How to Ace Calculus: The Streetwise Guide

This is a book that I used mostly to help teach myself calculus before I had to take the class. The first handful of chapters (about the first 30 pages or so) deal with things like choosing the right teacher, study tips, exam taking, etc. Then, it gets into the meat of the material that you will learn in class. It covers all of the major topics from the first semester of calculus and most of the material in the second semester. Of course, that depends on how your school structures the calculus curriculum, but if it is a standard split where the first semester deals with derivatives and their application, and then introduces integrals, and the second semester focuses on all of the various integration techniques and their applications, then this will get you through that. Some second-semester calc classes also cover an introduction to differential equations, and if your school does that, this book will not cover that material. The book is not what I would call a problems repository. It is more like the explanatory material that comes before the problem sets in the textbooks and provides some examples. The explanation of the theory and how to work problems are better than you would get in a lot of textbooks, but if you would need to get something like one of Schaum's guides if you want something that just has a ton of practice problems. One of the very helpful things the author does is give tips for things to look out for when working with different problem types and point out common mistakes that people make. If you can internalize those concepts quickly and do a lot of practice problems you will learn the material and avoid unnecessary mistakes. So, if you can learn from a book, which is definitely hard for some people, this one is a good resource to help you learn the material. I would read this in conjunction with the textbook to help make sense of what the textbook is trying to explain.

Ok, I'm the type of person that likes to hold onto my old math books for future reference because we all tend to forget some mathematical concepts and equations as time goes on. This book is amazing. After having previously buying a disappointing DVD on Calculus, I had to find another source to supplement, and cover the ideas of Calculus. I found this book was extremely easy to reader and covers all concepts that you are likely to run into in your Calculus 1 and 2 classes. And best part is this book is very cheap compare to others out there yet it has concise and humorous explanations. I enjoy this book so much that it almost doesn't feel much like studying when reading it, yet I am better able to understand Calculus after each section. This book is definitely a keeper and maybe I'll even sell back my Calculus 1 and 2 textbooks to get some of my college money back. Good luck in your Calculus adventure.

I am horrible at math. I used this book in my Calculus I class last semester (Fall 2000) and part of Calculus II and it really helped me out. With this book and a lot of determination I was able to get an 'A' in Cal I and, depending on how my final exam turns out, it looks like I might get an 'A' in Cal II. I am completely convinced I would not have done as well with just my text book alone. I was impressed that all though the book was 1/5 the size of my Calculus text, everytime I stumbled in class I was able to flip right to the section I was having problems with and it explained almost everything in a clear and relevent manner. Some of the humor in the book is a bit of stretch and there were a few topics on which I wish the book contained a bit more information. Particularly the chapter "Fancy Pants Techniques of Integration." I really could have used a little more help on Trigonometric Substitutions, Misc Substitutions, and Partial Fractions. Other than that, this book is easily one of the best educational supplements I've ever purchased. I have "How to Ace the Rest of Calculus" on order now. I hope it gets to me before the end of the semester.

This book is for the totally lost. It does a very good job of putting Calculus in reach of those who are not strong in math. Especially high school students and adult learners. Calculus textbooks are not very student friendly, there are a few which are, but most are not. This book provides an entertaining overview of the various topics. In some cases they use exactly the same metaphors that are used in most Calculus books; however, they are more engaging. I don't totally agree this will help you ace Calculus, but it will help the student who is lost or can't seem to click with the textbooks. There are several elements that would make the superb. Like exercises for the student, and more worked examples. They do provide alot of good advice on areas that will hurt you on a test. The one thing I wish they did was provided coverage of some precalc issues. They touch on it briefly in the beginning of the book, but it would be more useful if they iterated through all of the common algebra issues. ( alot of the Calculus helper books do this, and it is very helpful ). This book is not for someone who understands the concepts, but simply has issues with solving the exercises. For that I would choose something else that is more instructive and has exercises. ( like Gootman or Klien ).

