Khan's Reviews > Calculus Made Easy

I think you could segment the books potential audience into a few groups. Those who want to simply pass their mandatory calculus class and are looking for a book thats not the size of a tire. Those who are genuinely enthralled with all things calculus and like a speck of dust around a vacuum will inhale anything remotely topical to calculus and finally those who're just intellectually curious about what calculus is and who're also interested in a book that is not the size of a tire. Theres probably many more but today my imagination is limited so this will have to do.

For all groups, I think the book delivers on what it promises to do, it does give the intuition behind calculus and peel back the fear surrounding it. I am not sure if I am a high maintenance mathematical reader, I think I might be. I need to see how every step is processed in the examples just so I am not like "Hey man, how the fuck did you get {insert equation here}. I hate that feeling when math books don't do that and this book does that but I also consider that I very well might be the mathematical reader version of one of those beverly hills wife reality tv show "stars" who complains about their cappuccino not being "hot enough". This book is short and simplified for the reader, it goes through the major components of calculus in under 300 pages while other books are just warming up around 500 pages.

Heres what I would recommend, if you want to just pass your class. Go to youtube and just watch the organic chemistry tutors calculus channel, you'll learn a lot from watching and practicing the problems. If you have your soul into calculus than I would say yeah, pick this up as a side read for fun. I am sure you'll whizz right past it.

Its important to keep in context that this book is very old and was way ahead of its time and yet it still holds its own with todays books. A fun read. 4 stars.