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intereact!James Stewart
Edition: 2nd Bk&Cdr
Retail Price (not our price): $146.95
ISBN: 0534377181
ISBN-13: 9780534377182
Publication Date: 2000-12-13
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 1185
Editorial Reviews (supplied by Amazon.com):
1) Book Description
James Stewart's well-received CALCULUS: CONCEPTS AND CONTEXTS, Second Edition follows in the path of the other best-selling books by this remarkable author. The First Edition of this book was highly successful because it reconciled two schools of thought: it skillfully merged the best of traditional calculus with the best of the reform movement. This new edition continues to offer the balanced approach along with Stewart's hallmark features: meticulous accuracy, patient explanations, and carefully graded problems. The content has been refined and the examples and exercises have been updated. In addition, CALCULUS: CONCEPTS AND CONTEXTS, Second Edition now includes a free CD-ROM for students that contains animations, activities, and homework hints. The book integrates the use of the CD throughout by using icons that show students when to use the CD to deepen their understanding of a difficult concept. In CALCULUS: CONCEPTS AND CONTEXTS, this well respected author emphasizes conceptual understanding - motivating students with real world applications and stressing the Rule of Four in numerical, visual, algebraic, and verbal interpretations. All concepts are presented in the classic Stewart style: with simplicity, character, and attention to detail. In addition to his clear exposition, Stewart also creates well thought-out problems and exercises. The definitions are precise and the problems create an ideal balance between conceptual understanding and algebraic skills.
Customer Reviews (supplied by Amazon.com):
Average Customer Rating: 2.5 out of 5
1) I disagree 100% [Rating: 5 out of 5]
I have read (almost) nothing but negative reviews about this book. I used this book for Single and Multi-Variable Calculus and had no problem with it at all.This book isn't the end-all Calculus book, but I will say that being someone who always thought of himself as "non-mathematically inclined," I had no trouble at all with the theorems, proofs or examples Stewart provides.It's not too complex, it doesn't skip steps (usually) and it is very thorough.2) if only there was a "zero stars" option [Rating: 1 out of 5]
I am attempting to learn calculus for the first time. I did wonderfully in pre-calculus, but this horrible book (and my thickly accented disorganized professor) have forced me to withdraw from the class and try again later. The author appears to be writing for other calculus teachers who already understand the material. The writing is incredibly confusing. The examples are not very helpful. The questions at the end of the sections are too few, and do not do a good job of building up difficulty. I find that it is easier to learn math concepts if you have a large quantity of problems to work on that start simple and progressively add more difficult aspects to them.If you are a professor thinking about using this book for your class, PLEASE RECONSIDER! If you are student with the misfortune of having to use this book for your class, hopefully your professor speaks so that you can understand him/her and maybe get another calc book to actually LEARN SOMETHING FROM.3) Calculus Concepts and Contexts 2ed [Rating: 1 out of 5]
I have to have this book for my calculus classes at the college I attend. This is my first semester in Calculus II (hopefully, I won't have to repeat it like I did Calc I) and this book is completly horrid for anyone who is shaky in math at all. The examples the book uses are next to useless (I mean, really, Calculus for Dummies is a better book than this is), the organization is atrocious (having two or more names for the SAME thing, even if it occurs later on in the book, is absurd), and the CDROM is useless. Seeing as how this is now my third semester with this book, I can fairly say (since there is no way I will change my mind) that this is the WORST math book I have ever had the misfortune to use and I have told that to all three of my professors. I have also, on the semester evaluations, failed this book with the lowest grade possible. Of course, I have also literally pitched it at the wall on numerous occasions and have spent many nights frustrated beyond belief to the point where, if I had had matches, I would have burned it to ash. I cannot begin to stress what a god awful book this is and I beseach all of the prospective professors to think long and hard before commiting your classes to suffer through calculus with this monstrosity.To say that I hate this book does not do justice to my feelings of animosity towards it.4) Is this the only Calculus book for college students?? [Rating: 2 out of 5]
First off, I had no choice but to buy this book. What can I say about this book that hasn't already been said? Is this the only book on Calculus? I like to think I am adequet in mathmatics, my number one gripe was I did not take advantage of Amazon before I shelled out the full 150 dollars for this book, I could have had this crad for $50. I have a precalulus book by Michael Sullivan (whom I wish was writing this book), his explanation are pretty good, especially when he refers you back to solving a problem after he has gone over the examples, without that book I would have never done well in precalculus class, I basically thought myself from his book.Buying this book I thought James Stewart wrote a little like Michael, boy was I wrong, there are hardly any examples to refer back to when working out problems from the book, its just like "okay here are some numbers and theorems, now heres the answer!" The only reason I gave this a second star, was because of the CD-ROM that comes accomodated with this book giving hints on how to solve some selected problems. This book feels more like a text book (reading) than a typical math book, I understand that once you get to Calculus 1 one should be fluent in math, but still there's no reason for this. Maybe he wrote this book for student who like to skip class, because the only way to understand this book is with the help of a math professor.5) Good problems, bad organization [Rating: 3 out of 5]
This book was actually my textbook for 3 semesters in a row, and, throughout that time, I've been basically forced to live with this book next to me at almost all times. There are certainly some good points and bad, but I'll start with the good.First off, the book does an excellent job, in my opinion, of giving every student of (almost) all ability levels a chance to grasp some deep calculus theories. For the math majors, that includes theoretical proofs (though most are just sketched in there!) and some good proof problems near the end of each section, and, for the non-math people, many applied problems (both "textbook" and "real-world" applied problems) combined with many routine drill-type problems to drive the concepts home. I also liked the numerous amounts of graphs and pictures drawn in the book, especially for 3-D graphing and surfaces, where it's not as easy to construct those by hand. His review of algebra and trigonometry is also very helpful, as my high school did not cover some of the topics in my precalc class before I took calculus I in college.But, for the bad, my first gripe is with the organization. You can obviously tell that the book was written in two volumes as there is a clear shift from single-variable to multi-variable in the style of presentation (less examples in the multi-variable, no CD-ROM help available) and language (he shifts from a "let's be nice to the student" point of view in the beginning to skipping some essential steps in exercises and writing like a math professor as you go along!). Also, I felt that some of the sections were out of place where they were, like the l'Hospital's Rule section being right in-between a bunch of sections on physical applications of dervatives? While I can certainly see it as being an application of derivatives, I see it as much more of a theoretical topic than an application; in my opinion, it should come near the end of techniques of differentiation (chapter 3). Also, I felt that he should've included more examples with the solids of revolution sections, one of the hardest parts of calculus for me (and MANY other people in my class); it's one of the only sections in single-variable that considers 3-D problems; therefore, it should be taken slowly, in my opinion. One other gripe: the cost! That's a lot of money to be shelling out on a single book! Luckily, I knew I would use it for three semesters, so it was worth it. If you're not planning on taking multi-variable calculus, then only buy the single-variable volume to save yourself some money!So, my final thought: If you're looking for a book with a lot of exercises for all levels, then this is definitely a good book. If you're looking for a book to essentially replace a teacher, then this book won't do that. A good teacher will most likely need to accompany this book to really get something out of it.