Last fall my son enrolled in Calculus 1 as a college freshman. I thought that, having taken calculus 40 years ago, it might be an interesting time for me to try a refresher -- so we agreed to put our heads together now and then. Since the textbook (Stewart) was none too friendly, we soon started assembling background materials to help us along. We bought several books, including this one; "The Calculus Lifesaver" by Adrian Banner; and "The Humongous Book of Calculus Problems" by Kelley. In addition, we picked up a copy of "The Calculus 1 & 2 Tutor" DVD by Jason Gibson, and checked out several of the many tutorials on YouTube. Now that the semester is over, I can say that "How to Ace Calculus" was the book we consulted most frequently for quick help along the way. Banner's book was more thorough (at 700+ pages, it should be), and it is the one I would recommend to a serious student who is really motivated to master calculus as completely as possible. But "How to Ace Calculus" usually gave us just the right amount of help we needed to get through a given topic. We did note that a few topics covered by my son's class were not in the book, but we could easily deal with these using the other resources we collected. I particularly appreciated the "Just the Facts" tear-out pages at the end of the book summarizing all of the key formulas, etc., in only a dozen pages. As an incoming college freshman, my son also said he enjoyed the book's explanation of how to deal with a class like math at the college level. As for the jokey spin that worked its way into nearly all the sections -- well, a little went a long way, sometimes we'd be rolling our eyes, but in the end it wasn't too distracting. We also made regular use of Gibson's DVD and various YouTube tutorials. At any rate, my son did get an A in Calc 1, and now it's on to Calculus 2. For that, we bought the authors' sequel, "How to Ace the Rest of Calculus." I wish I had resources like this back in the prehistoric era when I took calculus the first time.

I've had the pleasure of finding this gem while searching for a clearer picture of the many topics contained within this quirky world we call calculus. Written in an upbeat manner that may seem sappy at times, this book is a pleasant change of pace to that offered by weightier counterparts. More importantly, the author does not try to teach by spewing out intellectual goop in rapid succession without first providing substance through the use of colloquial articulation--in written form, of course. Many of the calculus books I've bought also give tips to avoid mistakes. However, this book includes vivid examples and humorous stories not found in any of the others. I recommend using this book as a reference, especially if you're in an Asian-based education system! This book will provide you with a foundation of general understanding towards the more essential topics. To math buffs: proofs for the formal definitions are lacking--found in weightier textbooks. Use this book when others leave you in befuddlement and animosity in this quirky world of calculus.

Their comedy walks a fine line between being utterly distracting and tastefully phrased. If your preference for explanations is much like dry wine, then this book is not for you, as its flavour resembles the unfortunate creation of alcoholic energy drinks. Perhaps the book cover suggests this much. My professor recommends the book, but I don't; I prefer a dignified experience that takes seriously the condition of curiosity, not the condition of wishing to be constantly entertained. We are humans and not pigs, after all--please don't buy alcoholic energy drinks.

I am heading back to school to finish up a Mathematics degree. Been away from school for a while, and even though I've completed Calc I, II and III (over 8 years ago), Calc is the prereq for my remaining advanced math courses. What to do?!? Found this little gem three weeks ago, ordered it, and finished it tonight (an hour or two each night, and still living my life)! Given the textbook racket that seems to have become more costly than courses - not to mention filled with sometimes _too_ much information - I'm happy to say that this book is cleverly written, to the point, yet thorough with the principles and explanations of the general principles of Calculus. I recommend this book to anyone who is: a) about to take a beginning Calculus course b) in need of an excellent refresher on the topic c) would like to learn Calculus for fun, in a fun way! Thanks goes out to the previous reviewers, and to the authors for taking the time to care about the student by setting the egos aside (next week it's on to How to Ace: the Rest of Calculus)!

I laughed at the title before I bought this, but picked it up anyways. I got an A+ (!!!) so in hindsight I think I owe the authors an apology for snickering at the title. Great book!

Fantastic!!!

This book should be far more popular, it adopts a fun and jovial style and teaches lots of shortcuts, hacks, tricks and tips to help you master the subject of Calculus. At the same time it still manages to dive deep into the subject of Calculus and rewards the reader with a sound theoretical underpinning and non-superficial appreciation of the topic. After reading this book, I realized that Calculus was not as daunting as I had previously imagined and even tricky concepts like the fundamental theory of calculus, multiple integrals and chain/product multiples could be mastered easily in minutes rather than hours. The problem with most calculus books is the wade straight into the deep water and scare the new learner, also they are completely unsympathetic towards common mental block and difficulties which virtually every new student encounters, The authors adopt a radically different approach by presenting topics in the easiest way to learn using mnemonics, mental imagery and jokes to help you along the journey and progress quickly. This book will really help you ace calculus,butiIt is quite difficult to find in bookshops, so get your copy from Amazon now1

Es un buen libro para saber cómo se hacen las cosas sin destinar mucho tiempo a entrar en detalles. Es bueno incluso para entender los conceptos detrás de cada técnica, pues no es un libro que solo te enseñe a resolver ejercicios. No es un sustituto de un libro de cálculo que toque en profundidad todos los temas, pero aún y así es un muy buen libro para empezar o para repasar en poco tiempo.

Great book that explains every aspect within perfectly!