Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
If you are a mathematician, don`t by this book, 10 Nov 2001
This book was used during my first semester studying Calculus at the University og Oslo, Norway. So far, so good. During the 2nd. semester though, when the students really started grasping Calculus, it was completely useless. The language of the book is really awkward, you can spend hours reading the same pages over and over again without getting a clue at what the author is trying to say.
After working with this book you will get quite familiar with words and terms like "intuitively", "we can easily see that","It is not hard to show that", etc. Intuitive for whom? For a professor having taught calculus for a couple of decades, Yes! For a bachelor-student, Nope!
When the author is trying to prove something, the structure of his argument is hard to get, and also uses intuition as a proof! As far as I know "we can easily see" does not prove anything. In this same manner the examples are carried out; "intuitively", "easily", ping!, the answer is there.... Crucial steps in the calculations are very often omitted, and also sometimes "is left to the reader as an exercise"!!
Hurra!!!Well, to be serious, if you are only interested in methods, this book is worth the pennies, if you are more into mathematics and want to find out what is really going on, don`t even think about bying it. My professor`s argument for using this book was that the students would save money using one book for two courses, well I didn`t save much money having to buy loads of supporting literature. Luckily a more senior student introduced me to "Good Ol` Marsden & Tomba`s Vector Calculus". If your professor has set up Adams` Calculus on the curriculum I would recommend you to use another more theoretical book for reading, and then use this book for the exercises(It has got a lot of exercises!) A recommendation for Norwegian students of single-variable Calculus would be Tom Lindstroem`s Kalkulus(in Norwegian), and for all students taking multi-variable Calculus I would recommend Marsden & Tomba`s Vector Calculus.
I would give this book 3 stars for the wide range of exercises, and then -2 for the theoretical contents and structure of evidence.
Enjoy your maths out there folks!
Tony
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Certainly complete, but certainly not completely perfect., 14 Sep 2001
By A Customer
I am a second year student at NTNU; The Norwegian University of Science and Technology. (I am from Norway and you must forgive me for my terrible use of language.) Robert Adams' Calculus is not as bad as many people claim it to be; it is ,however, not perfect either. Generally, I do not find this book a "mathematician's book" so to speak. If you are interested in pure mathematics because it is amazing, you should not bother reading this book - choose another (and more theoretical) one. However, most of the undergradute students taking courses in analysis probably have physics, electronics, computer science or chemistry as their main subject. And I do find Adams' Calculus an ideal book for them. The real strength of this book is the interesting examples, many of them taken from the fields of physics. The text is otherways somewhat akward formulated. Adams often writes and writes and yet tells nothing of great importance. Some of the proofs are odd, while others are subtle. Adams' book is complete because it covers all the main topics usually studied in a beginning course in analysis, but yet fails to be perfect. That said, I cannot think of a "Calculus" being perfect in all possible ways. What I do miss in this book is: there should be a chapter dedicated to topics from algebra/number theory/discrete mathematics; for example: counting, sets, relations, and so on. Perhaps even a word about groups. These topics are generally not looked upon as "analysis-topics" and are studied later, but their importance for really understanding what mathematics is about is immense. But what really must be included in the next edition is a chapter dedicated to "methods of proofs" as we say. Not knowing several concepts of proving theorems already while you are taking your first course at university/college level is a major drawback. Adams Calculus covers both calculus of a single variable and, in the second part, of several variables. The second part is the worst. After starting on chapter 10, it is perhaps smart to use a "Vector Calculus"-book as support (Marsden og Tromba is a classic, especially for those of you interested in mathematics). That's all......but... ....remember: if you have Adams' book, it could be smart to buy his "Solutions Manual" as well. Detailed solutions of hundreds of exercises will make everyone manage the exams.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Complete course for Calculus, 17 Oct 2003
This book is, like its cover says, a complete course for Calculus. It is essential to note what complete means. It means the UNDERSTANDING of BASICS of Calculus. It will definitely not benefit Physicists or Mathematicians greatly who have solid foundation in Calculus. What this book does is to equip you with the basics of Calculus especially when you are new (or have no clue as to what dy/dx means). Having read this book, it gives me SOLID foundation of the basics of Calculus which is very vital for students who are or will be using Calculus intensively. I highly recommend this book for students who are serious about taking Calculus because, although daunting at times (due to various explanation involved), this book does its Job well. At the end of the day, you not only know how to USE calculus (for the sake of passing exams) but have a firm understanding of WHY it’s used in solving problems.
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