Precalculus With Trigonometry [Hardcover]

Paul A. Foerster (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Pearson Prentice Hall; 2nd edition (January 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0201813564
• ISBN-13: 978-0201813562
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 8.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,290,477 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A text for the 21st century, except, April 29, 2010

By 

Fishmael - See all my reviews

This review is from: Precalculus With Trigonometry (Hardcover)

This book covers a wider variety of topics and examples than any other precalculus or trigonometry book I've seen. (I'm a community college math instructor, so I've seen quite a few.) In many ways, it's the prototype of the kind of math textbooks we need in the era of graphing calculators and computer algebra systems. Many of the problems require considerable thought and insight, and go far beyond the kind of rote exercises that can be solved by technology alone.

Where this book falls short is in explaining why things work the way they do. Too often, it simply presents a theorem and basically says "use this", without little attention to justifying it, let alone proving it. That's OK up to a point - not everything that's taught in precalculus has a proof that's accessible at that level - but the generally casual approach to justifying what's being taught shortchanges those students who will go on to major in math or related subjects. A heavy-duty calculus class with proofs on limits and continuity would definitely be a shock to the system after a year with this book.

Still, it's a remarkable text simply for the breadth of what it presents (including, I'm slightly embarrassed to say, some things I never even knew before) and the level of thought that the problems require. I'd give it 3.5 stars (maybe even 3.6 :-) if I could.

4 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not so great. Thanks., September 24, 2000

By 

Jared (CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Precalculus With Trigonometry (Hardcover)

It's got really bad binding and it's usually incomprehensible. I am good at math, but I got really lost when I tried to use it to figure anything out...but nice try, Foerster!