Written by three gifted—and funny—teachers, How to Ace Calculus provides humorous and readable explanations of the key topics of calculus without the technical details and fine print that would be found in a more formal text. Capturing the tone of students exchanging ideas among themselves, this unique guide also explains how calculus is taught, how to get the best teachers, what to study, and what is likely to be on exams—all the tricks of the trade that will make learning the material of first-semester calculus a piece of cake. Funny, irreverent, and flexible, How to Ace Calculus shows why learning calculus can be not only a mind-expanding experience but also fantastic fun.
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"Imagine calculus is a solid old house built on good foundations. When the time comes to sell it to a new owner, a lick of brightly colored, cheery paint can do wonders. This is what Adams, Hass, and Thompson have done in How to Ace Calculus."—Keith Devlin, Dean, School of Science, St. Mary's College (CA), Senior Researcher, Stanford University, and author of The Language of Mathematics
"This is a marvelous, user-friendly introduction to the basic ideas of calculus. It is effective, humorous and eminently practical. The book that 100,000 calculus students have been searching for is finally here."—Ron Graham, Chief Scientist, AT&T Labs, former President of the American Mathematical Society, and author of Concrete Mathematics: A Foundation of Computer Science
"Can a calculus book be lighthearted and engaging? Surprisingly, yes, and here is one that does the job."—Thomas Banchoff, Professor of Mathematics, Brown University, President-Elect of the Mathematics Association of America, and author of Beyond the Third Dimension
"This book is dangerously clear, direct, and funny. It should be suppressed before it jeopardizes the time-tested function of the calculus sequence to befuddle and filter surplus students."—William Thurston, Professor of Mathematics, University of California at Davis, Fields Medalist, and former Director of the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute
"Comic opera meets college math in this amusing and edifying roller coaster of an introduction to calculus."—Ivars Peterson, author of The Mathematical Tourist
"This is a marvelous, user-friendly introduction to the basic ideas of calculus. It is effective, humorous and eminently practical. The book that 100,000 calculus students have been searching for is finally here."—Ron Graham, Chief Scientist, AT&T Labs, former President of the American Mathematical Society, and author of Concrete Mathematics: A Foundation of Computer Science
"Can a calculus book be lighthearted and engaging? Surprisingly, yes, and here is one that does the job."—Thomas Banchoff, Professor of Mathematics, Brown University, President-Elect of the Mathematics Association of America, and author of Beyond the Third Dimension
"This book is dangerously clear, direct, and funny. It should be suppressed before it jeopardizes the time-tested function of the calculus sequence to befuddle and filter surplus students."—William Thurston, Professor of Mathematics, University of California at Davis, Fields Medalist, and former Director of the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute
"Comic opera meets college math in this amusing and edifying roller coaster of an introduction to calculus."—Ivars Peterson, author of The Mathematical Tourist
About the Author
Colin Adams is Professor of Mathematics at Williams College. He is the author of The Knot Book and winner of the Mathematical Association of America Distinguished Teaching Award for 1998. Joel Hass is Professor of Mathematics at the University of California at Davis, and Abigail Thompson is also Professor of Mathematics at the University of California at Davis. Both have held fellowships from the Sloan Foundation and the National Science Foundation.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
222 of 230 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I am a math professor at a large state university. Like math departments everywhere, we depend on calculus students for our very existence. Students who fail Calculus, or repeat customers as we like to call them, are of course the most highly appreciated of all.
An otherwise good student, given the right combination of obscure lectures and unreadable texts, may pay for the same Calculus course 2, 3 or even 4 times. The Streetwise Guide is too thin and too cheap. Moreover, the writing style gives ordinary students what they need to master Calculus the first time they take it. In other words, this book is a threat to mathematics departments everywhere.
106 of 111 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Unless you're a mathematician, it is probably a rare thing when you find a math book that you would enjoy reading in your free time. It is utterly inconceivable that you would find a CALCULUS book that you wouldn't mind for some light night reading.
