Understanding Calculus (Ieee Press Understanding Science & Technology Series)

Rating:
Summary: Good for review, bad for teaching fundamentals
Review: Like all skills, your ability to do calculus fades over time. When you reach the point where your skills need to be refreshed, then this book will work for you. All of the material covered in the standard three or four semester calculus sequence is explained in a very brief manner, followed by a short set of problems. If you knew it at one time, it is an excellent way to be reminded about all of the fundamentals of differential and integral calculus. Brief solutions to the problems are included.
However, I strongly disagree with the premise that this book can be used to learn calculus. To believe otherwise is to adopt the position that it is possible to learn calculus without understanding the fundamental proofs. For example, the concept of continuity is almost completely ignored, which limits the coverage as well as the understanding of this important principle. The end result will most likely be a student who can run through the basic problems by following the rules without really understanding why they work. The solutions to the problems are too brief to provide any explanation of how the answer was derived.
I completely disagree with the blurb on the back cover, "If the dry 'theorem-and-proof' approach just doesn't work, . . .this book is for you." Like it or not, mathematics is theorem-and-proof, and it is up to all educators to reinforce that this is the way it is. I would never consider this book as a textbook for my introductory calculus classes, as the 'theorem-and-proof' approach does work for me and it prepares the students for their advanced math classes.

Rating:
Summary: Highly Recommended
Review: This book is exactly as described--it's clear, concise, and has very good example problems. This book is the perfect companion to your Calculus 1 textbook. It's well worth the cost.

Rating:
Summary: Highly Recommended
Review: This book is exactly as described--it's clear, concise, and has very good example problems. This book is the perfect companion to your Calculus 1 textbook. It's well worth the cost.