Book Review: The Humongous Book of Calculus Problems

I bought this book a year ago as a refresher of Calculus and as of now, I am almost finished reading it. I think what separates this book from the rest are the numerous worked examples (well, 1000 of them) with detailed solutions and explanations. Additional pointers and explanations in layman’s words are provided as notes.

This book has 565 pages containing 28 chapters. The first 8 chapters contain a review about equations, polynomials, functions, and trigonometry, while the remaining chapters discussed topics in Calculus I and II: Limits, Differentiation, Integration, Parametric and Polar Equations, Sequences and Series. As a bonus, a chapter on Differential Equations is also included. 

I will recommend this book to the following:

  • students who are learning calculus for the first time

I recommend this book for students who are learning calculus for the first time especially those without a strong mathematics background. If you have a strong mathematics background, you might find this book a bit easy.

A good supplement to this material are the video lectures on Calculus I an II by Prof Leonard in Youtube. I suggest that you watch first the videos before reading the corresponding chapters in the book.

  • self-study textbook / review textbook

There are so many worked examples in this textbook, so it is ideal for self-study. For those who have learned calculus a long time ago who want to refresh their memory, this is also a good text for review.

  • teachers who are teaching undergraduate calculus for non-math majors

As this text contains numerous examples, it will serve as a book and solutions manual in one. Teachers who are teaching undergraduate calculus for non-math majors or even those who are teaching High School Calculus will likely appreciate this book.

For those who do not wish to spend money though, Paul Dawkins’ Calculus I and Calculus II have very similar features.

Leave a Reply