given that i am a science nerd you dont have to be to take on this book. calculus is a beautiful theory that doesnt involve interpretation....awww life made simple. its odd in a sense that math can make more sense when numbers with finite value become letters that can reach infinity. ironic? see for yourself. plus it will make you feel smarter!

When I first saw this book, I thought that one might as well call a book "Levitation Made Easy". My judgement of the cover notwithstanding, Thompson does manage to demystify an intimidating topic.

This calculus text from 1910 is the best textbook I've ever read. If I had read this book back in high school, I may have started my career in statistics and data science much sooner. Even though it's an intro textbook, I still learned a great deal. The writing is crisp, the tone is light (the section on finding minima and maxima made me laugh out loud), and the problems push you ever so slightly beyond what you've just learned.

You can read the book for free through the Internet Archive or calculusmadeeasy.org.

A pretty extraordinary book for its time. Unfortunately, I didn't find it to be all it could be. From the beginning, there is something that seems unmathematical about the way he describes limits. This is, I now know, due to the fact that the formal definition of limits wasn't introduced until later. Unfortunately, it sets the stage on a hand-wavy foundation that doesn't feel good for someone like me who likes to glance through the proofs in order to get an understanding of operations.

The rest dips in and out of being a genuinely helpful instruction manual—like saying the derivative is just "a little bit of x"—to a slightly confounding introduction to multivariate calculus dropped in the middle of what seems like a nice time. The textual interpretations were adequate, but the geometric intuitions were lacking if they even existed at all. I imagine that part of this is due to the difference in ability to perform graphical analysis in 1910 vs. now, but it does feel a wee bit old fashioned for the modern reader.

I'm quite sure that I would not gift this to someone without experience in calculus. The exercises are tedious, the explanations are simultaneously too short and too long, and it takes the beauty out of some of the integrations and makes them feel like chores. However, the book cannot be discounted entirely, as I suppose the pedagogy advanced in this text was highly influential for later textbook writers.

Fascinating

Un testo estremamente efficace che fa quello che promette: via il rigore, dentro la pratica, impara a svolgere equazioni differenziali e integrali. A patto di avere delle solidissime basi di algebra e trigonometria, in effetti le prime difficoltà (eventuali) di comprensione si raggiungono molto avanti nel testo. Ma d'altra parte si tratta comunque di un testo di matematica avanzata.

not bad, but not as great as the reviews

The author uses a lot of geometric models and doesn’t use limits as is usually done in learning differentiation. His methods are Interesting, although I had more trouble with the geometric analysis than I have with standard algebraic approaches to explaining differentiation. Still, not bad and I recommend it as a complement to a standard calculus text.

If you want to learn calc, or need a refresher, this book is indispensable.

Pretty good. The author doesn't seem to have a consistent audience in mind. He can't decide what level of reader he's teaching.

Probably the best introduction to calculus.

All the way through the last three chapters, core concepts and ideas are introduced is an accessible and elaborate manner. By "accessible", I mean without using jargon and relying solely on basics. By "elaborate", I mean all of the steps in derivation and calculations in (examples) are presented (without any "if follows" nonsense). In short, plenty of hand holding until the readers can find their footing.

As for the last three chapters, they are more application-oriented (aka more involved) as the authors start relying on the reader to have solved exercises in previous chapters and gained a level of comfort with calculus calculations. So, while the exposition seems terse and at times has the "this step should be obvious" vibe, readers who worked through previous exercises will be more comfortable.

Even with such a great demystifying source, as most folks who have studied calculus will attest, the authors admit that there is quite a bit of art in calculus and practice, practice, and practice (in different settings) is the only way to mastery.

When your kid (or anybody) starts learning calculus, gift/recommend them this book.

This was not the textbook in my math classes at college. But this IS the textbook from which I learned calculus. Easy read, sarcastic tone. Begins with...”Considering how many fools can calculate, it is surprising that it should be thought either a difficult or a tedious task.” ...which I know sounds haughty, but the author goes on to say that they find themselves to be remarkably stupid. This book breaks down calculus into layman’s terms and digestible chunks. 14/10 have read many times will def read again.

I don't think this book is up-to-date, but still very useful today as an intro to calculus, mainly the calculations and methods and less on theory. I still had to skip on some of the parts, contrarily to the title, because I didn't understand them. Some exercises were too hard for me, it seems that the book sometimes lacked information to give as a preparation. And... I got to admit the author has his wit.

Overall a great, rather quick read that serves a brief intro to the subject. It really matters with what mindset you approach this book, because it's definitely not perfect, but still great.

"What one fool can do, another can".