The Complete Idiot's Guide to Calculus, 2nd Edition [Mass Market Paperback]

W. Michael Kelley (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1592574718 | ISBN-13: 978-1592574711 | Publication Date: June 27, 2006 | Edition: 2

Students no longer have anything to fear: The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Calculus, Second Edition, is here. Like its predecessor, it was created with an audience of students working toward a non-science related degree in mind. A non-intimidating, easy-to-understand textbook companion, this new edition has more explanatory graphs and illustrations and double the number of practice problems.
• First edition of this book has sold more copies than any of the other 70+ books on the subject
• Twice as many practice problems in this second edition
• More college students are now required to take calculus in college than ever before
• Author is an award-winning calculus teacher praised for his ability to make this topic fun and approachable
• His website, calculus-help.com, reaches thousands of students every month

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

W. Michael Kelley is a former award-winning calculus teacher and the author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Calculus, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Precalculus, and The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Algebra.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Alpha; 2 edition (June 27, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592574718
• ISBN-13: 978-1592574711
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #38,848 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

W. Michael Kelley taught high school mathematics for seven years before leaving to work at the University of Maryland College Park Education College. After serving as the Director of Teacher Preparation at the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence for nearly 10 years, he now works for Laureate Education, developing online coursework for colleges and universities.

His life goal is to make math hurt less.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Saved me in Calculus I, December 29, 2006

By 

Patrick "Student... always a student." (Mass, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Calculus, 2nd Edition (Mass Market Paperback)

This simple and easy to read guide literally saved me from failing Calc I and helped me pass proudly. Calc I is what consists mostly of the first half of the book. The book progresses up to the end of Calc II with Series and Sequences, and with Taylor and Maclaurin Series.

Being out of school for nearly ten years and deciding to make a comeback I had to begin at the precalculus level. I was at that time, one year ago and before this Calc course, completely terrified of Calculus. I never expected to pass this course... let alone pass it the first time through! I sincerely owe it to this book as the required text was just a mouthful and too deep. This guide is as succinct and concise in one book as you can get on this subject. If you're struggling with the course and the course's required tough text as I did, do yourself a favor and pick up this small book.

I must reinforce that while the course text may be a difficult read, as it was for me, this Idiot's book is simply a supplement. In my opinion, you cannot read this book by itself and expect to pass Calc. What it will do for you is make the required text and homeworks(and therefore exams) much easier having read this first through and referencing it as you go throughout the course.

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Decent Supplement to Textbook, March 8, 2007

By 

Yale Freshman (Berkeley, CA / New Haven, CT) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Calculus, 2nd Edition (Mass Market Paperback)

I'm a first-year at Yale, and despite a relatively strong math background in high school (I took the AB calculus AP exam), I found college calculus extremely difficult and inaccessible. The lecture format made it really hard to understand anything but the symbolic perspective (in contrast, my high school class emphasized a verbal, symbolic, numerical and visual understanding of all concepts).

The Idiot's Guide to Calculus has been a fantastic supplement. The explanations are very clear, and his little jokes, while corny, help make the material more friendly. The practice problems serve as an on-going assessment of comprehension. The author understands how non-"math minds" think (unlike math professors, in my experience), so his explanations are geared toward the average student/person. I also like that he summarizes the prerequisite math needed to begin calculus--it was helpful to brush up after a while with no math.

My only complaint is that only the last few chapters cover material for second-semester college calculus (calculus of single variables II)... A huge chunk of the book focuses on first semester material: differentiation and integration. There's only a little on series and sequences, even less on parametric equations, and none on polar coordinates/equations. But overall, I've found the book very helpful in times of need (i.e. before exams!). I would definitely recommend this book.

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent guide to help with calculus..., March 10, 2007

By 

Carl E. Martinez (Miami, FL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Calculus, 2nd Edition (Mass Market Paperback)

HOWEVER, be aware that since this book and others like it have been publicized a lot of college textbooks are ripping off the ideas and formats of these "idiot" and "dummy" books and using them as their own in the required textbooks. The Calculus class I took used the most recent edition of Calculus and its Applications by Marvin Bittinger and the way this textbook was written and styled was very similar to the Idiot's Guide to Calculus...so much so that I really didn't need the Idiot's Guide at all. The Idiot's Guide makes it easier to understand, but check your textbook first before buying it to see if you really need it. Also by no means should this be used as a replacement for expensive textbooks, this is simply a guide to help you with your course.