Trigonometry Demystified (TAB Demystified)

Rating:
Summary: Good for beginners
Review: First off, I'm not afraid of math--I had a 100% in my college algebra class last semester, and I bought this book to get a quick overview of trigonometry to give myself an edge before taking a formal class. I bought this book because I had been very satisfied with Algebra: Demystified, and had assumed that all books in the Demystified series would be of a comparably high quality, but I was sadly mistaken. This book is terrible--it will not teach you trigonometry. Mr. Gibilisco wastes lots of space giving you no brainer advice like a whole paragraph on why you should use your calculator if needed or reviewing simple things like the Order of Operations. On the other hand, he gives a formula for circular motion in the first chapter and doesn't even bother to explain the variables or provide an example of it. The second chapter, appropriately titled, "A Flurry of Facts" is an endless series of formulas, most of which don't come with examples. Furthermore, the book doesn't have sufficient exercises. There are only 10 multiple choice questions at the end of each chapter, and they don't have solutions, not to mention that examples of similar problems within the chapter were strangely absent. Although I was able to score 100% on both of the first 2 chapter tests, I gave up in the middle of the third chapter because I realized that if I really wanted to learn trigonometry, I should go elsewhere. Once I have found a better text, I'll edit this review to refer you to it.

Rating:
Summary: Good supplemental review
Review: My two sons used this book to help them understand their pre-calculus courses. It was also a big help for them in physics and astronomy.

Rating:
Summary: Refreshing, not stodgy
Review: This book presents trigonometry in a relatively informal and understandable way. Emphasis is on the facts, without getting sidetracked in proofs. The drawings are relevant and straightforward. The book is well-organized and proceeds logically from beginning to end. There are some question-and-answer problems in the text (although I'd like to see more) and plenty of multiple-choice test questions with answers in the appendix. The test questions are especially good, because they resemble the standardized tests schoolchildren are forced to take these days. The four-dimentional stuff is cool (but may be over the top for some readers). This book, combined with a standard school textbook, should make high-school students highly proficient in this subject, and get them ready for more advanced courses such as calculus, analysis, and topology.

Rating:
Summary: Refreshing, not stodgy
Review: This guy stinks at writing books. The first ten pages of his book are annoyingly vocabulary intensive. Rather than spending a little time familiarizing you with the terminology, the author immediately begins using every possible word in his vocabulary forcing you to have to glance at your notes. He's probably a great math geek, but can't teach if his life depended on it. Don't bother with this book.

Rating:
Summary: This guy blows at writing books
Review: This guy stinks at writing books. The first ten pages of his book are annoyingly vocabulary intensive. Rather than spending a little time familiarizing you with the terminology, the author immediately begins using every possible word in his vocabulary forcing you to have to glance at your notes. He's probably a great math geek, but can't teach if his life depended on it. Don't bother with this book.

Rating:
Summary: Why you hate math
Review: This is without a doubt, one of the worst books i've ever read on any math subject. The examples in the beginning are moderately straight forward and can be followed but as the book progresses the author becomes increasingly stingy with explanations. The level of straight formula presentation such as in the section on hyperbolic functions is useless. He presents page after page of formula, with no explanation of use. At the end of this useless display, he ask how one would derive a new equation from the previous old ones. Even the explanation given for how to do this is obscure. Each chapter test the aquired knowledge. The answer key is no more than a series of a,b,d,e each indicating which multiple choice answer was correct. He shows NO work for any of the test problems. All in all, this book has been an extremely frustrating experience. It hasn't turned me off my desire to learn math but has helped me to realise their are charlatans in the math world.