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Calculus Made Easy
Calculus Made Easy has long been the most popular calculus primer, and this major revision of the classic math text makes the subject at hand still more comprehensible to readers of all levels. With a new introduction, three new chapters, modernized language and methods throughout, and an appendix of challenging and enjoyable practice problems, Calculus Made Easy has been...more
Hardcover, 336 pages
Published
October 15th 1998
by St. Martin's Press
(first published 1910)
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Of all the math books I've read, this one is by far the most exciting. Mr. Thompson was both irreverent and witty in his development of the subject.
Prior to this book, I had attempted to wade through a couple of college entry-level calculus textbooks, but found the style of both authors to be obtuse and obfuscating. They may have known their subject, but this math whiz (straight "A's" in high school through Advanced Algebra & Trig) found those other authors' abilities to communicate far less...more
Prior to this book, I had attempted to wade through a couple of college entry-level calculus textbooks, but found the style of both authors to be obtuse and obfuscating. They may have known their subject, but this math whiz (straight "A's" in high school through Advanced Algebra & Trig) found those other authors' abilities to communicate far less...more
You can download a PDF of the 1914 edition at http://djm.cc/dmoews.html and you may in fact want to do that.
The book is a fun, cheap, and somewhat dated way to get into calculus. It's certainly not "rigorous" by a long shot, but it does what it sets out to do: show newbies how it's done instead of scaring them away with either lingo or mass. The book is not completely self-contained however, you'll need a little background in trigonometry and algebra (exponents, binomial theorem, long/polynomial...more
The book is a fun, cheap, and somewhat dated way to get into calculus. It's certainly not "rigorous" by a long shot, but it does what it sets out to do: show newbies how it's done instead of scaring them away with either lingo or mass. The book is not completely self-contained however, you'll need a little background in trigonometry and algebra (exponents, binomial theorem, long/polynomial...more
It is difficult rating a text book. I do know that I will buy this book for all my children when they are taking Calculus. Though it was written in 1910, it is amazingly understandable. One thing I enjoyed about working my way through this book was that the exercises given at the end of the chapters was exceedingly difficult.
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Not easy enough for me. An unhappy memory amidst many from the fall of 1964 at Yale. 8 AM even on Saturdays. This book is picked to represent that class which I totally flunked since I quit going early on. I'd done pretty well in math up to that point but Calculus seemed like Martian to me. The bad old days... Date is approximate.
Although I still don't understand calculus I really enjoyed reading this book. It's fun when someone loves the subject so much. The idea of infinitesimals is much more intuitive to me than limits as well. It made me think of all the abstractions which were equally 'correct' that lost out over the years.
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Available for free on project Gutenberg as a beautifully typeset PDF, this amazing little book presents the most fundamental ideas of the calculus in a surprisingly approachable way. It's certainly light on rigor, but for an introductory primer,that's not such a terrible thing.
It's still not that easy, but - as Martin Gardner explains in the introduction - this book still outshines any textbook in terms of accessibility and simplicity. 700 pages of dense, graphics filled problem sets can make a subject seem so intimidating that no one will ever want to touch it. I know I didn't. No wonder many people still look at math students as possessing a form of 'genius' that is both threatening and alienating at the same time. This book was written for school kids back in 1910...more
I am not sure if this is the same edition as the one I have (3rd ed., paperback). No matter - this book is a work of art. From the first chapter - "To Deliver You from the Preliminary Terrors" for those who wish they could have stuck it out back in high school "if only", to the second chapter - "On Different Degrees of Smallness" for those who may be math whizzes but would like to revisit the foundations of calculus in a new light (perhaps to teach it to someone else), to the many subsequent cha...more
Didn't get very far with this ( Understood the prolouge and that was about it ) Not ready for calculus easy or not I guess
This book is awesome! It is short, but the explanations are excellent. This book really does makes basic calculus seem easy.
None
I reread the text a few times and worked out most of the problems and feel I now understand calculus well enough to appreciate its significance and genius. I've worked my way through another calculus text because of it and am able to understand discussions about aspects of calculus in other math books as well.
Wish I had this book when I was a high school student. I definitely plan to use it with my children when they are older.
Wish I had this book when I was a high school student. I definitely plan to use it with my children when they are older.
given that i am a science nerd you dont have to be to take on this book. calculus is a beautiful theory that doesnt involve interpretation....awww life made simple. its odd in a sense that math can make more sense when numbers with finite value become letters that can reach infinity. ironic? see for yourself. plus it will make you feel smarter!
This isn't all the other calculus books out there. In fact, this is a very old book (early 20th century) and it's surprising how accessible it is (I would say, more than today's books). The writer is witty and sympathetic at all times (the first chapter is called 'To Deliver You From Preliminary Terrors').
Mar 04, 2007
Farrokh
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
teachers and student of calculus
Shelves:
mathematics
Calculus made easy is an especial calculus book. It has really good example and really good explaining. It illustrates calculus by its visual example and some little jokes in them. I suggest this book to who likes calculus and want to learn it out of the boring difficult explanations.
When I first saw this book, I thought that one might as well call a book "Levitation Made Easy". My judgement of the cover notwithstanding, Thompson does manage to demystify an intimidating topic.
Aug 04, 2010
Roberto Zanasi
added it
Come fare analisi matematica senza utilizzare i limiti: ovvero tutto quello che ci hanno detto di non fare a scuola pena pesanti insufficienze...
It's a math book, but it is very well written and easy to read. I enjoy fiddling with it, as a purely mental exercise.
If you want to learn calc, or need a refresher, this book is indispensable.
I read this, but it sure didn't make calculus any easier!
Calculus Made Easy by Silvanus P. Thompson (1970)
Aug 09, 2007
Alexis
marked it as to-read
i'm going to do it. swear.
May 21, 2013
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