclopedic reference on many different types of algorithms. Highly recommended.



5. This book is splitted in two parts.
   The first part mostly contains general advices about algorithms, performances, and such.
   The second part is more like a huge catalogue of "classical" problems and algorithms related to those, with advices about how to work them. It does not contain algorithms or pseudo-code (or very little), but is more about how to address the problem (and also contains pointers to an implementation).

5 comments about Ordinary Differential Equations.

1. In an Intro to ODE course I took, we used the Edwards and Penny book merely as a reference for exercises and concepts. Most of the instruction was done primarily from the instructor's own books and from what he felt was more useful for the class.
   
   Trying to read through the E.&P. book was painful at best, and useless at its worst, so this text became invaluable to say the least. This book does the job where the E.&P. book did not, to top it off it has plenty of exercises and detailed solutions for sample problems. This text covers about 70% of that course. It falls short of 5 stars because although the material in this book is presented with detail and clarity, its approach to an ODE course is outdated. Modern topics such as Fourier series, exponential matrices, systems of 4 or more equations linear nonlinear or dynamic, are things that are brought up in a typical ODE course taught today which are not mentioned in the book(I assume this was considered too difficult to solve by hand in the age when math software for the freshman was nonexistent).



2. I certainly enjoy reading this book.
   An excellent applied mathematics text book for engineers and scientists.



3. I feel compelled to write a review even though many others have already written in praise of this book. The ultimate accolade: If only I had this book when I was an undergrad taking differential equations, man I would have been the star student! In a misguided quest for "purity", I chose the math department's ODE course, and at the risk of offending mathematicians (for whom I have the utmost respect), all the talk about Wronskians was about the only thing I remembered of the course, only to find later that they are almost completely useless (at least in physics, am I wrong?). Heavenly thanks for Tenenbaum and Pollard, now decades later, I finally understand what differential equations is all about.
   
   The only small criticism is the number-labelling (sp?) of almost everything makes for some clutter in the text. Otherwise, as many have said, this book is VERY WELL ORGANIZED and super for self-study. I have purchased two copies, one for my library and one for my 10-year old daughter whom I hope will find it as attractive and interesting as I did.
   
   Finally, once again thanks to Dover for re-pubishing at reasonable cost so many great books, among which is this particularly outstanding volume. Maybe some sort of prize or recognition should be given to Dover for their contribution to the spread of knowledge.



4. This is an old, elementary textbook on ordinary differential equations presented in the format of lessons. It is clearly written with the student in mind and has a lot of elementary applications. Students who are studying this subject for the first time will have no difficulty with the book.



5. I needed to refresh my DEs since I was out of college for some years. I regret that I never looked at this book when I was in college. Simply the best book on this. Unlike most other books, it is a lot more applied and it makes sense better. Since DEs works best when you know the purpose of the equation, the approach is the best to me. It does have a good amount of theory as well.
   
   If you are looking for just more theory-based, this is not the book then. But applied concepts are the most interesting to me. Another interesting thing is that the amount of examples in this book will definitly drill down the theory.

5 comments about Painless Algebra (Barron's Painless).

1. I am homeschooling my son, so I bought this book as a way to make Algebra easier for him. He's only in third grade, so I don't need it yet. However, I was explaining something to him regarding a calculation and wanted to see how the book would describe it. I thumbed thru the book and the first diagram I saw was on page 31. It was of the different number systems. It incorrectly showed that irrational numbers are a subset of rational numbers. I was a math major in college and know otherwise. Also, the book describes it otherwise. Because of this - the first thing I saw, now I'm questioning the whole series. Sad.



2. This book is easy to understand. I had forgotten absolutely EVERYTHING about algebra. This book is good for anyone who will be starting like I did.
   
   There is also a CD Rom that teaches it (called "before you know it algebra"), It doesn't come with the book Painless Algebra. it's also geared towards younger kids, but it's good to have as many resources as you can when self teaching, so it can be explained in more ways than one for more understanding.
   
   These books saved me from having to take pre-algebra as a prerequisite course in college, and I was able to start my degree program earlier. Buying the book saved me hundreds that I would have had to shell out between the classes and the expensive textbooks.



3. I've had to brush up on Algebra (I haven't used it in decades) and this book does an outstanding job. As a previous reviewer noted, the graph (on page 31) pertaining to rational/irrational numbers is; indeed, incorrect but, as far as I can tell, that's about the only error (BTW, the book does describe the difference between the two sets of numbers correctly - only the diagram is wrong).
   
   Generally speaking, the exercises were excellent and so were the explanations. My only criticism are 1), I wish there were more exercises) and 2), all of the answers need to be explained - there are a few "tricky" questions that are very difficult to figure out if one hasn't used Algebra in a long time. It would be very helpful for the author to come up with a workbook that was correlated with each chapter in "Painless Algebra," in order to further reinforce concepts covered.
   
   The final chapter, on quadratic equations (the bane of my algebraic existence) was the only one that provided much grief. As with most things in mathematics, there is more than one way to find a solution. I ended up using solutions found in other books, that were a bit clearer. Of course, that may just be me and I certainly wouldn't use that criticism to prevent others from using this book - overall, "Painless Algebra" was very well written and I would highly recommend it to others.