Believe it or not, inconceivable does not imply impossible, and here is the proof in hard copy. I HATE calculus and I found this book both easy to understand and actually amusing! It was an excellent refresher for my 2nd (and surprisingly successful) attempt to pass calculus II. I really wish I'd had this thing earlier, when I was slaving away through first-quarter calculus. For anyone who is taking calculus or wants to review, I give this book my highest recommendation. Now, if only these folks would write a full-length textbook!
66 of 69 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
My dad bought me this book the summer before my senior year in high school (this year) - I looked at it and thought, "yeah, right." I'm a humanities person, I got a C in my last term of Pre-calculus, and I didn't think some book was going to help. However, once my AP Calc class started, I thought "hey, might as well give it a try." That was the best idea I've had in a long time. Mr. Adams and friends explain the concepts so clearly that I have to wonder what the authors of standard calculus texts were thinking when they wrote their books. Not only do I have an A- in the class, I have a much better understanding of what we're actually learning than the students who used to do better than me by just following all the formulas. In short, I am acing calculus, and (this is very hard for me to admit) enjoying it as well. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who panics at the thought of calculus.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Who Would Find This Helpful?
I expected some clearly worded explanations of the topics I faced in my gigantic calculus course book. Read more
Published 3 days ago by G. A. Dawson
A must have
I wouldn't take calculus without it.
Calc text books can't be "read" they have to be studied.
This book however can be read almost like a regular novel. Read more
Calc text books can't be "read" they have to be studied.
This book however can be read almost like a regular novel. Read more
Published 7 days ago by DaMaDo
Fantastic. Even an idiot can learn calculus!
I took calc and calc 2 over 8 years ago and have been in public relations ever since. Meaning I haven't used math at all. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Mikey A
If you are totally lost, this is your book
This book is for the totally lost. It does a very good job of putting Calculus in reach of those who are not strong in math. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Marc Mest
Fortune Smiled Upon Me When I Ran Across This Book
It's been several years since I took Calculus I in college but I can still remember the sinking feeling I got midway through the semester when things were looking bleak. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Robin M.
How to Ace Calculus: The Streetwise Guide
My daughter said the book is worth purchasing as an additional resource. It reviews some of the major concepts used in calculus
Published 6 months ago by Catherine Maltais
Good Read
Very helpful in understanding concepts. Provides no examples though (not a workbook). Useful as an ehancer to a textbook by explaining dificult concepts in down to Earth terms. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Durral Mason
The Best
I keep a copy of this (and it's follow up volume) on the desk in the room where I teach calculus and often refer my students to it. Read more
Published 7 months ago by David Obeid
great, funny review book made simple.
I have always been one to struggle with math. After struggling through Calc 1, i decided to buy this book in the first week of Calc 2 from my professor's recommendation. Read more
Published 7 months ago by zvanaernum
Very useful!!
Im on my last calculus class and I have used this book since the beginning. I use this book all the time to help me work through problems and to help me better understand the... Read more
Published 8 months ago by I.T 22
Inside This Book
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Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs):
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particular info, splash radius, related rates problems, rectangle rule, trig functions Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Quick Guide, Example Find, Example Calculate, Their Friends, Doing It All Backward, Mathematical Jargon, Finding Derivatives the Hard Way, New York, Fancy-Pants Techniques of Integration, Put the Pedal, Von Neumann, Are You Ready, Isaac Newton, Bonus Problems, Second Derivative Test Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
particular info, splash radius, related rates problems, rectangle rule, trig functions Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Quick Guide, Example Find, Example Calculate, Their Friends, Doing It All Backward, Mathematical Jargon, Finding Derivatives the Hard Way, New York, Fancy-Pants Techniques of Integration, Put the Pedal, Von Neumann, Are You Ready, Isaac Newton, Bonus Problems, Second Derivative Test Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
5
books
cite this book:
- CliffsQuickReview Calculus by Bernard V. Zandy in Back Matter
- The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Holidays by Joshua Piven in Back Matter
- Calculus and Pizza: A Cookbook for the Hungry Mind by Clifford A. Pickover in Back Matter
- Calculus (Cliffs Quick Review) by Bernard V. Zandy in Back Matter
- Opportunities in Teaching Careers by Janet Fine on page 136
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