The Calculus Story: A Mathematical Adventure
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PDF 12,50 MB • Pages: 209
Calculus is the key to much of modern science and engineering. It is the mathematical method for the analysis of things that change, and since in the natural world we are surrounded by change, the development of calculus was a huge breakthrough in the history of mathematics. But it is also something of a mathematical adventure, largely because of the way infinity enters at virtually every twist and turn…
In The Calculus Story, David Acheson presents a wide-ranging picture of calculus and its applications, from ancient Greece right up to the present day. Drawing on their original writings, he introduces the people who helped to build our understanding of calculus. With a step-by-step treatment, he demonstrates how to start doing calculus, from the very beginning.
26 reviews for The Calculus Story: A Mathematical Adventure
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Mastige (verified owner) –
This excellent book took me back to the austere beauty of the calculus and physics that I knew well in university. The familiarity of the subject was not a spoiler.
Drjackl (verified owner) –
I really enjoyed the author’s integration of history and mathematical concepts. His explanations don’t require a lot of mathematical background but they do provide some practical insights. I think I’ll pull out my calculus boo from fifty years ago and work some problems. That will be way more fun than reading the news
n1msr (verified owner) –
Very clear text, easy to read. Excellent explanation as a refresher if you have studied school calculus and need want to remind yourself of the foundation of calculus with a touch of history included.
This is a very brief text, but that is a good thing. At first it seemed a little bit expensive, but the text provides clear explanations. I am not sure I would give this to someone who had never encountered the subject before though. One alternative, a full school or college calculus text book, would be much more expensive and not such a pleasure to read.
Only one example I discovered doesn’t seem to make sense – perhaps a detail has been omitted? This is the one on how much of a sphere is left if you bore a cylinder through it. I was a little bit frustrated by this, but it does not detract from the overall calculus refresher I have enjoyed.
Anthony J Smalley (verified owner) –
The writing style is inviting……as an engineer I am familiar with the subject but the book gave me an n teresting historical viewpoint and gave interesting information about the interplay of Newton and Leibnitz.
David (verified owner) –
Since it has been over 50 years since I took my last calculus course I wanted to brush up on it so I could tutor my grandchildren if they needed it.
The book is very straight forward and explains the subject matter very well. I wish I had the author of the book as my instructor when I took my first calculus course.
Prof. Kim (verified owner) –
At age of 50, I looked at calculus again. It give me another viewpoint. Good book!
J. Allinson (verified owner) –
This is a well written summary of the topics related to Calculus done in a way that anyone could read. Each chapter is short and to the point and has smooth transitions to the next chapter. I love how the history is embedded and used as a conduit to show the basic concepts involved in Calculus. Well done, I’ll probably read it again.
Perry Miller (verified owner) –
An entertaining book on calculus: words that I thought I would never put together in the same sentence!
Kels3yplace (verified owner) –
A gift. They are enjoying it.
HA Hacky (verified owner) –
Well-written and pretty dense with respect to subjects presented in such a short book that is an overview of calculus. Lot of fun to review what I learned in-depth decades ago, and maybe I even pick up some new insights. But those who have said this book is best-enjoyed by those with some background in at least advanced high school math or basic calculus, are probably correct.
Ralph Cunningham (verified owner) –
This book provides an excellent explanation of the foundations and basics of calculus. Calculus isn’t hard unless you think it is!
Sandra (verified owner) –
This book is a guided tour through the history of calculus. It is not designed to teach the reader calculus, but to illuminate it’s development. The book is written in such a way that even without a background in calculus, much can be gleamed from the text. However, it is great as a supplement to someone who understands the basics of calculus or is in the process of learning calculus. For myself (good, but not great calculus student), I found it interesting to learn the story of how calculus came to be, but I find that I tend to understand the subject better, when I understand it’s development in context. It definitely, deepened my understanding of the subject. Worth the read for anyone interest in mathematics or mathematics education.
Dr. Bryan Nolan (verified owner) –
This book is a 188 page book that touches the most important subjects in mathematics. It’s great companion for pass time, and night reading or journeys. It touches important subjects like number e, infinity, quantum world, calculus and gravitation, all favorite subjects of math enthusiasts. I love this book and the price is very reasonable.
vill klinton (verified owner) –
If I read this before I took ‘Calculus with Geometric Analysis’ in college 50 years ago, I probably got A+++ on final grade.
George Poirier (verified owner) –
Having read this book from cover to cover, I am at a loss in identifying whom is it aimed at. For a novice wanting to learn calculus, the first few chapters may be of value – although there are better ones on the market – while the rest of the book contains a number of oddities and uses for calculus which lack sufficient detail to be anything other than a general guide. A bit of history is also included. For a seasoned mathematics enthusiast, the first few chapters will likely be rather boring, whereas the rest of the book lacks sufficient meat, e.g., derivations of formulas, examples of uses, etc., to keep the reader interested; again, there are better books in that regard on the market.
However, the prose is generally clear and friendly, as through the author was enjoying himself while writing the book. That is the reason I gave it the above score – it was pleasant to read.
PowerFactor9 (verified owner) –
While it does not dig so deep into Calculus it magically explores the history of Calculus. Step by step explanation of each and every collaborator who helped build this tremendous powerful tool of mathematics. It is a serious book that drives you into Calculus as a tale. I really enjoyed reading this book.
PT (verified owner) –
The history of calculus is one of solving practical problems. Knowing that makes the subject not just a “learn-the-rules” tedium but more of an engaging tool-building exercise. Well written
Simba (verified owner) –
The auther did not explain the relationship between Pi/4 and odd numbers as he had said earlier on
ChrisBH (verified owner) –
I really enjoyed this book because my thirst for knowledge about calculus and maths in general has grown over the past few years.
But it wasn’t all easy reading
I would recommend that you sit with a pen and writing pad and work out some of the ideas/equations as you go along and write Down your questions (for there are sure to be quite a few)
I already have several more books lined up to read but I am happy this was one of the first I read.
Background: I was first introduced to calculus in the late 90’s and have been teaching it for 9 years. However, we weren’t taught the history, development, or interesting applications. Probably because most of us would have been bored out of our skulls or most of the material might have gone WAY over our heads.
I am hoping to make my teaching more interesting and this book has undoubtedly made me at least more curious and answered quite a few questions I didn’t even know I had 😄
I hope you find this book as enjoyable and inspiring as I did or perhaps even more so.
Jai (verified owner) –
It is a very good book to get some information about the background of the calculus about how it started and how is been useful for the world. It’s really an adventure.
PTA45 (verified owner) –
Decades ago I encountered calculus for the first time and found it difficult. I was a memorizer , and most of the work I did lacked an understanding of the principles. I have fretted about this for years. This book would have helped me then, and I’m so glad to have found it, even at this late date.
Balsand (verified owner) –
Even if you were bad at math in school, you’ll love this book because the author makes it so simple to understand and explain the basic concepts. Once you pick up this book, it’s hard to put it down until the end.
Fred Haynes (verified owner) –
While I have not yet completed the book, I have found the portion of the book I’ve read to be very informative.
Dr. Stanley A. White (verified owner) –
Obviously written by an excellent and experienced teacher. No matter where you are on the learning spectrum, this book has some gems for you.
Kenny (verified owner) –
I majored in math as an undergraduate and am pretty opinionated on math education at secondary schools. I found this book very entertaining and introduces calculus (and Newton mechanics) in a very intuitive way from a historical perspective. I read the book together with my son, who is a 10th grader in high school, and he really enjoys it without knowing that some of the stuff is beyond AP Physics I.
Jerry Semler (verified owner) –
Great combination of calculus and calculus history.