Practical Algebra: A Self-Teaching Guide, Second Edition 2nd (second) Edition by Selby, Peter H., Slavin, Steve published by John Wiley & Sons (1991) Paperback

by Steve Slavin

Excellent Book

Genres: Mathematics, Nonfiction, Science, Education, Reference, Stem, Research

Paperback Bunko

First published January 1, 1974

Reviews

[Mark Longo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Want to feel really dumb? Enroll in a science PhD program at an elite school after having been out of academia for many years and after having spent your middle and high school years in a state of stultified catatonic boredom and disinterest. Sign up for a few advanced math classes during your PhD program and become painfully aware of the gaps in your knowledge that your earlier disinterest engendered.

Want to feel really smart? Go back and try to fill in those holes with a book like this. At some point along the way I realized that, despite my horrid initial exposure to algebra and more advanced mathematics, it's an absolutely beautiful discipline and is useful for much more than calculating when two trains leaving from different stations will meet if one is traveling at 30 mph and blah, blah, blah. It's so much more than that!! With proper training, one can begin to probe the deepest secrets of the universe, and uncover fascinating hidden relationships between all sorts of real-world phenomena. I've become so enamored with the subject that I decided to go back to square one and work my way back up to advanced math, filling in all the gaps in my understanding along the way and learning at my own depth and pace rather than being force-fed in the examination-focused pressure-cooker style favored by most academic settings.

This is a wonderful book for this purpose. The explanations are clear and problems elegant (if you factor consistently, all the numbers in the problems divide into one another nicely without ugly fractions). I finished wondering how I could have ever found any aspect of algebra confusing. Oh, yeah, it was passing all those notes in high-school and not giving a damn. It's never too late! Read this book!

[Lananorris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is probably the best self teaching guide I have come across for any subject, not just Algebra. Reader friendly, it anticipates that the person who picks this book up is most certainly a math-phobe, who was scarred by public school Algebra classes and teachers. Clear, plain, simple, well thought out explanations, good selection of questions to test whether the concept was grasped AND, (a really great thing) with the question is a direct reference back to the teaching of that particular concept in case you get it wrong and want to know why. I, I am proud to say, no longer fear Algebra. I no longer get a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach when I see letters in a math problem. It is much more of a game or puzzle like SUDOKO. Of course I have the luxury of doing it at my own pace now, but isn't that a privilege that should come with maturity.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been using this book for a few months. It's an excellent textbook for teaching myself algebra -- it covers *everything* and is clear, thorough and actually has a sense of humor.

[Care · Rating 3 out of 5]

returned to the library - didn't get all the way thru (uh oh)

[Michelle]

This really helps and it's extremely interesting.