Calculus With Analytic Geometry (Hardcover)

~ George Simmons (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Written by acclaimed author and mathematician George Simmons, this revision is designed for the calculus course offered in two and four year colleges and universities. It takes an intuitive approach to calculus and focuses on the application of methods to real-world problems. Throughout the text, calculus is treated as a problem solving science of immense capability.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 880 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Science/Engineering/Math; 2nd edition (October 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0070576424
• ISBN-13: 978-0070576421
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 8.1 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #273,320 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My guide through calculus, April 15, 2003

By	Daniel V. Gomes "Daniel V. Gomes" (Jaguariuna-SP Brazil) - See all my reviews

When I was a freshman in College, a friend of mine showed a book. As I was taking Calculus I simply took it at hand and started to read it. I was surprised because the explanation was
so clear and the text was so well written and in many ways very artistic. I bought it and this book helped me very much. It covers the genesis of calculus, the very basics of limits and function, introduces differential equations, it is very precise on describing differential and integral calculus, it gives you a solid knowledge of Analic Geometry, it is a very good guide to series and my favorite area is more than 1 dimension functions.
Its exercises vary from those which teach you the way of thinking through those very hard ones that simply grant that you got it all.
One of the best comments I ever read in a book for Enginneers was one that the author made about solving non linear equations.
I can't remember literally but it was something like "you should try to solve this non-linear equation using your intelligence, yet sometimes you won't really find a solution". That comment for a Math book is such a evolution.
Apart from the Math issues, the author has a deep knowledge
of Phylosophy of Science and its story. Simply one of my 3 favorite technical/ science books ever.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rebuttal to Mr. Harris' Review, September 12, 2000

By A Customer

While it is true that Simmons advocates leaving off the absolute value sign when integrating 1/x dx, and even assuming he got one problem wrong involving this, to dismiss the entire book as "rubbish" and to recommend "avoiding [it] like the plague" is completely unfair and totally out of proportion. Furthermore, claiming that it's "confusing" to even introduce the idea of the derivative before a formal definition of a limit is given is also unfair. There's absolutely nothing wrong with providing students with this kind of motivation, and you really don't need a formal definition of a limit to understand the concept. Having a correct and intuitive understanding with a minimum of prerequisites is helpful and an admirable pedagogical goal. [In fact, a classic calculus text (the two-volume set by Tom Apostol) even treats integration before differentiation (and limits), and it's completely correct and clear.] I trust that the fact that every other reviewer gave this book extremely high praise will give students the confidence to read and use this text to learn Calculus in an ideal way.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Oasis, April 18, 2007

By	Christopher Osburn (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have a big, dirty secret: I needed three tries to get through calculus. Needless to say, I went through (or at least started) three calculus books. The third of these was Simmons' first edition of the current volume. Dr. Simmons takes a historical approach to the material, following discovery after discovery. While today we define the derivative in terms of the limit, this definition (and the delta-epsilon proof machinery beneath the limit concept) came after the geometric notion of the tangent of a curve. I found it enormously helpful to know where I was going before I started. And why not? The great mathematicians that built the rigorous foundations beneath the calculus all knew where they had to end up.

One other topic that Dr. Simmons enjoys is arithmetic series. This topic unfolded like a flower during its presentation. As I moved into computer science, this provided valuable background to some of the iterative methods of calculation I was exposed to.

I might have a different perspective, though; George Simmons was my Calc 2 prof :-)