ISBN9780495011699

This text, though very readable, teaches too much through example problems as opposed to actually explaining the information in the text. Presentation of some topics (chapter 6 particularly) was very poor. Some chapters were out of place (chapter 9 on differential equations, which should have been placed right before the last chapter).

I'm a freshman and this book is used for my Calculus class and it is probably the worst thing to "learn" calculus from. The examples in this book are in no way supportive of the problems. The problems at the end of each chapter are pretty difficult and the examples do not help. There is little explanation as to how to solve the problems and does not help build a solid foundation of fundamental ideas. The book is horrible in theory and application. I really want to write a letter to Stewart telling him how bad of a book it really is. Please do not try to purchase this book. It is not sufficient at all to learn calculus from.

I'm not impressed with this book as a learning guide. As others have said, you can't learn calculus on your own with this book and I can assure you they are correct with that claim. You'll definitely need a person with a thorough knowledge of calculus to answer every problem you encounter and trust me, you're going to encounter A LOT with this book! The example problems do very little with helping to solve the assignment problems. In fact, the example problems are as good as useless to me because the author doesn't EXPLAIN how they're solved. He just solves them and you have to figure out how he's doing it! It's so frustrating. As a student, there's nothing more discouraging than not being able to understand how to work your way through a problem and that's where this author fails. Rather than building your confidence and starting easy and gradually making the problems more difficult, you're just thrown into the meat grinder of calculus and expected to spend X amount of time deciphering gibberish formulas and trying to piece them into place in hopes that you've correctly applied it to the assignment problem. Every single problem I've worked through I've had to look in the answer section only to find out my answer as wrong and re-work the problem again and again to solve it. If your school uses this book (ie: you're forced into using this book), then I HIGHLY recommend you get the solutions manual and any other text such as a 'Dummies' book to accompany this one because it's going to be hard to learn calculus with this book alone.

Bottom line: I don't recommend this book. If you're not required to buy it, then don't!

I am currently a freshman in college just finishing a calculus course, and throughout the whole semester i have been given homework assignments supposedly "based on readings in the book." Every homework assignment has resulted in a severe headache due to countless hours spent on solving problems that are so many levels above what the chapters actually explain. There are problems at the end of each chapter based on its teachings, but so many of them require knowledge of irrelevant identities never taught throughout the book. The fact that I had a good teacher for that class is the only reason why I got an A, because this textbook is a miserable labyrinth of assumptions and vague teachings. I am starting to believe that the only reason universities support this book is because of its online homework system.

This textbook is great combined with Calculus for Dummies. The two books together go in-depth about limits, derivatives, trig, algebra, and if your algebra is rusty it starts off with a precalculus. I highly recommend the two books together. The examples in the Single Variable Calculus:Early Transcendentals are very vague and dont show some very crucial steps but over all the book I received was in mint condition, and I just love the new book smell and knowing no one else had it but me. Thanks Amazon! J.T.