Product Description

This best selling author team explains concepts simply and clearly, without glossing over difficult points. Problem solving and mathematical modeling are introduced early and reinforced throughout, so that when students finish the course, they have a solid foundation in the principles of mathematical thinking. This comprehensive, evenly paced book provides complete coverage of the function concept and integrates substantial graphing calculator materials that help students develop insight into mathematical ideas. The authors' attention to detail and clarity, as in James Stewart's market-leading Calculus text, is what makes this text the market leader.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8274 in Books
• Published on: 2007-02-05
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 1072 pages

About the Author
James Stewart received his M.S. from Stanford University and his Ph.D. from the University of Toronto. He did research at the University of London and was influenced by the famous mathematician George Polya at Stanford University. Stewart is currently Professor of Mathematics at McMaster University, and his research field is harmonic analysis. Stewart is the author of a best-selling calculus textbook series published by Cengage Learning—Brooks/Cole, including CALCULUS, CALCULUS: EARLY TRANSCENDENTALS, and CALCULUS: CONCEPTS AND CONTEXTS, as well as a series of precalculus texts.

Lothar Redlin grew up on Vancouver Island, received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Victoria, and a Ph.D. from McMaster University in 1978. He subsequently did research and taught at the University of Washington, the University of Waterloo, and California State University, Long Beach. He is currently Professor of Mathematics at The Pennsylvania State University, Abington Campus. His research field is topology.

Saleem Watson received his Bachelor of Science degree from Andrews University in Michigan. He did graduate studies at Dalhousie University and McMaster University, where he received his Ph.D. in 1978. He subsequently did research at the Mathematics Institute of the University of Warsaw in Poland. He also taught at The Pennsylvania State University. He is currently Professor of Mathematics at California State University, Long Beach. His research field is functional analysis.

Customer Reviews

One of the top two precalculus texts available
There is a mind-numbing sameness to precalculus and calculus textbooks, and this book is more of the same. The coverage starts with real numbers, exponents, expressions and solving equations. The basic principles of functions, polynomial, exponential, logarithmic and trigonometric functions, solving systems of equations, sequences, series, counting and probability, analytic geometry and limits follow this. I personally can do without the chapter on limits, when I teach precalculus, I am hard pressed to cover the other material. There is plenty of time to cover limits in calculus and it provides a better context. There are a large number of exercises at the end of each section and solutions to the odd-numbered ones are included in an appendix. As appears to be the case with many books, some of the exercises could have been left out with no decline in quality. At times I suspect there is the mathematical equivalent of an "arms race" to see how many exercises can be included at the end of a chapter.
The previous paragraph could be used to describe nearly every precalculus text on the planet, so it fits into the category of obvious, but necessary. Therefore, the key point is what makes this book different from the competition. The answer is not much. The approach is the standard statement of the new material followed by a series of worked examples, which is also the fundamental strategy used in all lower level math books. Short biographical asides of some of the major historical figures in mathematics are interjected on a regular basis. I like that, but wonder how often the students read them. What is different about this book is that the quality of the writing is somewhat better than most. In a field where there is very little to differentiate the texts, that is enough to make me rank this book in the top two precalculus books that are available.

Very understandable and interesting, a rarity in math texts.
The book is easy to read and interesting. I am able to teach high school students out of this book, but it has enough depth to still be useful to a first year university student. It has good write-ups on the predominant mathematicians. It's the best pre-calc book I've come across.

Precalculus: Matheatics for Calculus: 5th Edition (with CD-rom)
I have never used the CD, but the book is okay. If you are going to take calculus in the future than you should get a cheaper precalculus book and save some money. This is essentially the same as the 4th edition, except the price tag. Only get if you absolutely must for a class.