Customer Reviews

Calculus with Analytic Geometry - 6th Edition

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I am using this book in a correspondence course. I have never had calculus before and I can only communicate with my instructor by mail. This means that I have to rely primarily on the textbook for explanations. I was worried about taking the course because I have had trouble with math in the past. However, this book is so well written that I have had very few problems. When I have had troubles, I can usually get them answered by going to the Internet site that accompanies the book. A couple times, I even wrote to the author and both times he wrote back to me with answers to my questions. I recommend this book to any student who is afraid of taking a calculus course.

This text is the basis for a 3-semester course in Calculus I'm halfway through, and I've found it to be exemplary. Yes, the ink smudges a bit, but hell, if anyone sees it they'll think you're quite the diligent student, thumbing the calc book as most people would Time magazine or something. So much the better! Also, the binding (see below for critique) is in like-new condition, despite the fact that I ride a motorcycle, and carry the poor thing in a backpack 10 hours a day. (My back's never been stronger!) Finally, as an afterthought, content: Everything is laid out according to a logical progression that takes pains not to overwhelm, and instruction is offered both heuristically and theoretically, with samples reflecting (for the most part) what's to come in the exercises section that follows each chapter. A good prof. is still requisite, though. My only gripe is the problem solutions guide. Too few exercises even appear in this, and those that do are often the simpler ones I had no problem with! Also, the poor bastard that had to construct the thing understandably skips some steps here and there. But he was getting paid for his toil, and should've done it right! In fact, I came to this site looking for the instructor's version of the solutions guide, but can't find it. But I digress...I must return to my calculus before I find myself thinking lucidly again...

I had this text for all three semesters of calculus. I could always count on it for good explanations. The Internet site that accompanies the text is also really great. It has all the worked out solutions to the odd-numbered exercises in the text. These really helped me because I tend to be a late night worker and when I needed help I had only the book or the website to go to. Between the two of them, I always got my questions answered. If you are a student who likes immediate help late at night, this book is for you.

Hi ! I live in Malaysia. Learning Calculus takes time and patience. Not only that we could soon appreciate its intrinsic beauty but also be intellectually rewarded. Its the joy of mastering the subject, and it becomes a tool in understanding the "changing" world around us. There are many Calculus books in market with various authors trying to present the same subject using various approaches. Not to have a personal bias, I would say most Calculus books are good, some are better. It depends on which book you have a chance to use. A student in Indonesia with its poor economic condition could afford to buy and pick only Thomas & Finney's Calculus would think that is a very good Calculus book clearly and well-written. The same thing I would say of a student in Pakistan who could afford to buy and pick Swokowski's Calculus would admire how good it is. I have seen of some reviewers on certain online bookshops don't favor Varberg's Calculus. I don't quite a agree with them, I think Varberg is a good book in terms of being lean, concise and precise and the exercise sets are good. As as an ex-student who had endured learning Calculus, I recommend that you should have Anton's Calculus, also you SHOULD HAVE Larson's Calculus as a companion book to compare contents. If you have Stewart's Calculus, you should also have Larson. WHY ? This is because the Larson's team have written their unique way. The book is a beauty in terms of material arrangement, easy to the eyes, the examples illustrate the concepts with the objectives mentioned, organized so that you can look for relevant topics and examples to help REINFORCE your understanding of the topic you are dealing with at the moment. Buy whatever Calculus book that suits you, and I highly recommend Larson as an "add-in" joy of exploring Calculus. I think the Larson team has done it well. You cannot enjoy Calculus from one book, you should have other companion books written by other authors. Good luck !!

I've used this book for AP Calculus BC in High School and had a blast with it.

Pro's:
-Great sample problems that really hit the spot as far as techniques and methods go. They get progressively harder, starting off with simply plugging stuff into formulas and ending with problems that require the use of several techniques learned in the current as well as past chapters.
-Awesome graphics. There are lots of visual aids for each topic, especially when you get to multivariable calc and 3D graphing. (though AP does not cover that so I honestly don't know how the graphs hold up when you actually do the work...but they look awesome =) )
-Many formula sheets for easy referencing.
-Lots of cool facts about math.

Cons:
-Ok this is a bit tricky. I had an amazing calc teacher who basically taught us all the topics himself. Only reason we used the book was for sample problems. Now, when it came time to review for the AP test, I tried reading the book for some stuff that I forgot. Did not really find the explanations to be that good. My class notes (from teacher) explained things much more clearly and in a simple manner. I understood what the book was trying to get across, but it took some thinking. Teacher notes were way better.
-It's huuuuge!

Conclusion: Great book that has tons of sample problems, formulas/derivations, interesting facts, and visual aids. As far as understanding the actual material goes, like I said earlier I had a very good teacher so don't trust my limited experience with actually trying to learn from the book myself.

But, highly recommended because it was a fun book to study with. Some good problems covering many sides of a topic, good graphs to go along with the material, and lots of references (integration tables, stuff like that). There is also a basic PreCalc review in the back which might help some.

**As a side note, I believe there are answers to all the odd problems in the text. Which kind of reminds me of another con. The problems that are fully worked out with steps and solutions are few and are not that complicated when compared to the hard sample problems that only have the answer but no worked out solution**

As a member of the math ed department, I have made a career of studying ways that students learn mathematics, especially at the college level. In my research, I have used many popular mathematics textbooks. This text outperformed the other calculus texts with all five types of learners. It did particularly well with visual learners, a group that made up about 25% of the sample population. I commend the authors of this text.

This book is simply outstanding - the explanation are clearly laid out and easy to follow all of the steps. Another nice thing about this book is that the pictures and diagrams are really well done and make it simpler to visualize the problem at hand. It made learning this most often hated subject no such a chore.

I have taught calculus from this book for several years. I have looked at other books, but they just don't measure up to this one. The exercise sets are put together really well. They give me lots of types of exercises to choose from. I recommend this book to any calculus teacher.

As a first semester college freshman with an excellent high school mathematical education, I found Larson's text insufficient in examples and explanation. Self-teaching with this text is impossible. My professor supplemented this text with many other examples and additional exercises for students who wished to truly grasp the subject matter. The number of exercises was satisfactory, however.

This book is the one for anyone wanting to learn about Calculus and doesn't have the strongest background. I have been with this book since the 4th edition and just love the 6th, with all the new additions. I personally feel that this is the book for anyone wanting to have a very reasonable understanding of Calculus.