C. H. Edwards

I own an alternate format of 3rd ed. CALCULUS AND ANALYTIC GEOMETRY, by Edwards and Penney. My alternate (not customized) format, designated "Volume I," includes only half the chapters of the original. The rest of the chapters are supposedly in "Volume II," bound separately. I do not own "Volume II."

I'm almost sure my version was published later than the original single-volume text. That's a good thing. The dirty secret of math books is that early formats/printings of an edition are full of errors, which get fixed when it goes back to press. Later versions get lots of polish, in other words. So I would rather own a later version than an earlier one, of any math book edition, even if limited to a "Volume I."

Moreover, despite being 24 years old, there is no risk that the stuff in this edition is outdated; calculus is calculus. Hence, nothing in this publication necessarily invalidates it as a learning tool.

But this math book suffers from a very common ailment: flagrant omissions of algebra and calculus steps in worked examples. How disappointing! Reading such chopped-up algebra and calculus is like hearing music on a CD that skips. We may be able to deduce what's left out, yet we are still missing the full pleasure.

Er, did Edwards and Penney think their printer would run out of ink or paper? Ha ha. Or were they just afraid that algebra and calculus steps aren't fun to read? Well, I hereby declare that reading complete step-by-step math is quite fun. It's certainly more fun than having to fill in steps that are absent. Especially when geometric intuition is downplayed, as with Edwards and Penney.

On the positive side, 3rd ed. CALCULUS AND ANALYTIC GEOMETRY makes great use of color. There's not too little color, and not too much. Color is always applied thoughtfully.

Plus, this textbook has nice, precise & accurate verbal descriptions. I'm not saying Edwards and Penney are brilliant writers. I am just saying they understand how to use English for precise & accurate communication. In contrast, less confident authors over-rely on math symbols, avoiding English when aiming for precision & accuracy. Meanwhile, other authors do try to use English words precisely & accurately--but fail. Thus, Edwards and Penney stand out from the crowd, since Edwards and Penney know how to verbally express calculus concepts.… (plus d'informations)

If you're looking for a book that will teach you all about linear algebra, this is definitely a good place to start, but it is not a comprehensive text on the subject. However, it is fairly robust when it comes to differential equations.

Differential equations have a wide variety of uses, ranging from mathematics, to science, from physics to biology, and even economics. If you're not afraid to get your math elbows a little dirty, you can harness the power of differential equations to solve a lot of the problems you may face in your life, and what better place to learn DEs than with this book, complete with exercises to further assist the learning process. It is helpful to have an understanding of calculus before venturing into this, though. But, calculus, hey, you learned that in early college or late high school, so it should be a breeze to get back into, right?… (plus d'informations)