Customer Reviews

Calculus with Analytic Geometry, Alternate

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

First things first: If there was a ten star rating it would apply
to this book. Secondly, I found these authors through another of
their books, "Precalculus With Limits - A Graphing Approach". That book was just as well written. Truth be told, I would buy any of their books, sight unseen. They are a students
teacher and a teachers teacher. They don't sacrifice rigor, nor do they forget the mathematical maturity of their student audience. Using their books alone, and self-study (no classes,
tutors, or the intellectual diet pill category of "Calculus Made
Simple" or "Calculus The Easy Way" silver bullets I filled a forty year gap in math studies in 1-1/2 years to the point of
acing the AP Calculus and AP Physics Exams. Knowing calculus prior to beginning physics with calculus is an absolute necessity. I am no genuis. I do not have exceptional ability. I simply had the advantage of two textbooks written by teachers who
really care and take a mentoring approach to writing. All of this
has really been a long-winded way of saying that with this book
and a healthy dose of strong motivation and perserverance you will succeed in your calculus courses.

This is no doubt the best textbook I have ever owned in any subject. I've never been able to actually read through a math text untill this book came along. The analytic graphs are colorful (and the 3-D generated ones are simply astounding) which is totally different from the dull, dreary, and nightmarish math texts from my past. This math book is unlike any other I have seen before -- in a class of its own. There are plenty of examples, charts, and many many exercises(some especially challenging). I went through Calculus I and have taught myself Calc II within a matter of weeks. Highly recommended.

I'd say it's the best book I've used for learning calculus. The chapters are rigorous, but not too much so that you get lost in the details of the concepts. The homework problems are good, and I'd recommend getting the 2 companion solution guides, available from the publisher directly. I was fortunate enough to use the same book for my first 3 calc classes, which allowed some great continuity in learning, and cross referencing of similar concepts from other chapters. I'd recommend this book to all teachers. It's even OK for self study. I can only hope my upcoming ODE class uses a text written by these talented authors.

My son is currently at Harvard where he is taking Calculus II. He called home, requesting we forward his Larson textbook that he used for AP Calc in high school. It helped him tremendously with concepts he just wasn't getting at one of the top schools in the nation--and he has shared this textbook with his professor at Harvard!

Kudos to the author of this wonderfully written book.

This review is a shorter paraphrasing of a much longer and more complete review I wrote just before my computer crashed. I will be bitter for a long time.

Calculus is difficult to learn. No textbook can ever be "Calculus by Osmosis." "Larson/Hostetler" acknowleges this, and acknowledges at the same time the 21st century.

The design of the book is spare, colorful and elegant, highlighted by computer-generated illustrations, an average of one per page, of graceful volumetric forms rotated about their axes and simple, well constructed charts and diagrams. Students of today, used to media that demands nothing from them, will appreciate the designers' capitulations to their needs to have their eyes held by color and shape, to be manipulated around a page by something more than text.

The book is more than instructionally sound. Its examples illustrating each discrete concept, each clearly delineated and set apart in its own section, are the simplest available; they are standards. But more than that, its problem sets, though enormous, are broken up into the different instructional approaches that they take. And these approaches are exhaustive. They examine calculus concepts from every possible angle, including possibly some that didn't exist prior to the publication of this book.

This book is published at a time when many are debating the survival of the book. You are reading this review on the Internet, and are aware of the explosive ability of this medium to inform. The issue is not yet decided, and many would potentially exile the book to the status of an art form, like fencing.

Larson and Hostetler hedge their bets, and have produced multimedia companions to this book ( or maybe just a website, I'm not sure.) This reviewer has not seen these.

Whatever the case, students today still overwhelmingly use books in the classroom. This book is a fitting bridge between the current state of affairs and whatever media of instruction are to come. It is the best available.

Do not buy a newer edition of this book- it's a waste of money. I spent about a tenth of what my classmates did, and the book is exactly the same! Same examples, page numbers, everything. Once in a while there's some supplemetary material in the newer editions, and fancier pictures- highly unnecessary. I'm very satisfied.

The best book about Calculus I ever seen. Read it and you will know all about you need to love mathematics.

Precise, to the point, very detailed, two thumbs up

Just another book I need for class. Lost this one about 2 or 3 weeks after i bought it. The only day even took it to school and actually used it in class i misplaced it and couldn't find it. had to buy another but other than that it's pretty decent.

The book is in a perfect condition. It was ship fast and they send information on when they ship the book. I will be buying from this seller more often. Perfect.. :-).