Calculus, Seventh Edition Package

by Ron Larson

Hardcover

About the author

Roland "Ron" Edwin Larson

Reviews

[liz! · Rating 5 out of 5]

incredible read.

[Lilia · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I first had to check this book out for school, I noticed that it was different from the others—take To Kill a Mockingbird, Romeo and Juliet, and the like—that I had previously spent time studying. For one, it was extremely thick, and I had to keep it for two full years. But upon starting the book, I realized that it was different in another way as well: it has, fundamentally, no plot. Now, I’m all for originality, and I’m not inherently opposed to breaking away from common tropes or the Hero’s Journey archetype. But this one... there just wasn’t anything that even remotely resembled a plot or character arc! I don’t even think there were any solid characters, unless you count the various mathematicians referenced throughout. It’s almost as if this book was spitting straight facts without anything in between. I remember thinking Great Expectations was a drag, but there was more of a story to that than “Calculus: Seventh Edition.”

However, I must say that I did learn a great deal about calculus through this book. There are chapters, and though they don’t form a storyline, I found many useful explanations, tips, and practice problems within their pages. I can now confidently and truthfully say that I know how to—spoiler alert!!—calculate the rate of change of the length of a 6-foot-tall person’s shadow as they walk away from a 12-foot-tall light post. Come to think of it, I can probably calculate the rate of change if the person is walking towards the light, too! So, I suppose that “Calculus: Seventh Edition” did teach me some things about calculus, so if that’s what you’re looking for, then definitely give it a shot. Just a forewarning, though: don’t go in expecting a novel!