The textbook is certainly well written. The author uses simple terms and easy to follow approach/format. The applications are used to relate the topics to real-world problems. Presenting topics in calculus via examples and applications is. read more
Reviewed by Shahrooz Moosavizadeh, Professor, Norfolk State University on 5/26/23
Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less
The textbook is certainly well written. The author uses simple terms and easy to follow approach/format. The applications are used to relate the topics to real-world problems. Presenting topics in calculus via examples and applications is perhaps the best feature of this book.
The study guide for chapter 1 and Index were missing in the PDF version I reviewed.
Content Accuracy rating: 5
The content is accurate and the language is suitable for audiences comfortable with the prerequisites - precalculus.
Relevance/Longevity rating: 4
The sections related to calculators and programming will be obsolete in a near future; however, the textbook's high quality applications and examples will keep the book competitive for years to come.
Clarity rating: 4
Given the required background and knowledge in precalculus, the textbook is easy to follow and clear in its explanation of concepts.
Consistency rating: 4
The textbook is consistent in terms of terminology. The traditional variables x and y are heavily used throughout the book. I highly recommend the use of more variables, other than x and y, and notations in each section of the book.
Modularity rating: 5
The textbook can easily be divided into modules to support a specific order of coverage or presentation.
Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5
The textbook is well organized and flows smoothly. The last chapter on Mathematics after Calculus, though a nice idea, will most likely not be covered in a typical calculus course.
Interface rating: 3
The PDF version does not offer the best reading quality. The textbook could certainly use more graphs to better explain concepts such as the limit definition of a derivative at a specific point in the domain. Use of multiple colors on graphs would improve student learning.
Grammatical Errors rating: 5
The textbook is well written and free of grammatical errors.
Cultural Relevance rating: 5
The book is not culturally insensitive and it is not written with any specific race, ethnicity, or background in mind. The applications are carefully selected from different disciplines to convey the concepts in calculus.
Although I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book, it may not be suitable for use in all institutions. The book does require better than average knowledge of the prerequisites before the applications and examples have the intended impact.
Reviewed by Yun Lu, Professor, Kuztown University on 5/16/19, updated 11/9/20
The textbook is well written and clearly organized. The content is comprehensive yet the textbook includes many examples and figures to help students understand the concepts. The index of important calculus tools at the end of the book provides a. read more
Reviewed by Yun Lu, Professor, Kuztown University on 5/16/19, updated 11/9/20
Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less
The textbook is well written and clearly organized. The content is comprehensive yet the textbook includes many examples and figures to help students understand the concepts. The index of important calculus tools at the end of the book provides a good summary as well.
Content Accuracy rating: 5
The textbook content is accurate and the language used is precise.
Relevance/Longevity rating: 5
Textbook has up-to-date contents with a lot of real life examples.
Clarity rating: 5
The textbook is written clearly and it provides adequate context for any newly introduced concepts.
Consistency rating: 5
The textbook is consistent.
Modularity rating: 5
The textbook is well organized and can be easily and readily divisible into smaller sections according to various course purposes.
Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5
The topics in the textbook are presented in a clear fashion that helps students to better understand the material.
Interface rating: 4
The original textbook is free of significant interface issues. But the scanned copy on the open textbook library is not very clear and could be updated for a better reading quality.
Grammatical Errors rating: 5
The textbook is well written and I am not aware of any grammatical errors.
Cultural Relevance rating: 5
The textbook is not culturally insensitive or offensive in any way. The examples in the textbook generally don't indicate races or ethnicities.
This textbook is well written and clearly organized. It contains a comprehensive list of contents and also includes many good examples and assignments which would help students succeed.
Reviewed by Yuyuan Ouyang, Assistant Professor, Clemson University on 2/1/18
The book is well written and covers both big pictures and technical details of materials in calculus. However, in the current PDF version the index seems to be missing. From the table of contents it seems that the index pages are supposed to be in. read more
Reviewed by Yuyuan Ouyang, Assistant Professor, Clemson University on 2/1/18
Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less
The book is well written and covers both big pictures and technical details of materials in calculus. However, in the current PDF version the index seems to be missing. From the table of contents it seems that the index pages are supposed to be in the original book.
Content Accuracy rating: 5
The content is accurate and unbiased. There are no errors that I am aware of during the reading.
Relevance/Longevity rating: 5
The text is up to date.
Clarity rating: 5
The text of this book is clear and easy to understand.
Consistency rating: 5
The book is consistent in terminology and notation.
Modularity rating: 5
The book is well organized, and it is possible to reorganize the sections to satisfy specific needs of a course.
Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5
The structure of the book is clear and the flow is easy to follow.
Interface rating: 4
This comment is not regarding the book itself but rather the PDF version in the open textbook library. Since it is scanned from the book, there are distortion/aliasing of graphs/texts that may be noticed when reading.
Grammatical Errors rating: 5
There is no grammatical error that I noticed
Cultural Relevance rating: 5
The book make use of examples that are inclusive of a variety of races, ethnicities, and backgrounds.
Reviewed by Thu Le, Adjunct Instructor, University of North Texas on 4/11/17
The book was written very well. It covers all of important concepts in Calculus as well as related courses. The author provides real life examples to apply the concepts. read more
Reviewed by Thu Le, Adjunct Instructor, University of North Texas on 4/11/17
Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less
The book was written very well. It covers all of important concepts in Calculus as well as related courses. The author provides real life examples to apply the concepts.
Content Accuracy rating: 5
The content of the book is very accurate.
Relevance/Longevity rating: 5
The content of this book is up-to-date and the text is written straightforward and easily to understand.
Clarity rating: 5
The text is written very clear and lucid.
Consistency rating: 5
The book is very consistent in terms of terminology and framework. It is easy to follow.
Modularity rating: 5
The book is easily reorganized and realigned with various sub-units of a course. It can be divisible into smaller reading sections due to purposes of courses.
Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5
The topics in the book are presented very well. Concepts are very clear and flow well.
Interface rating: 5
The book is free of significant interface issues. It does not content features that confuse readers.
Grammatical Errors rating: 5
The text contains no grammatical errors.
Cultural Relevance rating: 5
The book provides good examples in a variety of races, ethnicity, and backgrounds.
I think this is a good book for teaching Calculus courses.
Published in 1991 by Wellesley-Cambridge Press, the book is a useful resource for educators and self-learners alike. It is well organized, covers single variable and multivariable calculus in depth, and is rich with applications.
Prof. Strang has also developed a related series of videos, Highlights of Calculus, on the basic ideas of calculus.
Gilbert Strang was an undergraduate at MIT and a Rhodes Scholar at Balliol College, Oxford. His Ph.D. was from UCLA and since then he has taught at MIT. He has been a Sloan Fellow and a Fairchild Scholar and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is a Professor of Mathematics at MIT and an Honorary Fellow of Balliol College. Professor Strang has published eight textbooks. He was the President of SIAM during 1999 and 2000, and Chair of the Joint Policy Board for Mathematics. He received the von Neumann Medal of the US Association for Computational Mechanics, and the Henrici Prize for applied analysis. The first Su Buchin Prize from the International Congress of Industrial and Applied Mathematics, and the Haimo Prize from the Mathematical Association of America, were awarded for his contributions to teaching around the world.
