Calc from Graph, Num, & Sym Points View: Volume II

Book was exactly as I wanted and significantly cheaper then at my school book store (65% cheaper). It looks BRAND NEW, the user said it was "like new", and it came very very fast. I took AP Calculus my Jr. year of high school, and I will be repeating the course as a freshman at my university. I qualified to take the 300 level math which is Calc II, but decided on Math 226, which is Calculus I at my university. The material looks challenging, and for me since I only took AP Stats my senior year, I've forgotten a bit of Calculus. I had a very very good Calculus teacher and feel very confident that I will do very well in this class since I earned a very hard A as the youngest student (16 yrs old) taking the course at my high school.

Most of the other reviews have it wrong. I imagine they are mostly from calculus students who got grades they didn't want, which isn't hard to do no matter WHAT book is used. I'd hate to think any calculus teachers downrated this book. It's a prize winner. I teach advanced placement calculus; have for 34 years, during which time I've seen and used a LOT of calculus texts. This book is an excellent treatment of the topics of calculus--not Real Analysis, for math majors, but great for its intended audience. Most of my students read the book since I encourage that. Most who read it report that they like it, especially the humor. Those who don't like it no doubt dislike the lack of example after example after example after example after example that dull the mind and prepare the reader ONLY for those numerous similar-if-not-identical problems in the homework. Not an easy read? It's CALCULUS! Read it slowly for comprehension, with a pencil. It's not a novel. But it IS NOVEL. Its concept-oriented approach is quite unlike the traditional algebraic approach. We have computer algebra systems today; UNDERSTANDING the CONCEPTS of calculus is what's more important and Ostebee and Zorn provide this through a variety of thought-provoking problems. In most sections, no two are alike. FAR from traditional-looking. As a reform text, it is unusual in that they built the book from the ground up. None of this, "OK, we're getting pressure to put in graphing calculator problems; let's make volume umpteen different--put little calculator icons next to every 3rd problem and add a few lines to each chapter and stick 'Graphing Calculator' in the title" approach taken by other authors and companies. But it's not just for high school AP calculus. Many colleges use it. Do an internet search. No, it's not as widely used as some of the aforementioned modifications of older popular texts, and should NOT be unless instructor and student are unwilling to think, assimilate, and apply concepts constantly. P.S. This is a sure fire way to learn ANYthing.

If you read it through and through, you will find how wonderful it is to approach calculus in a graphical, numerical and symbolic way. If you want to challenge your mind in this way, this book is probably the most suitable for you. I am using it in my calculus calss, and I found the concepts are very clearly explained. The thing that I love most of this book is that it helps students develop a good understanding of calculus through observing and studying the graphs of the functions. This only imperfection of the book, if any, is that there lack of some theoretical exercises. But any book can not be perfect. The most important thing is how you enjoy it. For me, it is a new and fresh guide of the study of calculus.

Ostebee and Zorn presented Calculus in a mind stimulating and reform way. No more copying examples out of the book because every problem is the same. This book makes you discover the methods and understanding. The basic understandings are provided, but the rest is up to you! I have never understood Calculus so thoroughly! I do not rate the book five stars, because of the unreliable solutions manual. The book is geared toward user discovery, so the solutions in the manual need to be CORRECT in order for the user to benefit the most.

It was a good book. I used it in my Calc class and liked it. It is funny in places.