Vector Calculus, Linear Algebra, and Differential Forms: A Unified Approach (2nd Edition) [Hardcover]

John H. Hubbard (Author), Barbara Burke Hubbard (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0130414085 | ISBN-13: 978-0130414083 | Publication Date: September 15, 2001 | Edition: 2

Using a dual presentation that is rigorous and comprehensive—yet exceptionaly reader-friendly in approach—this book covers most of the standard topics in multivariate calculus and an introduction to linear algebra. It focuses in underlying ideas, integrates theory and applications, offers a host of learning aids, features coverage of differential forms, and emphasizes numerical methods that highlight modern applications of mathematics. The revised and expanded content of this edition includes new discussions of functions; complex numbers; closure, interior, and boundary; orientation; forms restricted to vector spaces; expanded discussions of subsets and subspaces of R^n; probability, change of basis matrix; and more. For individuals interested in the fields of mathematics, engineering, and science—and looking for a unified approach and better understanding of vector calculus, linear algebra, and differential forms.

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

Several readers have complained about the lack of a student solution manual. One now exists, published by Matrix Editions. Errata for the book are posted on the book web site (URL given in the book). The most recent posting was Feb. 29, 2002. Readers who wish to be notified by e-mail when new errata are posted can sign up via the web site or e-mail the authors (address given in the book).

What's new in the second edition (the one with the pale yellow cover now being sold):

The main change is that we introduce a new approach to Lebesgue integration. In addition, the second edition has approximately 270 additional exercises and 50 additional examples. We have added pictures of mathematicians and more historical notes. There are now end-of-section exercises, as well as review exercises for Chapters 1--6. Some useful formulas are listed on the back cover.

More difficult material from Chapter 0 was moved to the Appendix. The inverse and implicit function theorems have been rewritten. In Chapter 3 we simplified the definition of a manifold, and we now begin with the general case and discuss curves and surfaces as examples. Similarly, in Chapter 5, we eliminated the separate sections on arc length and surface area; we now have one section on volume of manifolds.

In Chapter 6, we rewrote the discussion of orientation and changed the definition of a piece-with-boundary of a manifold, to make it both simpler and more inclusive.

From the Back Cover

Using a dual presentation that is rigorous and comprehensive—yet exceptionaly reader-friendly in approach—this book covers most of the standard topics in multivariate calculus and an introduction to linear algebra. It focuses in underlying ideas, integrates theory and applications, offers a host of learning aids, features coverage of differential forms, and emphasizes numerical methods that highlight modern applications of mathematics. The revised and expanded content of this edition includes new discussions of functions; complex numbers; closure, interior, and boundary; orientation; forms restricted to vector spaces; expanded discussions of subsets and subspaces of R^n; probability, change of basis matrix; and more. For individuals interested in the fields of mathematics, engineering, and science—and looking for a unified approach and better understanding of vector calculus, linear algebra, and differential forms.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 800 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall; 2 edition (September 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0130414085
• ISBN-13: 978-0130414083
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 8.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,419,592 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Text, May 14, 2004

By 

M. Feldman (St. Louis, MO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Vector Calculus, Linear Algebra, and Differential Forms: A Unified Approach (2nd Edition) (Hardcover)

I have used this book to teach gifted high school students about the following topics: the implicit function theorem, manifolds, and differential forms. With the Hubbards' approach, even students without a course in linear algebra actually get it! Not only do they understand the material, but they also become amazingly enthusiastic when they begin to see the unifying effect of understanding differential forms.

This is the only text that I have seen that really makes forms clear. It does so by taking the time to carefully, but rigorously, explain them in a "classical" setting. One of the reasons forms are so difficult to grasp is that while some things, such as the exterior derivative and the work form of a function, can be seen as natural objects (when explained well), the connection between these objects and calculating with forms using coordinates is not so easy to make clear. The Hubbards' do make these ideas clear - even when presenting topics as hard as orientation.

Unfortunately, most of us had to wait till graduate school to see forms - usually, in a more abstract setting. By then, we probably didn't have time to sit, calculate, and make clear connections. This text makes that later transition, for those in math, much easier. It also makes physics easier. The Hubbards' make that point by showing that the electric field shouldn't really be a field, but a two form. Any book that lets one explain that - and much more - to high school students, which I do, should be a part of every multivariable calculus course.

Finally, I should note that this book contains much, much more than manifolds, the implicit function theorem and differential forms. But, even if that were all it contained, it would fully be worth the price.

In summary, this book opens the door to new worlds that most students never get to see clearly. What a present to us all.

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Revolutionize the way calculus is taught, May 25, 2005

By 

Jun Zhou Zhang (Coram, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Vector Calculus, Linear Algebra, and Differential Forms: A Unified Approach (2nd Edition) (Hardcover)

This is the textbook used for the math 223/224 Theoretical Calculus and Linear Algebra sequence in Cornell University. The book is designed for prospective math students. Although the book mainly follows a rigorous development of the theories of multi-dimensional calculus, the mathematical machinery used in developing the theories is immensely broad, especially in linear algebra. The book covers most of the standard topics in a first semester linear algebra course and touches on many other areas of mathematics such as, real and complex analysis, set theory, differential geometry, integration theory, measure theory, numerical analysis, probability theory, topology, etc. The highlight of the book is its introduction of differential forms to generalize the fundamental theorems of vector calculus. The author is not the first one who follows this path. There are many other books written before this one that have similar approach, such as Calculus On Manifolds by Spivak, which was written 40 years ago and was too old to suit modern students.
The author tries hard to retain rigor and present to the readers as many examples and applications as possible. Often he tries to cover a broad range of mathematics and digresses a little. The book more or less touches on most of the areas of undergraduate mathematics curriculum and does not go into depth. It sometimes gives me the impression that the book is almost like a survey of undergradute math. The book is also not error-free. There are many typos and some technical errors. If you buy this book, make sure to get the errata from the author's website.

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars At last - A great book on elementary mathematics, February 14, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Vector Calculus, Linear Algebra, and Differential Forms: A Unified Approach (2nd Edition) (Hardcover)

This book is unique in several ways: it covers an immense amount of material, much of which is never presented in books aimed at this level. The underlying idea of the authors is to present constructive proofs, which has the great benefit of providing the reader with the ability to actually compute quantities appearing in the theorems. As an example, the Inverse Function Theorem is proved using Newton's method, which relies on Kantorovich's Theorem, and thus actually gives an explicit size of the domain on which the inverse exists. The book also contains a very nice section on Lebesgue integrals, a topic which is usually reserved for graduate level courses. The construction is to my knowledge completely new, and does not rely on sigma-algebras, but utilizes only elementary mathematics. Another nice feature is that the book considers abstract spaces at an early stage. Thus the reader is presented with the idea of computing derivatives of functions acting on e.g. matrix-spaces, as opposed to the usual Euclidian spaces. The concluding treatment on differential forms brings a lot of the introduced ideas together and completes the picture by a thorough treatment on integration over manifolds.

This book can be studied at several levels. For a first year honours course, one may skip the trickiest proofs, which appear in the appendix. More advanced readers may choose to study constructions and details of selected theorems and proofs. Anyone who buys this book will have a solid companion for many years ahead.