Calculus [Hardcover]

James Stewart (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0534359493 | ISBN-13: 978-0534359492 | Publication Date: May 21, 1999 | Edition: 4th

The new edition calculus textbook has been thoroughly revised. It continues to embrace the best aspects of reform by combining the traditional theoretical aspects of calculus with creative teaching and learning techniques. This is accomplished by a focus on conceptual understanding, the use of real-world data and real-life applications, projects, and the use of technology (where appropriate). It is widely acknowledged that the main goal of calculus instruction is for the student to understand the basic ideas. This text aims to support such a goal while motivating students through the use of real-world applications, building the essential mathematical reasoning skills, and helping them develop an appreciation and enthusiasm for calculus.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Ph.D. University of Toronto

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1127 pages
• Publisher: Brooks/Cole Pub Co; 4th edition (May 21, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0534359493
• ISBN-13: 978-0534359492
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 9 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (84 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #46,278 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

207 of 234 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best there is - and I'm familiar with the others, May 12, 2000

By 

Stan Vernooy (Henderson, NV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Calculus (Hardcover)

I was one of the pre-publication reviewers for the second edition of this book. I have not been shy about telling a publisher that their book stinks if that's my opinion. But the Stewart book was then, and remains now, IMHO, the best introductory calculus text available. Please note that the majority of negative reviews came from people who have seen exactly one calculus book, and they clearly don't like calculus! But I have taught from three of the most popular books, and I've read most of the others. There may be other books which take a radically entertaining, non-traditional, and more superficial approach to the subject, and those books may meet with approval from people who really don't want to learn calculus. But of those (many) books which cover the traditional topics in an introductory calculus course, no other author has written a text as learnable as Stewart's. On every topic, Stewart is clearly conscious of the fact that his reader doesn't already know the subject, and he has given some thought to exactly what has to be explained in order for the student to learn successfully. Remember, most textbooks are not written for students: they are written for the professors who are going to choose the books. Professors are not generally impressed with a book which spends a half page clearly describing the meaning of a theorem which can be written with a one-line equation. But students will appreciate the effort Stewart has exerted to help them learn. Stewart does not sugar-coat or resort to gimmicks or superficiality in order to make the material learnable. All the material is there, it's just presented with an awareness that the reader is trying to learn calculus for the first time. If you are taking a calculus course with any other book, try to get a cheap used copy of the Stewart to use as a supplement. It will help!

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Unimpressed, September 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Calculus (Hardcover)

I am a beginning calculus student at the local JC and have found this book to be a bit frustrating. While Stewart is very fluent, his explanations can be sterile and long-winded. At the same time Stewart's definitions, typically lacking a symbol explanation, are too abbreviated for my particular learning style. As I have progressed through the course I can see why Stewart chose to leave these symbols out, many are used repeatedly and to a professional it would seem redundant to include an explanation. However, as a student I find that this repetition is an important part of the learning process. A foreign language text makes a good analogue. Like a foreign language, math has a vocabulary and one can not simply be given a few words in the first chapter and then be expected to regurgitate them at will. While the overall organization of the book is very good, it is lacking in the specifics. Any one who uses this book will inevitably spend a lot of time performing unnecessary page turning, as the author often neglects to include the page numbers along with references to specific parts of the text. Stewart doesn't even provide the reader with an adequate convention by which the definitions could be found, numbering his definitions simply 1, 2, 3...etc. for each section. If I already knew calculus and were using this book as a reference I would probably give it a higher rating and perhaps even recommend it to you. As a student however, I feel it really doesn't work for me and I couldn't recommend it to anyone else.

32 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Inferior text, though popular, March 9, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Calculus (Hardcover)

This is the early transcendentals version of Stewart's calculus. The title of the book is quite appropriate, in that to learn calculus well, one must transcend the Stewart approach early and often. I found my self reading another text (Simmon's Calculus and Analytic Geometry) as an antidote to this dry, disjointed, lifeless tome.

Stewart takes an inconsistent (sometimes rigorous, sometimes intuitive) approach toward teaching the calculus. It seems as if he has attempted to be all things to all people. Though he may have attempted to present the subject in both an intuitive (to motivate the typical student) and rigorous (to satisfy the professor) manner, he failed to deliver on either.

The text is replete with pretty diagrams and some historical diversions, which read as canned, trivial snippets. In spite of this eye candy, the mathematical exposition is poor. Most proofs read as shorthand notes to one who already understands the subject. Is it analysis or basic calculus? Stewart seems to have a schizophrenic writing manner. On the one hand, he presents examples in "workbook" (i.e. Schaum's outline) form, so that if one wishes to solve a particular sort of problem, one might find it here. He does not seem able, however, to meld problem solving with rigor in a coherent manner. So an abbreviated proof is done, with several relevant steps (relevant, that is, to the beginner) omitted. What function does this serve for a pre-analysis student? A proof that might take 10 steps is presented in 4. What is the point of this approach? Perhaps so as to ward off accusations that a particular subject was not touched upon.

The book is expensive and bloated. Though the "official" rendering of the page numbers is 781, there are approximately 130 other pages devoted to appendices (some as advertisements for other, i.e. ancillary, materials). Note, this text is intended for a 2 semester Calculus sequence. It seems inappropriate, perhaps fraudulent,that Stewart devoted 900+ pages for this task, and yet failed to present the material in an interesting and efficient manner.

Given his insistence upon this secondary material, I ask Stewart - did you ever intend for this book to be relatively self-contained for the serious first year scholar, or did you expect the professor or CD-ROM to fill in the gaps in your exposition? In spite of the suggestion to buy expensive ancillaries, I diverted myself to the library where I discovered Simmons' brilliant exposition. This text provides what Stewart does not - a good, efficient foundation of the basic calculus in the context of intellectual breadth. When a calculus first-timer reads Simmons, he or she will likely understand exactly why a calculation is being done, as opposed to the Stewart "willy-nilly" approach, as if one is simply calculating for calculations sake, much like working glorified accountancy problems. Calculus is an intellectual masterpiece, but Stewart presents it as disjointed, purposeless exercise solving. I suggest that serious freshman mathematics scholars avoid Stewart. Compare the Stewart text to others in your school library if possible, buy used if necessary, and read something else if the exposition seems problematic.

I recommend most highly the George F. Simmon's text Calculus and Analytic Geometry (either the first or second edition). Another promising text is Anton's Calculus: A New Horizon, as more efficient, focused alternatives. These texts allow one to learn first year calculus on one's own, and if one has the benefit of a decent professor, so much the better for one's edification. After Simmons or Anton, one should be well prepared to move on to introductory analysis, such as the work of Michael Spivak (Spivak's Calculus).