Calculus: Early Transcendentals (Stewart's Calculus Series)

Of course I had calculus lecturers, but every one of them was horrible. For Calc I (single variable), the professor spoke in a thick Russian accent; in Calc II (advanced integration/series, sequences), the professor was simply inadequate and didn't know how to explain anything; in Calc III (multivariable), the professor was a crazy Polish guy bent on teaching us calculus using his own weird linear algebra/advanced math methods (you'd think Berkeley might assign some better math professors...). In every case, I ended up shunning the lectures and learning everything straight from Stewart. Every chapter was teeming with great example problems, and wasn't saturated with unnecessary proofs (read the Principia or other advanced books if you're interested in that sort of thing). Perhaps the homework problems weren't always as challenging as other books, but I'd rather understand the problems than sit around staring an unsolvable puzzle for 3 hours.

Again I say, best college text I've had so far. I highly recommend it.


Great Introduction to Calculus   July 18, 1999
12 out of 15 found this review helpful

This book is perfect for anybody who wants to learn calculus from scratch. Especially if you are the kind of person who definately requires proofs for everything before you believe in it. It includes lots of rigourous and clear proofs for almost all the theorems. There are only a very few theorems not proven in here, which you will have to find in a more advanced book.

It also makes an amazing reference book whenever you are doing other work. But beware, there are quite a bunch of typos, so don't take every single formula in it as definite unless you've double checked it yourself.


Great Content Expertly Delivered   April 15, 2005
Chandler Savage (Corvallis, OR)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

I used this textbook for a three term, year-long Calculus sequence at the University of Oregon, and I must say, it's a terrific text.

Many examples are given in each section about the new concepts explored. Plenty of challenging exercises allows the student to get an ample amount of practice.

The layout and design of the book is nearly flawless. Important formulas are outlined in red, main ideas are in bold, and graphs and pictorial figures are well colored. Don't overlook this as superfluous! Layout and Design can really help the student remember the concepts and digest the information easier.

Finally, the text includes worked out problems lead by visual and auditory explanations on CD. While this is not entirely necessary, it is a nice bonus.

Overall, I highly recommend Stewart's Calculus series of texts, and hope my school continues to use his Multivariable version in my "Several Variable Calculus" class in the fall.



A very clear exposition of calculus   January 24, 2007
Rambam HaTalmid (Sydney Australia)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

This book is excellent.It is immediately obvious that the author understands his subject well AND can communicate his understanding clearly.It takes a traditionally feared subject and makes it clear and easy to understand.


I strongly recommend this book. I am currently using it to teach my grade 11 son calculus. He finds it far clearer and easier to understand than his school calculus textbook.

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Almost Perfect   September 25, 2006
A. Parkes (Surrey BC Canada)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

This review is strictly for the 5th Edition of Calculus: Early Transcendentals (with Tools for Enriching Calculus Video CD-ROM, iLrn Homework, and vMentor)
by James Stewart.

I own a copy of this book and really enjoyed it. I felt that I should write a review for those who might be interested in purchasing a copy.
People learn in different ways. There is no one size fits all when it comes to teaching. I found this book to be excellent. I like the numerous exercises provided, the applicability of various examples where calculus can be used for solutions and analysis of data. The CD Rom gave a wealth of additional information, to help further ones imagination and understanding. It's a great companion to the book. I gave these books 5 full stars, because I found it to be excellent for students doing self-study, or those taking classroom instruction. Either way, it is an excellent book.

ALP