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Calculus Made Easy
Calculus Made Easy by Silvanus P. Thompson and Martin Gardner has long been the most popular calculus primer.
This major revision of the classic math text makes the subject at hand still more comprehensible to readers of all levels. With a new introduction, three new chapters, modernized language and methods throughout, and an appendix of challenging and enjoyable practice problems, Calculus Made Easy has been thoroughly updated for the modern reader.
This major revision of the classic math text makes the subject at hand still more comprehensible to readers of all levels. With a new introduction, three new chapters, modernized language and methods throughout, and an appendix of challenging and enjoyable practice problems, Calculus Made Easy has been thoroughly updated for the modern reader.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1910
About the author
Silvanus Phillips Thompson
178 books20 followersSilvanus Phillips Thompson FRS was a professor of physics at the City and Guilds Technical College in Finsbury, England. He was known for his work as an electrical engineer and as an author.
Thompson is one of the individuals represented on the Engineers Walk in Bristol, England.
Thompson was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1891 and was elected a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1894.
Thompson is one of the individuals represented on the Engineers Walk in Bristol, England.
Thompson was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1891 and was elected a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1894.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 115 reviews
May 29, 2008
It's still not that easy, but - as Martin Gardner explains in the introduction - this book still outshines any textbook in terms of accessibility and simplicity. 700 pages of dense, graphics filled problem sets can make a subject seem so intimidating that no one will ever want to touch it. I know I didn't. No wonder many people still look at math students as possessing a form of 'genius' that is both threatening and alienating at the same time. This book was written for school kids back in 1910 and contains very simple explanations with a little bit of dry humor thrown in. Very British and sensible, and a much better approach to teaching mathematics to children or, in my case, 28 year olds.
June 28, 2021
Ridiculously clear and friendly and quick. He takes your intuitions about little bits and bigness and leads you to the door of the great machine. Shame there's not one of these for every subfield of maths.
Masterstroke! He takes you into confidence against "ordinary mathematicians", he states it all in things you already know, and he directly addresses your misgivings. The only impediment is the Edwardian prose, which tends to make sentences twice as long as they have to be. I like the style.
You could give this to a motivated 9 year old. And I intend to.
Free and beautifully rendered here.
The preliminary terror, which chokes off most fifth-form boys from even attempting to learn how to calculate, can be abolished once for all by simply stating what is the meaning – in common-sense terms – of the two principal symbols... These dreadful symbols are:
(1) d which merely means “a little bit of.”
Thus dx means a little bit of x; or du means a little bit of u. Ordinary mathematicians think it more polite to say “an element of,” instead of “a little bit of.” Just as you please. But you will find that these little bits (or elements) may be considered to be indefinitely small.
(2) ∫ which is merely a long S, and may be called (if you like) “the sum of.”
Thus ∫dx means the sum of all the little bits of x... Now any fool can see that if x is considered as made up of a lot of little bits, each of which is called dx, if you add them all up together you get the sum of all the dx's... The word “integral” simply means “the whole.”...
When you see an expression that begins with this terrifying symbol, you will henceforth know that it is put there merely to give you instructions that you are now to perform the operation (if you can) of totalling up all the little bits that are indicated by the symbols that follow.
Masterstroke! He takes you into confidence against "ordinary mathematicians", he states it all in things you already know, and he directly addresses your misgivings. The only impediment is the Edwardian prose, which tends to make sentences twice as long as they have to be. I like the style.
You could give this to a motivated 9 year old. And I intend to.
Free and beautifully rendered here.
March 31, 2013
Ah, Thompson.
Mad props for being the first calculus text I didn't hate, and actually being fun. I really got a feel for how important it was for Thompson to remove the intimidation from calculus. The style is conversational, even breezy. What one fool can do, another can. The invective against obscurantism in mathematics is also spot on.
But let's be honest: the coverage is extremely rudimentary, and since there's no analytical treatment, the path to generalization to more complex problems is far from clear, so one star off. To be fair to Thompson, though, the simplicity comes in part from using infinitesimals rather than limits, and the logical basis for infinitesimals wouldn't achieve rigor until non-standard analysis circa 1965, or smooth infinitesimal analysis circa 1974. Heck, Thompson wrote while mainstream analysis was still being worked out.
So highly recommended to a bright high-schooler or baffled undergrad, ideally to be followed by A Primer of Infinitesimal Analysis, if you can convince people that you don't need the standard analysis curriculum.
Mad props for being the first calculus text I didn't hate, and actually being fun. I really got a feel for how important it was for Thompson to remove the intimidation from calculus. The style is conversational, even breezy. What one fool can do, another can. The invective against obscurantism in mathematics is also spot on.
