Calculus for Cats [Paperback]

Kenn Amdahl (Author), Jim Loats (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 7, 2001 | ISBN-10: 096278155X | ISBN-13: 978-0962781551 | Edition: Some Highlighting

This is a book for people about to take calculus, and for survivors of calculus who still wonder what it was all about. It gently explains the basic concepts and vocabulary without making the reader ever do a single problem.

Even if you cringe at math, you'll enjoy the book's irreverent style and vivid imagery. A couple of hours from now, when you're done reading, you may be surprised that calculus no longer seems nearly so frightening

Editorial Reviews

Review

The humor, adept use of analogy and realistic grasp of the subject matter make it a valuable and enjoyable -- Cynthia D Holcomb, PH.D Cornell University, Research Chemical Engineer

About the Author

Amdahl and Loats are the authors of Algebra Unplugged. Jim Loats is a math professor at Metropolitan State College in Denver. Kenn Amdahl is the author of There Are No Electrons: Electronics for Earthlings, and The Land of Debris and the Home of Alfredo.

Product Details

• Paperback: 178 pages
• Publisher: Clearwater Publishing; Some Highlighting edition (September 7, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 096278155X
• ISBN-13: 978-0962781551
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #331,563 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

After 89 Real Publishers rejected There Are No Electrons, I formed Clearwater Publishing Company to publish it myself. That was twenty years ago; the book has sold nearly 100,000 copies and continues to sell well. Thank you to everyone who has bought it.

Then I wrote two math books with Jim Loats, Ph.D.- Algebra Unplugged and Calculus for Cats. I also published my humorous novel, The Land of Debris and the Home of Alfredo. In answer to the hordes of people who ask me, hey, Kenn, how can I write better myself so I can live your cushy lifestyle, I published Joy Writing: Discover and Develop Your Creative Voice. Although, I must point out, I drive a 13 year old cargo van and camp in a 30 year old motor home. So "cushy" isn't the first word springing to most folks' minds about my lifestyle. But I do enjoy writing and that book describes my own philosophy about it.

While I was driving into the mountains, a voice whispered this sentence into my ear: "Some people say I ain't smart enough to have did what I done." The imaginary voice cracked me up. I spend so much time trying to write better, the idea of writing a book that was, at best, grammatically inconsistent seemed liberating and fun, only I had no idea for a story. When I got home, I tried to write in that voice and the result, a few months later, was "Jumper and the Bones." It's a sweet and sometimes funny little novel. I released it as a Kindle book and have gotten some really great feedback. But don't buy it if bad grammar irritates you. That's just how Jumper talks. I had not thought about the market, but it turns out that some kids enjoy the book at least as much as adults.

Over the last couple of years I started blogging, because everyone says authors "need" to blog. Once or twice a week I write about my tropical fish, or politics, or gardening. Sometimes I chat about writing or promoting books. My blog is called "The Wordguise Alembic;" predictably, I put together a collection of sixty or so blogs into a kindle book called "The Wordguise Alembic Volume One." Besides blogs and poems, it contains lengthy excerpts from each of my other published books, as well as chapters from two of my books in progress. It's an easy way to sample them all and choose which one you might like to read all the way through.

My little publishing venture has led me to meet many interesting folks, from famous guys like Dave Barry and Clive Cussler to folks as obscure as me. I've gotten neat letters from Ray Bradbury, Tom Robbins and a host of others, as well as from prisoners, folks in the White House, students and hopeful writers of all kinds. Writing introduced me to my tribe, and it's a cool bunch of people. I've had some fun surprises, as well. Famed inventor Dean Kaman was asked on the radio about his favorite books and he mentioned Calculus for Cats at some length. I discovered that Encyclopedia Britannica had recommended one of my math books. Once, at a bluegrass festival five hundred miles from home I saw someone in the audience reading Algebra Unplugged. I had to show them my driver's license to convince them I was one of the authors. At a lunch for local writers, I introduced myself to a guy whose eyes got wide as he shook my hand. "I've HEARD of you!" he said in astonishment. I do not, apparently, look like a guy someone might have heard of.

I also write songs and play guitar. I've performed on a few CD's and set my coffee cup down on even more. I was in the acoustic group "Cottonwood" for ten years or so; we released two CD's. Each included a few of my originals.

I like to garden, and when the harvest isn't so impressive, I let the plants go to seed, collect the seed, and try to convince my wife that's what I was going for all along. I harvest peaches from a half dozen trees I raised from seeds. I've recently gotten fascinated with growing mushrooms and have jars of mycelium lurking all around my office. I also make wine and soap and buttermilk, which is fun as long as you remember which one you're doing at any given time. I'm a defensive mechanic who will try to fix the problem that has stranded me at the side of the road for a long time before I call someone who knows what he's doing. Similarly, I will repair my own plumbing until my clothes are just too soaked, and will wire a light switch when asked to do so. I am rarely asked.

I've been married to my beautiful and very patient high school sweetheart for over 40 years now. We have three grown sons, a couple of cats, a bunch of guppies, and some banana slugs in a terrarium. I've been involved with a number of book-related non profits in Colorado, and served on the board of directors for a few. I'm nearly finished writing a book about ALS and Alzheimer's called "Revenge of the Pond Scum." I've written a half dozen unpublished novels and may release another one on Kindle just to see how that goes. But if you're listening, and your name is "Random House" I'd sure be willing to let you have a chance at them first.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Math Review, October 23, 2002

By 

"cloudia" (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Calculus for Cats (Paperback)

Calculus isn't my subject. I found its study frustrating, and the authors of Calculus for cats obviously sympathize with my plight. I had read their Algebra Unplugged which helped to refresh my memory even about the more than basic principles of that study. Approaching calculus, I had a lot less confidence. The nice thing about this book is that you don't need confidence in your math abilities to enjoy it. The authors postulate that calculus was invented by cats who have a vested interest in keeping the real meaning of the discipline, not to mention its practice, out of human hands. Math books are written to obscure understanding not enhance it, and the cats love it. Cats the authors explain are constantly scurrying after mice, and they use the calculations of calculus to catch them. Each function, or as your math book would say, each f(x) (or y), is really a mouse that the cat is scurrying to catch. You can too. There are many amusing images, notably a cat at the center of a circle holding a long rope with another cat holding the other end skating around it. The authors also get down to much nitty gritty about notation and explain why different subjects like physics or economics or even different branches of pure mathematics use different notations to mean the same thing. It's all stuff that's very useful for a student to know ahead of time. (It helps to know that you will study second derivatives after you study first derivatives for example. That is it helps to have a comprehensible outline before you start the class.) It doesn't substitute for the calculus class itself, but I got a much better sense of what calculus' aims really are and how it works. Now if only I could figure out how to tackle those nasty little exponents.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Made me want to sign up for Calculus!, December 23, 2003

By 

"mabear324" (Colorado) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Calculus for Cats (Paperback)

This book was amazing. It took something that we, from the outside of the math world, find enormously complex and confusing and through imagery and the imagination of the authors, made it understandable and accessible. I recommend it highly, especially to anyone who is about to take calculus for the first time. If you read this, you will be able to conceptualize what you are learning about....essential to truly understanding mathematics.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What is Calculus???, July 26, 2006

By 

A Reader - See all my reviews

This review is from: Calculus for Cats (Paperback)

I have done physics, statics, strength of materials, and basic circuit analysis all at the algebra level because I never knew what calculus was. This book explains what calculus is without doing the math. After reading this book I read "Who is Fourier" by College of Lex and "Calculus The Easy Way" by Douglas Downing. And finally learn what Calculus is.