4. I would like this book a lot more, except: There are mistakes. For example, when asked to graph the coordinate (-4, -2), you go to -4 on the x axis first, then down to -2 on the y axis. She had it backwards. If you don't know what you're doing, and you're taught incorrectly, how are you to learn?
   
   Also, she will present simple information and then give some difficult, and I dare say impossible, problems to solve. If I were learning multiplication, and the teacher threw in fractions, integers, and other things I hadn't learned, I would, of course, get lost. Then my confidence would suffer.
   
   I'm gleaning what I can from this book, but there must be far better ones out there. I don't recommend this.



5. Great book! Explains Alegbra in simple, easy to understand terms. Perfect for Middle School (Algebra 1) students.

5 comments about Algebra Survival Guide: a Conversational Guide for the Thoroughly Befuddled.

1. Let me first admit that I am no math whiz, and unfortunately I passed my numerically-challenged genes on to my daughter. She has always struggled in math, and I haven't been able to help her much as the math has gotten harder.
   
   So I was really dreading it when my daughter had to take algebra this past year. I still have the emotional scars from hiding under my desk to avoid Mr. Wentworth calling on me!
   
   A friend told me about the Algebra Survival Guide, and I got it and the accompanying Algebra Survival Guide Workbook. This has to be one of the best book purchases I've ever made.
   
   We pulled out the Survival Guide at the start of the year, and used it alongside my daughter's textbook. Right from the start this book calmed down my daughter's anxiety with its humor and funny illustrations. But even more, it helped her -- and me -- grasp algebra with ease.
   
   The book uses a Q&A approach, so first my daughter reads a question about algebra, and then reads the answer. Somehow this format makes the whole process more fun. The book has great explanations, and then examples showing how to work the problems. We did the examples, and soon my daughter was getting a solid B in the class, and enjoying it, too. As I started reading the book and actually helping my daughter, too, her grade actually went up to an A-, and it stayed there all year long.
   
   If you have a child who will be taking algebra, I can't recommend this book enough. My only regret: I sure wish I'd had it when I was in Mr. Wentworth's class.



2. This books gives a good, simplified review of many algebra concepts that are often forgotten once we leave college. It has a simple presentation with a few examples. If you want more practice, you need to purchase the workbook in conjunction with this text. I used both to teach a student who is instructed in the home but I supplemented with other materials. As a special educator, I can say I think a learning disabled student who is taking algebra would find this helpful.



3. My child had to complete a homework packet over the summer to prepare him for his Algebra 1 class. This book was very helpful!



4. Because of the Algebra Survival Guide I no longer panicked when my husband was unavailable to help our 7th grade son with Algebra homework. At first we would read the book together and apply it to his assignment. Eventually, he independently referred to the book, not just for homework, but to supplement his math text (he said the schoolbook didn't explain concepts as clearly). And I have to admit, more than once after homework had been put away, you could find me still reading the ASG. I was surprised at how interesting it was, who knew Algebra could be kind of fun? Algebra Survival Guide: a Conversational Guide for the Thoroughly Befuddled



5. The Algebra Survival Guide is a good book. I'm not sure how to say this, but you can understand it and most math books are impossible to understand." David Bortz, sophomore in honors math

5 comments about Single Variable Calculus: Early Transcendentals.

1. I am currently a freshman in college just finishing a calculus course, and throughout the whole semester i have been given homework assignments supposedly "based on readings in the book." Every homework assignment has resulted in a severe headache due to countless hours spent on solving problems that are so many levels above what the chapters actually explain. There are problems at the end of each chapter based on its teachings, but so many of them require knowledge of irrelevant identities never taught throughout the book. The fact that I had a good teacher for that class is the only reason why I got an A, because this textbook is a miserable labyrinth of assumptions and vague teachings. I am starting to believe that the only reason universities support this book is because of its online homework system.



2. This textbook is great combined with Calculus for Dummies. The two books together go in-depth about limits, derivatives, trig, algebra, and if your algebra is rusty it starts off with a precalculus. I highly recommend the two books together. The examples in the Single Variable Calculus:Early Transcendentals are very vague and dont show some very crucial steps but over all the book I received was in mint condition, and I just love the new book smell and knowing no one else had it but me. Thanks Amazon! J.T.



3. sorry but there's no way a calculus textbook can be worth $150. even $75 would be a huge stretch. and this book isn't good to begin with.
   i remember using it (a previous edition, although the only thing that changes are the problems) in high school. i went through the entire thing, and managed to get straight A's on everything without actually learning what calculus is. at the time i was content with good grades because i was busy worrying about other things like my clothes and friends, but looking back on it i'm really disappointed that i didn't learn anything by reading the book. it certainly won't teach you the heart of calculus. i recommend the silvanus thompson book to teach yourself. college textbooks are, in general, badly written and overpriced by a factor of 400%.



4. This book is so condescending, it jumps from point A to B without actually explaining the reasoning. Many of the diagrams are presented in a way that is hard to understand. I'm a freshmen in College and I usually don't have this much trouble in math. However, this book confuses me to the point that I use another textbook for actual learning! Thank god our teacher doesn't collect homework because the problems in the book goes from a low-level problems to a high level problems-like that! I had to do my homework from another textbook and I'm Acing the test now. A feat that would have been impossible using this textbook solely alone. If you want to learn, please consider buying another textbook!



5. the book was at a great price and in great condition. saved me great money! thanks!