Short Calculus
by Serge Lang · first published 2001
100% recommend
Why HN recommends it
Concise, clear treatment of single-variable calculus in under 200 pages, with writing that builds visual intuition; suits beginners, refreshers, and high schoolers wanting a streamlined alternative to bloated textbooks.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
This is a reprint of "A First Course in Calculus," which has gone through five editions since the early sixties. It covers all the topics traditionally taught in the first-year calculus sequence in a brief and elementary fashion. As sociological and educational conditions have evolved in various ways over the past four decades, it has been found worthwhile to make the original edition available again. The audience consists of those taking the first calculus course, in high school or college. The approach is the one which was successful decades ago, involving clarity, and adjusted to a time whe
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…this book lacks all the glossy pages of illustration found in a modern Calculus textbook, the writing style helps develop that visual intuition. In the same vein of concise Calculus books, Serge Lang's Short Calculus is also great (if you need a refresher, or if you're just starting out). https://www.amazon.com/Short-Calculus-Original-Undergraduate...
on “Calculus Made Easy (1914) [pdf]” ↗Another book on calculus for beginners I really liked [1]. [1] - https://www.amazon.com/Short-Calculus-Original-Undergraduate...
on “Calculus Made Easy by Silvanus P. Thompson (1910)” ↗Serge Lang's "Short Calculus" is clear and concise, efficiently covering the basics in ~170 pages instead of hundreds of pages like some books. It then has a few more chapters going into a bit more depth but on topics that are also…
on “The Little Book of Linear Algebra” ↗Lang's "Short Calculus" (a reprint of the 1st edition of his calculus textbook) is a welcome change from those 2234th edition doorstop textbooks that make calculus into a boring parade of examples, where the goal of the game…
on “Programming books you might want to consider reading” ↗…through those you will find things open up for you. I don't know your level so it's difficult to make any concrete recommendations, but in general I find Lang's books to be clear and efficient sources. His Short Calculus covers all the basics of single variable calculus in less than 200 pages, instead of ~500 pages like many intro to calc books. Similarly his Calculus of Several Variables is ~300 pages instead of 500-700.…
on “The Deceptively Asymmetric Unit Sphere” ↗…can tell, except as sources of exercises (and khan academy is way better for exercises than any book if you ask me) - My favorite books for high school math are Lang's "Basic Mathematics" and maybe "Short Calculus" which don't seem to be aimed at the high schooler, even though it covers math that the people I wish to associate myself with did in highschool. This might be what you mean about College math starting…
on “The World Might Be Better Off Without College for Everyone” ↗