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Some good books for introductory Calculus;

1) Calculus: Basic Concepts for High Schools by Lev Tarasov. Soviet-era book written as a dialogue between the author and reader. Absolutely fantastic (also see his other books on Probability etc.) - https://mirtitles.org/2018/09/04/calculus-basic-concepts-for...

2) Calculus: An Intuitive and Physical Approach by Morris Kline. A classic; any book by Morris Kline is a must-have - https://store.doverpublications.com/products/9780486404530

3) Calculus: The Princess of Mathematics by H.C.Verma et al. A two-vol must-have affordable set. The author is a well-known Indian Physics professor and this is written specifically for students to "understand" calculus i.e. it is not a typical textbook. - https://garudalife.in/calculus-the-princess-of-mathematics-v...

4) How to Think about Analysis by Lara Alcock. Provides conceptual insight like the Tarasov book above. Checkout the author's other books too. - https://global.oup.com/academic/product/how-to-think-about-a...

I believe we need to study Calculus alongside Probability/Statistics nowadays due to their pervasive use in ML/AI/etc. To that end;

a) Methods of Mathematics Applied to Calculus, Probability, and Statistics by Richard Hamming. It is by Hamming so one of the best. - https://store.doverpublications.com/products/9780486439457?_...

b) Calculus and Statistics by Michael Gemignani. Similar to the above - https://store.doverpublications.com/products/9780486449937

4 comments

Thanks for the list.

I have been on the lookout for a specific book I was suggested as a kid. This was when our high school Physics was traveling a few paces ahead of our mathematics curriculum.

All I remember is that the Indian paperback edition had a blue cover. It was very helpful.

I find it hard to understand the persistent calculus hate that I see on HN. For us it was a very enjoyable experience.

We learned it through two courses that sort of raced each other at a tepid pace -- high school Physics (especially dynamics) and high school mathematics.

Try a google image search for something like "India Calculus book blue cover" (and similar phrases) and you might most probably find what you have been looking for.

When it comes to Calculus most people get traumatized due to the excessive rigor and abstraction many teachers/books start with in the beginning. There is the Heine discrete sequence approach that is far easier to understand (see https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49312120) than the standard epsilon-delta definition but for some reason it is not emphasized. Add the fact that many mindlessly recommend Spivak/Apostol etc. books which are highly rigorous and a beginning student is lost and starts to develop an aversion to the subject.

For some motivation see Everyday Calculus: Discovering the Hidden Math All around Us by Oscar Fernandez - https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691175751/ev...

Thanks, image search is a good idea. Why did I not think of that. It was probably Silvanus' classic. I can't seem to find a picture of the cover from that age.

I think for us our first exposure was through the notion of instantaneous velocity in Physics. Our Physics classes were usually a step or two ahead and there the calculus was a little handwavy. The mathematics classes in the coming weeks would soon follow making the ideas a little more grounded.

It worked for us is all I can say. Were us is my group of high school friends.

I hope you check out my book, "Calculus from the Ground Up":

https://www.amazon.com/Calculus-Ground-Jonathan-Laine-Bartle...

Thanks for the pointer; will definitely take a look at it.

Btw - Your name seemed familiar and then i remembered, you are also the author of "Programming from the Ground Up".

Indeed! Glad I have fans :) I also have an electronics book "Electronics for Beginners" plus a few others.

> Calculus: The Princess of Mathematics by H.C.Verma et al.

Garudalife have a store on Abebooks, so available in the UK at under £12 per volume (each circa 340 pages) but inevitably £18 postage. These look interesting and one day we'll have print on demand in each territory!

Don't give up so easily :-)

You can buy it from the publisher directly since they do international shipping. Contact them for the shipping charges.

You might also want to check Amazon India and see how much it costs to order from them.

Talk to some of your local schools/colleges/libraries and see whether they can get it and you borrow from them.

Finally; ask your "Indian Friend" (direct/indirect) to get the volumes on one of his/her visits to India ;-)

Calculus Made Easy, but renewed by Martin Gardner. Yes, that one.