Bob Blitzer's books are known for their well-conceived, relevant applications and meticulously annotated examples. This book gives readers the skill-building, practice, applications, and technology needed to foster an appreciation of mathematics. Maintains Blitzer's exceptional writing style that helps readers relate to and grasp the material. Contains new, innovative applications such as "Mammography Screening," "Political Ideology of U.S. College Freshmen," and "Nature's Life Cycles and Prime Numbers." Includes new exercises and more Study Tip Boxes throughout. A handy reference for anyone needing to brush up on their mathematics skills.
Yes, I'm adding this math book to my reading log. Why, you may ask?
BECAUSE THIS BOOK CAUSED ME TREMENDOUS AMOUNTS OF PAIN AND SUFFERING DURING THIS SEMESTER AND IT CAN OFFER ME AT LEAST *SOMETHING* NICE IN RETURN.
Also, because the author gave so much background information at the beginning of each chapter, it felt like reading an entire story BEFORE teaching me anything math-related (and sometimes, he used examples from the text, so it wasn't like I could skip over the anecdotes from hell).
Very wide in scope, this is an applied algebra course aimed, in the curriculum I was assigned to teach it, at liberal arts majors and future teachers. I liked most the focus on mathematically understanding loans in interest in the context of practical life decisions.
I only did three or so chapters from this book, so i cant review the book as a whole, but from what chapters i did, this book is pretty good for a math book. Takes subjects that could be confusing and really breaks them down, making it easy to understand. Definitely good for people who aren't the greatest at math.
Math isn't my most favorite topic of study, but this textbook, along with MyMathLab, helped the learning process to not be as difficult as I anticipated.