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Rating: 
Summary: A great reference, definitely not instructional
Review: Having worked through two thirds of the book I have found it extremely frustrating. The main problem is the lack of defined examples, poor proofs and discussion of material that is superfluous to the subject matter. The layout is also extremely poor which was evidenced by the large number of revisions between edition 3 and 4. To understand just how poor the proofs and descriptions are have a comparison to Thomas/Finney or Anton, the number of pages devoted to each section is usually a third greater and more detailed. The greatest frustration is the poor referencing of examples and proofs to past proofs or examples (re: Howard Anton).In conclusion its a great reference because it covers the many areas of calculus but as an educational text it is most unhelpful.
Rating:
Summary: A great reference, definitely not instructional
Review: Having worked through two thirds of the book I have found it extremely frustrating. The main problem is the lack of defined examples, poor proofs and discussion of material that is superfluous to the subject matter. The layout is also extremely poor which was evidenced by the large number of revisions between edition 3 and 4. To understand just how poor the proofs and descriptions are have a comparison to Thomas/Finney or Anton, the number of pages devoted to each section is usually a third greater and more detailed. The greatest frustration is the poor referencing of examples and proofs to past proofs or examples (re: Howard Anton). In conclusion its a great reference because it covers the many areas of calculus but as an educational text it is most unhelpful.
Rating:
Summary: calculas a complete course
Review: How many times after you have read a math or physics book that you want to just go to the author and tell him/her that IT'S NOT OBVIOUS! Well, this is one of those books. Granted, the exercises are fairly well thought up and present a challenge to the reader, but the author, in his solutions (in the solutions manual) too often write down one equation and skip to the last step and the reader is left wondering, "what happened?" The same can be said of the proofs in the book. The author teaches at the school where I go to and from what I've heard from others who've had him, is a pretty good prof, but this book is just too assuming of the reader. Try Spivak, or for multivariable calculus, Stewart's text.
Rating: 
Summary: A excellent text
Review: I am surprised at the poor reviews of this text. Though some complain that there is a "lack of explanation" in proofs and in exercises in the study guide, I prefer Adams's approach as it forces the reader to think while reading. Working through a proof or example should not be done in order to memorize one line of thought but rather to *learn* the concepts and as an exercise in itself. I do not think that Adams is overly demanding--he pushes the reader, but not too hard. The exercises are well thought out and often challenging, and the text is extremely helpful. I do admit that some problems and examples took me quite some time to figure out, but the time invested was well worth it. I would suggest that you take a look at the book and study guide for yourself and not to take the reviews of it too seriously (borrow it from your university library). This text is especially suitable for an honours class in first year calculus. It is perhaps in between something like Edwards and Penney and Spivak: not as easy as the former, but not as demanding as the latter.
Rating: 
Summary: Really Bad...
Review: I was very surprised to see the poor score of this book. I think it is great. It is very well set out and cleverly leads the reader by the hand to ideas and theories of calculus. The chapters read well and diagrams illustrate the ideas effectively. I have used it throughout my maths degree and is also helpful for other maths topics such as linear programming. All my class mates agree that it is a classic text!
Rating: 
Summary: Great reference text
Review: I was very surprised to see the poor score of this book. I think it is great. It is very well set out and cleverly leads the reader by the hand to ideas and theories of calculus. The chapters read well and diagrams illustrate the ideas effectively. I have used it throughout my maths degree and is also helpful for other maths topics such as linear programming. All my class mates agree that it is a classic text!
Rating:
Summary: Calculus - a review
Review: Nice pictures, too many pages, too long words, too many pictures, too many Vretblads.
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