Calculus Refresher

This book is a superb revision course with short chapters and exercise sets that can be easily browsed through and solved in daily capsules of two/three -- my only complaint is that answers are provided only to the odd-numbered problems. I fail to understand what the author/publisher achieves by saving a few pages of paper or/and the effort of solving the even-numbered problems and providing the final answers. The exercises are very directly related to the questions answered (problems solved) in the chapter and are great to reinforce one's confidence in a self-learning environment. I am about to start Chapter XXII (page 177) and am confident that the remaining half of the book will also be as good.

This book is great for review of calculus. The method of solving arbitrary problems is really helpful because of the generalities that they encompass. I like using this book as my reference and integral book because it has a great appendix. I've added my own little tidbits here and there too.The only thing that makes this lack 5 stars is the fact that there is a little too much attention given to engineering. If things were phrased from a physics standpoint then carry-over to engineering would be implicit.Also, it is not really organized by what you encounter chronologically in the study of calculus. The contents page is more like a one-liner to get you where you need to be then you do the digging.All in all....worth it.

I learned my calculus many years ago and found it hard. By using this book I have not only revived what I knew, and more, but have found it much easier than I expected! The text manages to combine brevity with great clarity, and the exercises are (usually) well graded.The book is an excellent refresher but beginners would probably find it too terse.Be warned that Klaf supplies answers to only the odd-numbered questions in the exercises. If you're working without a teacher, this is a pain, and if it weren't for this (IMHO) defect I'd give the book 5 stars without any doubt. Be warned also that the book was written over 50 years ago and that consequently the applied calculus examples (which are relatively few) are given using imperial units.

and perhaps add a level of understanding not achieved originally. The difficulty of the problems presented are not as great as in the undergrad levels of a high quality university, but too often we professionals turn away from the fundamentals of the math we use and operate at the advanced levels so long that the basic methodologies become ghost like memories. We begin to use the high powered tools of computer software with as little understanding as most business/marketing people. This is the best book I've encountered to refresh that understanding of the foundation of our professions. Tim Niles

This book is a somewhat informal refresher for people who have taken calculus before, but maybe didn't see the applications of it. It is entirely practical problem solving, which is very useful to those who will actually be using calculus in their jobs or for higher level math courses. The problem solving emphasis is the best part, and after I read it and worked the problems I've been able to integrate rings around my fellow college math majors. Warning: Many of the problems can be quite difficult. This is not a calculus for dummies book!