But let's be honest: the coverage is extremely rudimentary, and since there's no analytical treatment, the path to generalization to more complex problems is far from clear, so one star off. To be fair to Thompson, though, the simplicity comes in part from using infinitesimals rather than limits, and the logical basis for infinitesimals wouldn't achieve rigor until non-standard analysis circa 1965, or smooth infinitesimal analysis circa 1974. Heck, Thompson wrote while mainstream analysis was still being worked out.
So highly recommended to a bright high-schooler or baffled undergrad, ideally to be followed by A Primer of Infinitesimal Analysis, if you can convince people that you don't need the standard analysis curriculum.
August 15, 2011
Of all the math books I've read, this one is by far the most exciting. Mr. Thompson was both irreverent and witty in his development of the subject.
Prior to this book, I had attempted to wade through a couple of college entry-level calculus textbooks, but found the style of both authors to be obtuse and obfuscating. They may have known their subject, but this math whiz (straight "A's" in high school through Advanced Algebra & Trig) found those other authors' abilities to communicate far less than optimum. I would read in one until I couldn't go any farther, then I would read in the other up to the same subject point. Then I would realize what both of them were trying to say. The simplicity that they had mangled has all been straightened out under the compassionate and clear pen of Sylvanus P. Thompson.
When I first found this book in the mid-80's, I thought at first that it was one of those "made easy" trend books I had been seeing so much of. But no, this little gem had seen by then three dozen reprintings starting in 1910. Talk about "classic!"
The book is not perfect. There are so many things I wish had been done to illuminate the subject more thoroughly, but perhaps one day I'll have to write it myself.
The idea of calculus is so simple, and Mr. Thompson's little book is the best that I've seen, yet.
Prior to this book, I had attempted to wade through a couple of college entry-level calculus textbooks, but found the style of both authors to be obtuse and obfuscating. They may have known their subject, but this math whiz (straight "A's" in high school through Advanced Algebra & Trig) found those other authors' abilities to communicate far less than optimum. I would read in one until I couldn't go any farther, then I would read in the other up to the same subject point. Then I would realize what both of them were trying to say. The simplicity that they had mangled has all been straightened out under the compassionate and clear pen of Sylvanus P. Thompson.
When I first found this book in the mid-80's, I thought at first that it was one of those "made easy" trend books I had been seeing so much of. But no, this little gem had seen by then three dozen reprintings starting in 1910. Talk about "classic!"
The book is not perfect. There are so many things I wish had been done to illuminate the subject more thoroughly, but perhaps one day I'll have to write it myself.
The idea of calculus is so simple, and Mr. Thompson's little book is the best that I've seen, yet.
January 21, 2014
This was a book that I skimmed through, rather than thoroughly digested, not least because much of each chapter consists of worked examples and exercises which I didn't attempt. I studied calculus at school, and used it occasionally at university, but I've not needed it since so this was a trip down memory lane. I was attracted to this book by its title, which struck me as unusual for 1914, when my edition was published, and its contents didn't disappoint. The author does indeed present the subject in a way that is easy to understand, and in a style that is entertaining. As I expected, it brought back memories of learning calculus at school although I don't recall the subject being so clearly explained as in this book. Someone trying to learn calculus for the first time could do far worse than using this work as their primer.
I should emphasise that the edition I read was not the one updated by Martin Gardner, with its new introduction, three new chapters and modernised language. These changes will probably have made it more desirable to the modern audience. Nevertheless the 1914 edition I read, which incidentally I downloaded for nothing from the Internet Archive because it's out of copyright, was very readable and it's antiquated style only served to enhance my enjoyment.
I should emphasise that the edition I read was not the one updated by Martin Gardner, with its new introduction, three new chapters and modernised language. These changes will probably have made it more desirable to the modern audience. Nevertheless the 1914 edition I read, which incidentally I downloaded for nothing from the Internet Archive because it's out of copyright, was very readable and it's antiquated style only served to enhance my enjoyment.
September 20, 2011
This isn't all the other calculus books out there. In fact, this is a very old book (early 20th century) and it's surprising how accessible it is (I would say, more than today's books). The writer is witty and sympathetic at all times (the first chapter is called 'To Deliver You From Preliminary Terrors').
May 7, 2021
didnt read it i jusy really don't like calculus
April 1, 2023
I think you could segment the books potential audience into a few groups. Those who want to simply pass their mandatory calculus class and are looking for a book thats not the size of a tire. Those who are genuinely enthralled with all things calculus and like a speck of dust around a vacuum will inhale anything remotely topical to calculus and finally those who're just intellectually curious about what calculus is and who're also interested in a book that is not the size of a tire. Theres probably many more but today my imagination is limited so this will have to do.
