Customer Reviews

Algebra Survival Guide: A Conversational Guide for the Thoroughly Befuddled

5 star:		(66)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I purchased this book last spring in order to prepare myself to take college algebra this fall. In high school I failed algebra and I was beyond confused or befuddled. I put off going to college for 10 YEARS simply because I didn't want to do the math. I was dreading the idea of having to spend the summer studying it. I've always had a fear of math and algebra, and over time I began to hate it. Now when I say I hate it, the term hate may not be enough; my loathing was beyond measure; but from working through this book something amazing happened; I don't hate or fear algebra anymore! Seriously!!! And I understand it! And not only do I understand it; I enjoy it! If the idea of enjoying algebra makes little or no sense to you, if you have spent your time and your money struggling through books or classes that are boring, uninformative, over your head, and/or just plain stupid, then really, this book is for you! Please don't pass this book up; it will change your life. And if you could understand how much I hated algebra, you would understand how good this book really is.

Josh, you changed my life! Thanks!!!

This book is excellent. I took all the math offered in high school and college algebra (20 years ago!) My 7th grade
daughter is struggling with pre-algebra and I couldn't remember a thing to help her. I ordered the Survival Guide and workbook and they are both fun! My 12 year old works out of this book on her own. It really is self-teaching. Each section takes you step by step through the concepts explaining in simple terms how to do the problems. I am learning all the Algebra concepts and love the way the book is laid out. Very direct, simple, engaging & great to look at visually. I am an artist by profession and give you kudos on the graphics. I also substitute teach in our public schools and this is a great book to learn how to teach basic algebra. I work with a lot of special needs students and knowing how to explain the algebra in fun and practical ways is a blessing. I recommend this book to teachers, parents and students.

Let me start by saying that in High School, I felt like a mathmatical retard. I failed math horribly. I never got the basics. It didn't help that I was a bit lazy, but nevermind that! At age 30, and a liberal arts degree later, I decided it was time to learn Algebra properly, once and for all. This book, and the workbook that goes with it was a balanced and enlightening start that truly was painless. I have just about finished the book and will be moving on to harder algebra. I would HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone looking to simply the fog that surrounds the word "ALGEBRA".

I have been shopping for a good tutorial algebra book for several weeks so that I could help my struggling teenagers. I probably would not have shopped this book because the cover gave me the impression of chaos. I feared that the pages would be full of text that would baffle us even more. I bought this book and workbook based on the customer's reviews...and am I happy I did so. I learned not to judge a book by its cover. The book layout is easy to read with one problem per page in step-by-step detail. This is exactly what I've been seeking. Too bad Rappaport does not have a book on Geometry...that's our next level.
ps. The only reason I did not rate this book a 5 is because the contents covers ten fundamentals whereas other books cover a bit more. But the layout is worth the compromise.

I want to talk to the grownups who, like me, never got the gist of Algebra, and certainly never passed an Algebra course (Come on, soul mates, go back with me in time: remember how we sat at our desks, sweating, fighting off that sick "I know I'm not going to pass this test" stomach).

Well, fear no more--we can now emerge from the darkness that was ignorance of Algebra. We now have hope. we can now live the consummate human life, because there's a new sheriff who will help us defeat the bullies in Algebra Town (You know the ones, my friends: they sit, confidently, smugly even, figuring out how those numbers become
algebra.). The sheriff is named Josh Rappaport. But Mr. Rappaport doesn't tote a gun, no sir--his weapon doesn't mutilate, it enlightens. His weapon is the ALGEBRA SURVIVAL GUIDE ( A Conversational Handbook for the Thoroughly Befuddled). Oh my! This handbook has so charmed me, I'm reading it like a novel. Good sign, right? It's no chore reading Josh Rappaport's gem. And you will also love Sally Blakemore's illustrations. She gets it! that falling down a hole feeling ( You have to buy the handbook to see Ms. Blakemore's visual take on fear of Algebra).

So, come on grownups-who-never-passed-Algebra...wouldn't you like to live a full life? wouldn't you like to give numbers, then Algebra, a chance? I KNOW you'd like to read words like REFLEXIVE Property, COMMUTATIVE Property and ASSOCIATIVE Property without fighting the the urge to cry? Well, do yourself a favor and purchase the Algebra Survival Guide. Then, do yourself a further favor and buy the WORKBOOK. Okay?

This book is a "Must-have" resource for anyone teaching or studing Algebra. Fun enough to keep the math "demons" away, and detailed enough for the math-Challenged to finally "get it".
I went from "Hate math" to "Hey, I can do this!" in two weeks.
Mr. Rappaport needs to write more math book.

This delightful, easily understood explanation of algebra's basic concepts saved my hide in a standardized math test I had to take last week! I spent two days studying this book and suddenly felt like a mathematician, capable of explaining exponents, coefficients, radicals, factoring, square roots, quadratic trinomials and even the slick operation of the Pythagorian theorem to other novices-- who now thought I was a math expert! Boy, I wish I'd found this lovely little text when I was in school. A perfect supplement for your kids' standard algebra textbook... or, heck, a great textbook all by itself! Buy it, and watch your kids smile when they finally understand algebra!

As a home educator who is not tied to a specific curriculum, I was looking for an eighth-grade Math book that I could feel comfortable with. I found this on a fluke and took a chance on it. Josh explains things so well, and his book is helping my daughter breeze through Algebra so effortlessly, that I catch myself thinking, "This is too easy; can she really be progressing?" We enjoy getting a little goofy with Josh's conversational Q/A style that introduces each textbook page; even when the concept is a simple one, my daughter comments that Josh makes "the obvious" funny instead of boring.

I purchased this book because my eighth grader will be taking Algebra I this year and I knew that my rusty algebra skills would be of no help to her when it came time to slog through homework. The first thing I've got to say about this book is that I wish I had Josh Rappaport as a teacher all those years ago when I took Algebra I and II! With his book he takes you step-by-step through everything you'll need to know about basic algebra by using a very easy to read Q and A format. Best of all he does it with a delightful sense of humor and absolutely no suggestion that any question is too basic to cover. Everything is in here from basic number properties right through to quadratic equations and coordinate planes. For the cost of taking your kids out for a fast food lunch, you can purchase this great book that will save you (and your child) so much grief as you learn algebra.

I can do algebra but I couldn't explain to my kids and get them interested. Looking at my kids, I could tell that their minds wandered away from me. Many thanks to Josh Rappaport, I have finally grasped their attention. We were laughing while learning algebra. Josh has made algebra so much easier to understand and enjoyable. The illustrations are great too. Highly recommended book.