The Calculus: A Genetic Approach

by Otto Toeplitz, David Bressoud (Foreword)

When first published posthumously in 1963, this book presented a radically different approach to the teaching of calculus.  In sharp contrast to the methods of his time, Otto Toeplitz did not teach calculus as a static system of techniques and facts to be memorized. Instead, he drew on his knowledge of the history of mathematics and presented calculus as an organic evolution of ideas beginning with the discoveries of Greek scholars, such as Archimedes, Pythagoras, and Euclid, and developing through the centuries in the work of Kepler, Galileo, Fermat, Newton, and Leibniz. Through this unique approach, Toeplitz summarized and elucidated the major mathematical advances that contributed to modern calculus.

Reissued for the first time since 1981 and updated with a new foreword, this classic text in the field of mathematics is experiencing a resurgence of interest among students and educators of calculus today.

Genres: Mathematics, Science, History, Calculus

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1949

Reviews

[katie luisa borgesius]

all i ever waan-ted, all i ever nee-ded is heeere, in - myy - aarms

[sine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a recommended reading for the physics course I took. Unlike a standard calculus textbook, the author introduces the calculus chronologically, starting with ancient geometry and Archimedes' methods to calculate Pi, whose reminiscence we can see in the modern calculus. The author did this part remarkably. However, the book is somehow unfinished because of posthumous publishing and contains several errors or overcomplicated explanations, making the reading less enjoyable.

[Gerard]

this book is awesome.