For all groups, I think the book delivers on what it promises to do, it does give the intuition behind calculus and peel back the fear surrounding it. I am not sure if I am a high maintenance mathematical reader, I think I might be. I need to see how every step is processed in the examples just so I am not like "Hey man, how the fuck did you get {insert equation here}. I hate that feeling when math books don't do that and this book does that but I also consider that I very well might be the mathematical reader version of one of those beverly hills wife reality tv show "stars" who complains about their cappuccino not being "hot enough". This book is short and simplified for the reader, it goes through the major components of calculus in under 300 pages while other books are just warming up around 500 pages.
Heres what I would recommend, if you want to just pass your class. Go to youtube and just watch the organic chemistry tutors calculus channel, you'll learn a lot from watching and practicing the problems. If you have your soul into calculus than I would say yeah, pick this up as a side read for fun. I am sure you'll whizz right past it.
Its important to keep in context that this book is very old and was way ahead of its time and yet it still holds its own with todays books. A fun read. 4 stars.
For all groups, I think the book delivers on what it promises to do, it does give the intuition behind calculus and peel back the fear surrounding it. I am not sure if I am a high maintenance mathematical reader, I think I might be. I need to see how every step is processed in the examples just so I am not like "Hey man, how the fuck did you get {insert equation here}. I hate that feeling when math books don't do that and this book does that but I also consider that I very well might be the mathematical reader version of one of those beverly hills wife reality tv show "stars" who complains about their cappuccino not being "hot enough". This book is short and simplified for the reader, it goes through the major components of calculus in under 300 pages while other books are just warming up around 500 pages.
Heres what I would recommend, if you want to just pass your class. Go to youtube and just watch the organic chemistry tutors calculus channel, you'll learn a lot from watching and practicing the problems. If you have your soul into calculus than I would say yeah, pick this up as a side read for fun. I am sure you'll whizz right past it.
Its important to keep in context that this book is very old and was way ahead of its time and yet it still holds its own with todays books. A fun read. 4 stars.
June 8, 2013
I have been doing some reading that requires brushing up on my integration. Integration is one of those skills that goes to rust quickly if you don't use it. Could not find my old Thomas's Calculus book and current calculus textbooks turned out to cost in the order of $300 (ouch).
Got a copy of Calculus Made Easy. It turned out to not be at all what I'm looking for yet I am rating it 5 stars!
If you want to learn calculus read this book first.
If you ever wondered what calculus was about find a copy of this book and read the first 4 - 5 chapters, they're short.
Calculus Made Easy demystifies the concepts and clearly explains the symbols and language of differentiation and integration. The author acknowledges that the language of calculus is obtuse and pokes some fun at the mathematicians that came up with.
If you have any interest in math or are going to be forced into taking Calculus Calculus Made Easy will make the topic enjoyable or at least understandable.
Got a copy of Calculus Made Easy. It turned out to not be at all what I'm looking for yet I am rating it 5 stars!
If you want to learn calculus read this book first.
If you ever wondered what calculus was about find a copy of this book and read the first 4 - 5 chapters, they're short.
Calculus Made Easy demystifies the concepts and clearly explains the symbols and language of differentiation and integration. The author acknowledges that the language of calculus is obtuse and pokes some fun at the mathematicians that came up with.
Martin Gardner has updated and revised the latest edition. The sections by Mr Gardner are good but not as lucid as those of the original. This is ONLY because the original is so good.
If you have any interest in math or are going to be forced into taking Calculus Calculus Made Easy will make the topic enjoyable or at least understandable.
Read
December 31, 2023This old ass calculus book has confirmed my suspicions that the lack of mathematical (and STEM in general) competency and interest in the US can be blamed FULLY on the education system. Mathematics up through basic calculus is NOT overly difficult. You just have pretentious people in charge of disseminating mathematical knowledge and those people do an excellent job of sucking the soul right out of such a beautiful art form. Also, they overcomplicate the shit out of what should be very simply understood concepts. Yeah I’m worked up about it, leave me alone
December 7, 2019
Not easy enough for me. An unhappy memory amidst many from the fall of 1964 at Yale. 8 AM even on Saturdays. This book is picked to represent that class which I totally flunked since I quit going early on. I'd done pretty well in math up to that point but Calculus seemed like Martian to me. The bad-sad old days... Date is approximate.
August 19, 2020
I felt held by this book
November 23, 2021
Great explanation of the basic concepts but looks the author rushed in the last few topics.
July 8, 2020
Coming back to calculus after 20 years, having forgotten everything short of addition, subtraction, multiplication, division was daunting.
My first port of call was Spivak, which sent me into an meta-crisis in the first chapter itself. CME was a breath of fresh air.
