Chambers Adult Learners' Guide to Numeracy [Paperback]

A few years ago I gave a review of the first edition of this book, which at the time of writing this review is still available.
The new edition is smaller than the original, with a plain no-frills style cover. I have to say I preferred the original, which fitted in with the other Chambers Skills for Life books.

A smaller book means the font size is also smaller, which isn't so good if you have any degree of visual impairment. If you are giving this to someone who is nervous about Maths and is looking for an excuse not to do it, 'the print is too small' may give them the excuse they need.

Here's my original review, slightly edited to reflect my thoughts on the new book and the fact that other books have appeared on the market since it was written.

I bought this as I am an adult literacy and numeracy tutor and wanted a book I could recommend for extra home study to my students - this is an excellent choice.
Starting from scratch, the book gives clear, practical examples of numeracy problems and takes the student through them step by step.

The book contains lots of interesting facts that makes numeracy come alive for the student- if you've ever wondered why zero Fahrenheit is so far below zero Celsius, this book gives a possible explanation.

Plenty of examples are given in the areas learners seem to find most challenging- for example, how to calculate ratios and metric conversions.
The book is broken down into easy to find, meaningful sections that broadly map to the Adult Numeracy curriculum, starting with whole numbers and ending with data. Illustrations are plentiful, generally clear and helpful although the small print size means that you may sometimes strain to read the labelling on diagrams, for example.

There are several useful appendices, containing tables and the old/new favourite, a learning styles questionnaire.

If you are wanting to study at home to pass the National Tests in Numeracy and prefer paper-based materials to studying on the Internet - or perhaps there are no dedicated numeracy classes in your area - this book is very much written for you.

As a mature student positives of this book are that it was easy reading down to the basics, facts and clear explanations. on the negative the wording was small and handling the book you definitely need a bookmark. Overall a good edition to assist adult learners in numeracy

This is helping me through my QTS examinations, it is written brilliantly... it is easy to understand. The packaging was excellent and it arrived in perfect condition. Thank you very much.