Precalculus Mathematics in a Nutshell: Geometry, Algebra, Trigonometry

Really helped me to grasp some basic concepts. Short but highly effective.

It's my understanding that sticking to the point was one of the objectives of the author and reasons for writing this book, and it delivers on this very well I thought, whilst at the same time covering a lot of ground. It is made up of three standalone chapters: Geometry, Algebra and Trigonometry, all of which I found enjoyable and informative. For me, the author's clear thinking and expertise shines through throughout the book, though I am not a mathematician I should note. The trigonometry chapter focuses on the trigonometric functions (sin, cos etc.) and emphasizes that they are not just all about navigating or assessing the height of a tree, but also (and according to the author most importantly) "the mathematical description of vibrations, rotations and periodic phenomena of all kinds". As it happens I already knew this and it was part of why I bought a pre-calculus book, i.e. I wanted to better understand the mathematics often used to describe AC electricity, so I was pleased to find this slant was taken. The Algebra chapter went further than I had expected, introducing logarithms, determinants and systems of linear equations, geometric progressions and series, arithmetic progressions, permutations and combinations, the binomial theorem and mathematical induction. The Geometry chapter like the rest of the book keeps to the essentials. There are also exercises interspersed throughout the book that consolidate and deepen the reader's understanding (and confidence perhaps). The reader is very well supported by this book, but also encouraged to go away and contemplate why some of the given results are true. I thought it was a great book for beginners or those looking to refresh their knowledge. I bought the paperback version, which was absolutely fine despite appearing to me to have been printed to a smaller than intended paper size.

Really useful preparation for my calculus study. Clear and to the point.

I appreciate the tone of the book which is friendly and inviting, as well as the incremental approach whereby the author builds up your knowledge bit by bit. There are questions at the end of each of the three sections. Answers are given for the straightforward ones but you are left to figure out the difficult ones yourself. This had me mulling over things for days, which can be beneficial because it gets you thinking and experimenting, but often I had to resort to Google for clues. Some guidance would have been helpful as in some cases I couldn't find any help online and just gave up. The proofs are given in a very understandable style, but sometimes you are just presented with rules, for example operations on fractions. I still don't know why they work. Overall a good book, 1 star deducted for the missing bits.

this is a very good book. its very short too, only 119 pages. if like me you prefer vintage textbooks its a bargain. as you can imagine PDF textbooks are all over the internet nowadays, but its far better and more convenient to have the printed book in my opinion (as opposed to printing out the entire PDF on loose A4).

Excellent book well written and useful.

This book broke down the formulas in a clear, concise way.

Really good book.