Beginning Algebra [Hardcover]

Margaret L. Lial (Author), John Hornsby (Author), Terry McGinnis (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0321127110 | ISBN-13: 978-0321127112 | Publication Date: March 10, 2003 | Edition: 9th

The Lial series has helped thousands of students succeed in developmental mathematics through its friendly writing style, numerous realistic examples, extensive problem sets, and complete supplements package. In keeping with its proven track record, this revision includes a new open design, more exercises and applications, and additional features to help both students and instructors succeed.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Marge Lial Marge Lial was always interested in math; it was her favorite subject in the first grade! Marge's intense desire to educate both her students and herself has inspired the writing of numerous best-selling textbooks. Marge, who received Bachelor's and Master's degrees from California State University at Sacramento, is now affiliated with American River College.

Marge is an avid reader and traveler. Her travel experiences often find their way into her books as applications, exercise sets, and feature sets. She is particularly interested in archeology. Trips to various digs and ruin sites have produced some fascinating problems for her textbooks involving such topics as the building of Mayan pyramids and the acoustics of ancient ball courts in the Yucatan.

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John Hornsby When John Hornsby enrolled as an undergraduate at Louisiana State University, he was uncertain whether he wanted to study mathematics, education, or journalism. His ultimate decision was to become a teacher, but after twenty-five years of teaching at the high school and university levels and ten years of writing mathematics textbooks, both of his goals have been realized. His love for teaching and for mathematics is evident in his passion for working with students and fellow teachers as well. His specific professional interests are recreational mathematics, mathematics history, and incorporating graphing calculators into the curriculum.

John's personal life is busy as he devotes time to his family (wife Gwen, and sons Chris, Jack, and Josh). He has been a rabid baseball fan all of his life. John's other hobbies include numismatics (the study of coins) and record collecting. He loves the music of the 1960s and has an extensive collection of the recorded works of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.

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Terry McGinnis - A native Midwesterner, Terry received her Bachelor's of Science in Elementary Education (Mathematics concentration) from Iowa State University. She has taught elementary and middle school mathematics, and developed and implemented the curriculum used with her students. Terry has been involved in college mathematics publishing for over 15 years, working with a variety of authors on textbooks in developmental and precalculus mathematics. After working behind the scenes on many of the Lial/Hornsby textbooks and supplements for the past ten years, Terry most recently joined Margaret Lial and John Hornsby as co-author of their developmental mathematics series that includes Introductory Algebra, Intermediate Algebra, and Introductory and Intermediate Algebra, all published by Addison-Wesley. When not working, Terry enjoys spinning at a local health club and walking. She is a devoted parent of two sons, Andrew and Tyler.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 752 pages
• Publisher: Addison Wesley; 9th edition (March 10, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0321127110
• ISBN-13: 978-0321127112
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 8.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #446,718 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent textbook for independent study, February 3, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Beginning Algebra (Hardcover)

I home educate my 12-year-old son, so I need a textbook that gives clear explanations, includes plenty of worked examples, and provides answers to the exercises so I can check his work. This textbook is brilliantly clear and perfectly suited to independent study. Answers are provided for odd-numbered exercises only, but there are so many exercises at the end of each chapter that this has never been a problem for us: we just do all the odd-numbered exercises. Each chapter also has a chapter test and a set of cumulative review exercises at the end, for which answers to ALL of the problems are provided. This is an extremely useful feature for home educators. At the end of the book there is a cumulative test of the whole book, for which answers to every problem are provided, so you can do a thorough review with no uncertainty about marking. You could also use the final test as a pre-test to determine what areas you need to work on, if you're trying to fill in gaps from an unsuccessful school course. I only wish we could find textbooks of this quality for our other subjects!

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars idiot proof math instruction, October 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Beginning Algebra (Hardcover)

As an adult relearning algebra, I found this to be the best of the five introductory algebra texts I reviewed. It forces you to work through each step necessary for problem solving, and provides much needed repitition of concepts to ensure that they stick with you. A real confidence booster for a slow learner.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beginning Algebra, Ninth Edition by Margaret L. Lial, July 1, 2005

By 

Mary Kessler "Mrs. K" (St. George, Utah) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beginning Algebra (Hardcover)

This Beginning Algebra book by Lial is, without a doubt, the best elementary Algebra book I have had the pleasure to use. As a tutor of middle school through college level, I have used several Algebra texts from the bigger textbook companies to several homeschool favorites. This text builds logically and has clear and accurate explanations. Concepts that should be learned by heart and rote are highlighted. There is also a plethora of practical application problems which, afterall, is what math is all about - one needs to be able to apply and use the concepts in everyday and career situations. In short, it is easily understood by the self-taught, as well as a delight to use in a teaching situation. There is ample drill and practice to solidify concepts and routines. I'm sticking with this one.