Calculus I with Precalculus: A One-Year Course

Beware of customer comments, like the two posted before this one. Here's my take on these two indivduals: 1) High School teachers have more training than college professors. High school teachers go through a one-year teaching-credential/certificate program at the graduate level. 2) College professors do not have this rigorous training. In fact, many times they are simply hired by a university to conduct research while their teaching assistants actually teach the class. 3) The high school teacher's comments are supported with examples and very thorough, while the second comment seems to have been posted by a frustrated college student who left two or three sentences. One of those sentences was a mention that their "professor" thought the book was bad too. No support. Again, a professor does not need any special teaching program under his or her belt to attain a faculty position. So, in wrapping up this comment. I'll also let you know that I've been through a teaching credential program, as well as currently work with college professors at a university. Basically, I'm familiar with the backgrounds of these two posts. I would lean towards the high-school teacher's response. Cheers, Scott

This book is user friendly, the problems are accessible, and the students are not confused by the presentation. The Precalc material can be covered rapidly and is well done. I am quite happy about this front matter -- it is perfectly suited for getting the student ready for Calculus. Even if a teacher does not intend to teach any Precalc material, there is a satisfaction in having it available when new-found deficiencies need to be remedied. This is especially true at the high school level. Once into the Calculus chapters, Trigonometry is saved for after the Integral. This helps the class to concentrate on the fundamentals of series, limits, derivatives and the integral. I don't know of a teacher's manual for this edition. And, I have only found myself frustrated by one wrong answer in the back. The problem sets offer plenty of opportunity to master the graphing calculator (a TI-83 is sufficient, though a TI-89 could be preferred). Especially good are the questions that lead the students into understanding the concepts -- "Getting the Concept" is a constant theme throughout the exercises. The problems are gradated, as one would expect, and the applications cover many fields (perhaps explaining why the book is so thick). No textbook will completely satisfy any teacher, but this one is useful as a base line for a whole year of study. Being a first edition, it is well edited and has obviously been tested. I have not found any serious weaknesses; I will certainly use it again. The articles on the CD are hit-and-miss. Some are far too technical for most students, but some are just right. The proof and lead-up to the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus are easy to follow and well explained -- the authors use the Mean Value Theorem (the Squeeze Theorem is not heavily developed in the book). Calculus is well established as an introductory course and its curriculum is predictable; keeping with that, this book does not seem to establish any revolutionary directions. It has succeeded at being modern, easy to follow and pleasing to the eye and mind. It could be used to satisfy the AP course requirements (AB), though I am not using it that way. The same company teamed up with Ron Larson and published an AP text that has received great praise. I imagine there is some overlap between this book and that one. I have a large laundry list of what I would like to see in a textbook, but so does everyone else! We simply use a good standard text, like this one, to direct the class while invigorating the subject with our own materials. At the end of the day: no complaints at all. I hope this book remains available for years to come.