Customer Reviews

Calculus (3rd Edition)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I also disagree with the reviewers that were so passionate about ditching the book with one star ratings. All I can think is that all of them were students who used it as a textbook in college. Most college students, specially Engineering students (guilty :) tend to put Calculus on the back seat and try to skim a lot specially when pressured by finals or other subjects. Fortunately, this wasn't my case. I used the book as a refresher and went deeper into more advanced topics at the of the book that were never explored in class back when I was in college. The book proved to be wonderful for this purpose. In four months I could get to the level I aimed for. I do agree however about the printing errors, the scarceness of the example problems, and some discrepance between the levels of examples and the exercises. Also, there are a few parts that should have been a little more detailed(that's why I don't grant it a 5-star). Nevertheless these little flaws do not take away the book's merit. I recommend to anyone(student or self-learner) who will block some time to go through the text without rushing,without skimming and appreciating the way new(or old) ideas are presented (as well as the history inserts). Great buy!

Many people say that this book is bad. On the other hand, I think is very challenging. The exercises are not as simple as in other calculus textbooks. The book explains everything well and provides you with many examples. I am a math major and this book has been really helpful.

This is an excellent book for self-studying. I do not understand why some users rate it one star.

I am an engineering student, and had this text assigned for my Calc 1, 2, and 3 classes. This book was one of the worst mathematical texts I have ever used. The examples were pitiful, and weren't an accurate reflection of the subsequent problem sets. Virtually every section was error-ridden, and the authors' answers were oversimplified, to the point where you would have no clue as to how they were attained.

Also, more about the book itself, and not the content--the binding fell apart for every person that had this class with me, and the ink on the pages will smear with a rub of the finger, or eraser.

The only commendable trait in the text would be the computer-generated graphics/plots. Especially those that were 3D. That is why I decided to bestow the one star...actually, I couldn't give it zero.

If you HAVE to purchase this text for a class, be prepared to write a letter to your professor at the end of the course, telling him/her how awful this text was. If you are looking to purchase it for your leisure reading.....DON'T! There are many better texts out there.

I learned calculus from this book, and i think that as a text it is excellent. I learned very little from my lecturer, and almost 90% of my 3 4.0 grades in calc 1,2 and 3 can be attributed to the pages of this book. On the other hand, by the end of the year my book had nearly fallen apart; i ask myself, why so expensive for cheap print? Furthermore, why would the authors write such a good book, but make the binding so terrible? If you use this textbook, be CAREFUL with the binding!

I got this textbook for a good price so I am satisfied with my purchase! It wasn't in perfect condition but I needed it for grad school so I am okay for that price.

My tutor, a PhD and perhaps over 20 years of teaching experience, calls this the best text he has ever come across. It gives very clear description of concepts yet it maintains its rigor throughout. I like the exercise sets, a lot of easy problems (confidence-builders) so that the student actually learns the concepts, then later drop the hammer, more difficult, theoretical questions.

Perhaps I can shed some light on why this book has received one star reviews. If you look at the date of the 1-star reviews you will notice they are all from quite some time ago. The reason for this is because they are actually reviewing the 2nd edition of this book instead of the 3rd.

I was actually in Dr. Strauss's Calculus class (Fall 2000) when we were using the 2nd edition (he was not a co-author at this time). The general rule for the class was, if the answer you got did not match the answer in the back of the book or handbook, assume the text was wrong. I shudder to think of all the errors we found; however, the content of the book was still quite good. Dr. Strauss would catalog and submit all the errors his classes found, which is how he was invited to be a co-author. As a result, the 3rd edition is virtually error free in comparison, and I have no issues recommending this excellent text.

Most calculus books are chosen for their mathematical rigor (like using precise definitions). While this is great for math majors (or at least mathematicians think so), the rest of the students are usually left clueless. This text gives rigorous definitions, but then after each definition, there is a "what this says" section usually accompanied by helpful illustrations. The examples and exercises are outstanding. I have used this book to help me prepare every calculus lecture I have ever given.

This book is one of the worst books that I have bought thus far in college. I am in Calc 3 right now and my opinion keeps getting worse of the book. They should have at least put the correct answers in the back of the book if they were going to put any at all. It's really hard to learn what they confusingly try to teach you, let alone not even know whether your answers are right or not.