ISBN9780534393212

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Calculus: Early Transcendentals

Calculus: Early Transcendentals 3.50 of 5 stars

  • Author(s)  James Stewart,  
  • Binding  Hardcover
  • ISBN  0534393217
  • ISBN-13  9780534393212
  • Publisher  Brooks Cole
  • Release Date  12/24/2002
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User Opinions

Ordering was off
9/22/20073.00 of 5 stars
I ordered this book a month before classes started but it didn't arrive until about 2 weeks after classes started. If you are looking to get it order it early.
Other than that is in perfect condition and I am not having any issues with it.
Perfect delivery, perfect condition
2/15/20085.00 of 5 stars
I got this in panic through overnight shipping, it was at my door at 10 the following morning. Perfect condition.
calculus: good book
2/15/20084.00 of 5 stars
It's a very good book which I really enjoy reading it. It's easy to understand and some examples are very specific to comprehend the problem.
Horrible for the first-time Calculus student
4/18/20081.00 of 5 stars
I am a college Calculus instructor, and I find this book terrible for many reasons. For students looking for a solid but much more inviting introduction to Calculus, I highly recommend Larson's book over Stewart's.

Here is a point-by-point breakdown of the faults I find in Stewart's text:

Clarity of Explanation and Content Level

Stewart's explanations are often verbose, unclear, and written at a
level too high for the average Calculus student. Several of my students
have told me reading the book only confused them and did not
clarify the concepts. An introductory text should offer simpler, clearer, and more concise explanations more appropriate to the typical Calculus student.

Presentation

In this day and age, students expect visually engaging presentations that will hold their attention. Stewart's presentations are drab and uninteresting. His book is everywhere packed with dense plain text and
formulas, giving the impression that Calculus is hard, dull, and very
complex, further intimidating students who are already scared of the
subject. Students are much more likely to carefully read a text that is
visually appealing and makes Calculus seem interesting and less
intimidating. This will also help reduce their anxiety over what many
already consider a very difficult course.


Readability

Another important aspect of presentation is layout and readability. Here
Stewart's text is again dismal: His pages are overstuffed with text and
graphics throughout the book, making it difficult to reference a
theorem, particular type of example, etc. It is hard to see where one
example or proof ends and another begins. The average student is not
going to read the entire contents of a section in full detail, but will
rather reference the topics s/he is having trouble with, in order to get
the details on a theorem or to find an example problem to help with a
homework exercise. This is very difficult to do in Stewart's text due to
the crowded and confusing layout.

Homework Exercises

Stewart's text is again particularly poor in terms of his homework sets in that he tends to offer a few low-level problems and then suddenly jump into extraordinarily difficult problems with no warning or transition. Stewart also tends to couch exceedingly difficult problems between a series of relatively straightforward ones, again without warning, which is very frustrating for students who find themselves struggling over what they think is an easy problem.

All in all, I strongly advise against this text, and would urge other Calculus instructors and mathematics departments to choose another Calculus book for their classes.
Average for beginners
5/9/20082.00 of 5 stars
This book is written for those intending to move onwards in math, rather than those who are learning calculus for practical purposes. In general, the book is not user-friendly and at times throws in "points of interest" about math and calculus that are not labeled well, and can thus confuse/ distract the reader. The book does not contextualize what it attempts to teach and as a result, forces the reader to skim a chapter to understand the general thrust and conclusion, before attempting a detailed reading. I do not know of better calculus books, but for one inclined to search, this is not the one at which to stop.