Calculus: Concepts and Contexts (with Tools for Enriching Calculus, Interactive Video Skillbuilder, vMentor, and iLrn Homework) [Hardcover]

James Stewart (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0534409865 | ISBN-13: 978-0534409869 | Publication Date: November 4, 2004 | Edition: 3

Stewart's CALCULUS: CONCEPTS AND CONTEXTS, Third Edition offers a streamlined approach to teaching calculus, focusing on major concepts and supporting those with precise definitions, patient explanations, and carefully graded problems. CALCULUS: CONCEPTS AND CONTEXTS is highly regarded because it has successfully brought peace to departments that were split between reform and traditional approaches to teaching calculus. Not only does the text help reconcile the two schools of thought by skillfully merging the best of traditional calculus with the best of the reform movement, it does so with innovation and meticulous accuracy.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I have appreciated two main things from this textbook. The first is the concise language that Stewart uses. It makes my job much easier. I can embellish, add, emphasize or not easily. The second item is the paring down of the calculus material to an amount that?allows me enough room to add the various exploratory activities that I have my classes use."

"The single feature of this book that I like the most is the breadth in the exercises."

"Stewart does a good job in extracting the best parts from calculus reform efforts and traditional approaches. The book is well organized, the material is clearly presented, and there is an abundance of problems of varying levels. The problems are the right type to engage students in thinking about the concepts and to develop skills and ability to apply the calculus?The organization and presentation is designed to develop perspective, conceptual understanding and ability to use the concepts and methods to actually solve problems."



"I like the author?s approach very much?it combines the best features of both [the traditional and the reform approaches], making it possible to present a better course. Stewart?s approach contains the most important aspects of that [reform] approach?rule of four, use of projects, use of technology, focus on topics of value to clients, development of conceptual understanding over formalism, writing."



"The text is well-informed about the use of calculus and makes good use of realistic settings, not just artificially manufactured information."

"I want a text that stresses the numerical and graphical as well as the algebraic approach to calculus. But I also want a calculus text that still has a solid rigorous foundation, and the Stewart book provides both."

"Among the strengths of this text are the clear writing styles of the author, the use of color and diagrams throughout the book, the excellent organization of the book, the superb set of ancillaries both for the student and the instructor, and the excellent homework exercises."

About the Author

James Stewart received his M.S. from Stanford University and his Ph.D. from the University of Toronto. He did research at the University of London and was influenced by the famous mathematician George Polya at Stanford University. Stewart is currently a Professor of Mathematics at McMaster University, and his research field is harmonic analysis. Stewart is the author of a best-selling calculus textbook series published by Thomson Brooks/Cole, including CALCULUS, CALCULUS: EARLY TRANSCENDENTALS, and CALCULUS: CONCEPTS AND CONTEXTS, as well as a series of precalculus texts.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1152 pages
• Publisher: Brooks Cole; 3 edition (November 4, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0534409865
• ISBN-13: 978-0534409869
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 8 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #251,391 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

James Stewart received the M.S. degree from Stanford University and the Ph.D. from the University of Toronto. After two years as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of London, he became Professor of Mathematics at McMaster University. His research has been in harmonic analysis and functional analysis. Stewart's books include a series of high school textbooks as well as a best-selling series of calculus textbooks. He is also co-author, with Lothar Redlin and Saleem Watson, of a series of college algebra and precalculus textbooks. Translations of his books include those in Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, Korean, Chinese, Greek, and Indonesian.

A talented violinst, Stewart was concertmaster of the McMaster Symphony Orchestra for many years and played professionally in the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra. Having explored connections between music and mathematics, Stewart has given more than 20 talks worldwide on Mathematics and Music and is planning to write a book that attempts to explain why mathematicians tend to be musical.

Stewart was named a Fellow of the Fields Institute in 2002 and was awarded an honorary D.Sc. in 2003 by McMaster University. The library of the Fields Institute is named after him. The James Stewart Mathematics Centre was opened in October, 2003, at McMaster University.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Calculus Book, September 21, 2005

By 

Amy Brown "good_kid_123" (Philadelphia, PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Calculus: Concepts and Contexts (with Tools for Enriching Calculus, Interactive Video Skillbuilder, vMentor, and iLrn Homework) (Hardcover)

I've learned calculus long time ago, but recently I need it to read a financial book. This book worked for me. I am surprised to know that calculus is easy due to the book's step by step explanation. This book is good not only for readers who learn calculus for the first time but also for poeple who have some experiences. Depneding on your level and purpose, you can read this book like a novel or do all exercises. Only problem I can think of is that this book may not be suitable for people who need to learn pure mathmatics because definitions are not so strict.

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's actually worth the huge price tag, July 6, 2006

By 

D. Harp "Goofus McToofus" (Tweedlebury) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Calculus: Concepts and Contexts (with Tools for Enriching Calculus, Interactive Video Skillbuilder, vMentor, and iLrn Homework) (Hardcover)

I was turned on to Stewart through his excellent multivariable calculus text. Having been so impressed by that book I decided to fork out the bucks for the this text. Yea - I know - the material in this text is a pre-requisite to the other but I own a kazillion mathematics books and at this point in my life, I've been through various levels of Calc so many times that order is irrelevent. Anyway, for me, this book is really worth the huge price tag. I frequently open it up and read it for pleasure. Sick, huh? But it's that good! Stewart is great at chosing examples to work out fully for your eddification. He also is great at selecting interesting and illustrative problems that aren't presumptuous of the student's abilities at clairvoyance (unlike some other textbook authors I could mention). Lastly, the everything about this book reeks of quality: from the mathematical content (btw - it has excellent graphics!) and Stewart's obvious underlying teaching abilities to the physical characteristics of the binding and page materials. The book is a jewell.

Well, I could go on but you probably get the idea. I wish J. Stewart would do a textbook of similar quality on Linear Algebra or better yet, Differential Geometry! That would really destroy the myth that money can't buy happiness.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a lighter version of stewart, September 18, 2008

By 

jeff west (socorro, nm) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Calculus: Concepts and Contexts (with Tools for Enriching Calculus, Interactive Video Skillbuilder, vMentor, and iLrn Homework) (Hardcover)

it's a traditional calculus text so no one's going to get too excited about it. but it's as good as the others out there and probably a little more accessible since there are fewer proofs and more examples of how to do the problems. the problems are for the most part straight forward. i would highly recommend the solutions manuals that are ordered separately. they show you how to do the odd numbered problems in gory detail. and, finally, don't pay retail. buy used. you should also know there are few differences between the 2nd and 3rd editions so buy the 2nd edition if you are really tight on money and get the correct problem sets from the instructor or someone that bought the 3rd edition.