Strongly recommended for adult learners, and enthu 12 year olds!
My first port of call was Spivak, which sent me into an meta-crisis in the first chapter itself. CME was a breath of fresh air.
Strongly recommended for adult learners, and enthu 12 year olds!
December 19, 2021
The best explanations of differentiation/integration concepts I've ever encountered. A lot of examples of calculations and practice tasks.
Also it was interesting to read a book written around ~191o.
Also it was interesting to read a book written around ~191o.
February 2, 2018
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.
October 27, 2020
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.
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.
January 18, 2021
This, quite literally, is my favorite Math book until now. I had no clue it existed, and was only guided towards it by the notes of Steven Strogatz in one of his books. It was written in 1914, and presents an approach to Calculus from Leibniz's point of view - which I had never seen before - for an audience with some mathematical maturity but not mathematical rigor. Everything about this book, starting from the title, "Calculus Made Easy - Being a very-simplest introduction to those beautiful methods which are generally called by the terrifying names of the Differential Calculus and the Integral Calculus", to the motto, "What one fool can do, another can.", to the philosophy of approaching a concept was simply beautiful. Even though I have encountered Calculus countless times during my days as a student, I am just glad that I had the pleasure of reading this gem by Mr. Thompson.
October 15, 2014
I'm a software developer and have had my interests in Mathematics for quite some time now. But my knowledge about Calculus was very limited. Hence I picked up this book.
The book has real simple language and of course since this a book about an advanced concept, the reader is expected to have some background in Mathematics.
The author provides some examples practicing which gets the concepts ingrained in the readers' mind. I'll be honest, I didn't solve most of the problems (that was not my intention of reading the book either).
The book goes into some depth and talks about chain rule, product rule and the quotient rule in Differential Calculus.
It would've made it the book better if it had a chapter on Limits as well.
The book has real simple language and of course since this a book about an advanced concept, the reader is expected to have some background in Mathematics.
The author provides some examples practicing which gets the concepts ingrained in the readers' mind. I'll be honest, I didn't solve most of the problems (that was not my intention of reading the book either).
The book goes into some depth and talks about chain rule, product rule and the quotient rule in Differential Calculus.
It would've made it the book better if it had a chapter on Limits as well.
August 8, 2011
I reread the text a few times and worked out most of the problems and feel I now understand calculus well enough to appreciate its significance and genius. I've worked my way through another calculus text because of it and am able to understand discussions about aspects of calculus in other math books as well.
Wish I had this book when I was a high school student. I definitely plan to use it with my children when they are older.
Wish I had this book when I was a high school student. I definitely plan to use it with my children when they are older.
January 7, 2016
I have skipped the exercises. But the book explains lot of things in simple and elegant way. A must have for high school students and parents or teachers who wish to teach children calculus. About this particular edition, print quality is poor. Worst paper quality. Also they had put a copyright notice. Stupid! The book is out of copyright and available in project Gutenberg. Please stay away from this edition.
March 8, 2008
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!
June 14, 2010
Although I still don't understand calculus I really enjoyed reading this book. It's fun when someone loves the subject so much. The idea of infinitesimals is much more intuitive to me than limits as well. It made me think of all the abstractions which were equally 'correct' that lost out over the years.
July 30, 2012
It is difficult rating a text book. I do know that I will buy this book for all my children when they are taking Calculus. Though it was written in 1910, it is amazingly understandable. One thing I enjoyed about working my way through this book was that the exercises given at the end of the chapters was exceedingly difficult.
January 25, 2014
Readers will surely realise this book and that in many respects the calculus is an art rather than science. an art only to be acquired , as all other arts are, by practice. :D
You can download a PDF of the 1914 edition at djm.cc/library/Calculus_Made_Easy_Tho... and you may in fact want to do that.
You can download a PDF of the 1914 edition at djm.cc/library/Calculus_Made_Easy_Tho... and you may in fact want to do that.
January 19, 2014
Available for free on project Gutenberg as a beautifully typeset PDF, this amazing little book presents the most fundamental ideas of the calculus in a surprisingly approachable way. It's certainly light on rigor, but for an introductory primer,that's not such a terrible thing.
August 26, 2013
This book got me through calculus after I slept through the first 5 weeks and realized I didn't know what was going on anymore. It's a clear, simple but practical look at calculus and without it I probably would have became a liberal arts major.
August 28, 2018
Good, this is making a comeback. How refreshing to see that calculus can be taught in 200 something pages instead of the modern bricks. This cuts to the bone and is well written. Its available for free with Project Gutenberg. share it with young people before its too late.
August 9, 2007
If you want to learn calc, or need a refresher, this book is indispensable.
March 1, 2008
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.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 115 reviews