Customer Reviews

Differential and Integral Calculus, Vol. 2 (Volume 2)

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I used this book in an Honors Calculus course decades ago, and it's still a useful reference. Unlike most calculus books, this is one from which you can learn real mathematics by self-study. It is not only solid on calculational techniques, but is also an introduction to real analysis, and to good mathematical reasoning and proof technique. Courant was a famous applied mathematician, and he introduced and developed the concepts in a way that is very well motivated and clear (not very common in mathematics texts these days).

Different calculus textbooks will go in and out of fashion as professors try to overcome the poor preparation of their students, but Courant's book will endure as long as there are students who really want to understand thoroughly what they are doing.

This two volume set on calculus covers many of the mathematical techniques relevant to engineering and science. Courant's treatment of series expansions and uniform convergence is clear and contains good examples. His treatment of extreme values of multi-variable functions and Lagrange multipliers is exceptionally good; it surpasses the explanations given in most modern textbooks. The exposition on multiple integrals and vector integrals is tremendous and, alone, is a compelling reason to get this set. A chapter on the calculus of variations provides a solid introduction to the methods of Lagrangian Dynamics. Unlike modern mathematicians who pursue their research apart from engineering or physical applications, Richard Courant was adverse to abstract theories and vague theroems. Schooled at Gottingen University, under the auspices of David Hilbert and Felix Klein, this two volume set reflects the ethos of a school system that placed a premium on producing useful mathematics. The topics covered in this set will provide the reader with a solid background to understand the mathematics of heat conduction, electricity and magnetism, fluid dynamics and elasticity.

I had the usual 1960's ho-hum calculus class suffered through by billions of semi-conscious life forms over the 200 years. However, when I was a first year grad student, I discovered this book and fell in love with both volumes. It has an honored place on my bookshelf, sitting next to the Feynman Lectures in Physics. These are books you go to for insight and understanding. They'll continue to be in use 100 years from now.

This is the best calculus book I've ever read! I'm a mathemathics student, and I've read many titles of many authors, but this one is the most wonderful calculus book I found during my whole life! I'm very thankful to Richard Courant, he was my best calculus teacher!

This is the best calculus text for aspiring physicists as well as applied mathematics students. However, don't know why Amazon sent the book with different front cover to me. It's not the one shown in the picture but rather a black cover--exactly the one seen on barnesandnoble with the same isbn. Although the covers are different, the content is the same.