How to Ace the Rest of Calculus: The Streetwise Guide, Including Multi-Variable Calculus [Paperback]

Colin Adams (Author), Abigail Thompson (Author), Joel Hass (Author)

Book Description

Series: How to Ace | Publication Date: May 1, 2001

The sequel to How to Ace Calculus, How to Ace the Rest of Calculus provides humorous and highly readable explanations of the key topics of second and third semester calculus—such as sequences and series, polor coordinates, and multivariable calculus—without the technical details and fine print that would be found in a formal text.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"What a great book! It's short, it's funny, and it reveals the secrets of the calculus guild. What more could you want?"—Fernando Gouvea, Editor, MAA Online

"Congratulations! You made it through the first term of calculus. Now the fun really begins. This wonderful book will take you on a fantastic journey."—Mikhail Chkhenkeli, Williams College

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. Adams, Hass, and Thompson are co-authors of How to Ace Calculus.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Times Books (May 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0716741741
• ISBN-13: 978-0716741749
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #79,329 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book saved my GPA, February 3, 2004

By 

M. Freeman "cold-shot" (East Coast, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How to Ace the Rest of Calculus: The Streetwise Guide, Including Multi-Variable Calculus (Paperback)

This book has been more help to me than my Calculus textbook, and has made tricky concepts easy to understand. After getting a 51 & a 57 on my first Calculus II exams, I got desperate and purchased this book, as well as its prequel, "How To Ace Calculus." I read through both books all the way up to where I was in the course and had a revelation, Calculus finally made sense to me! I did extremely well on the next two exams and got the second best grade in the class on the final, ending up with a B in the course. Not too bad after getting a warning from the department in the middle of the semester, and it's all thanks to this book. It is an easy read, with very concise explanations and a dose of humor for good measure.

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Introduction, August 26, 2002

By 

David Diez (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Ace the Rest of Calculus: The Streetwise Guide, Including Multi-Variable Calculus (Paperback)

This book is very strong (10 out of 10) for Calculus II, namely in the areas of indeterminant forms and improper integrals, polar coordinates, sequences and series, vectors, parametric coordinates, and graphing. It is pretty strong (9/10) in the areas of partial derivatives and integration of many variables. In vector fields, "How to Ace the Rest of Calculus" is sketchy. It covers divergence and curl well, as well as the basics about vector fields. However, the book does not do very well (6/10) in explaining the finer points in vector fields, such as Line and Surface Integrals, Green's Theorem, and Stoke's Theorems, in which more examples would be useful. If a problem arises in line or surface integrals (including Green's and Stoke's Theorems), don't look to this book to clear it up.

I would recommend this book purely as the authors intended, an introduction--nothing more and nothing less.

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Calculus in Plain English, March 13, 2004

By 

Chuck R. (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Ace the Rest of Calculus: The Streetwise Guide, Including Multi-Variable Calculus (Paperback)

This book is not a substitute for a textbook. By itself it seems like the explanations are too simple. This book comes in vary handy when I combine it with my class.
Calculus II gets in to some very abstract concepts, and our instructor presents the material in very abstract terms - what I mean is while I am listening I am thinking that I would really enjoy this class if I was going for my masters in mathematics, but for right now, I am not grasping what is said. Our text explains everything in huge steps leaving wide gaps in the instruction. When I leave class I can turn to this book "How to Ace the Rest of Calculus" to break everything down to my level. I can get hold of the basic meaning and concepts of what is taught, and then I have a foundation to build on.
If you are in Calculus II or III, and you go through the motions doing your homework without really knowing what is going on, this book can help. The book is easy to read, and I find it is best used right after you were taught the material.
I find if I have a good foundation on the material in a way I understand, it is much easier to remember the concepts and apply the formulas. I study hard, but with the help of this book I am not left clueless at test time.