Precalculus Mathematics in a Nutshell: Geometry, Algebra, Trigonometry

One caveat though. If you have been away from math for say 10 - 20 years you will often get lost wading through the material. The text does assume that one's thinking process is still attuned to basic skills such as the "two sign change" rule in a compound expression. Therefore if you find that you have forgotten the tricks involved in things like factoring you will be better served to first go with say "Practical Algebra: A self teaching Guide" and "Geometry and Trig for Calculus". Both by Selby et al.

However, if you've been away from math for only a short time (< 5 years), by all means get this book.


magic book   January 23, 2005
A reader
37 out of 39 found this review helpful

As a dyed-in-the-wool math-phobe (with but one year
of high-school algebra and a year of high-school
geometry 15 years earlier), I thoroughly chewed through
this little book over a summer and then launched
into the first semester of Calculus (taught in the
traditional style, not "Calculus-reform style) at a
rather rigorous Math/Science/Engineering oriented
university. In that Calculus class, I generally got
100% on each quiz and exam (and most of my classmates
with a more typical pre-engineering background
did not). Take it for what it's worth, but I credit
this book. Very compressed, but very clear. You will
note that I successfully substituted this book for two
semesters of the usual pre-calculus math sequence,
and I doubt this would have worked for me if the book
were missing any important pre-calculus material.


short and sweet   September 4, 2004
Kurt Larkin (Saint Louis)
19 out of 22 found this review helpful

The book's title says it all. At a time when thousand-page tomes on basic geometry, algebra, and trignometry full of worthless color pictures have become commonplace; it is refreshing to see a book that shows just how simple and beautiful basic mathematics can be.

I would recommend this to anyone who appreciates mathematics--not just students.


Precalculus Mathematics in a Nutshell.   March 26, 2007
Wesley L. Janssen (San Diego, CA USA)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful

It is easy to appreciate the high praise that Simmons's book receives from most reviewers, and, it is also easy to understand some reviewers' displeasure with the fast pace and brevity of the author's treatment of the curriculum. Simmons says [Preface to my copy of the 1997 hardcover edition], "I have eliminated most of the repetitious and unnecessary material often included in precalculus mathematics textbooks. I have also tried to achieve the utmost brevity that will still permit students who are willing to work at it to understand the material. If I overstep the bounds here and there, and provide explanations that are too concentrated for clarity, I welcome suggestions from teachers and students for improvements that can be included in future editions."

This is conceived as a 'brush up' for readers who have some years between themselves and their last math classes. A modest history and/or aptitude with mathematics is assumed, but not all notation or terminologies are explained when they first appear in the text; if you find this to be a problem, a decent dictionary should quickly resolve any questions.

Simmons takes full advantage of the "picture's worth a thousand words" principle, providing many excellent drawings to help explain concepts presented in the sections on geometry and trigonometry. The reader can spend abundant time in this rather small book, if he/she wants to work through all of the problems in the exercises and appendices, or they can move through it a bit more quickly by proceeding selectively, jumping past problems that look less challenging and/or concepts that are already understood (there'll be plenty of work here even for those who skip many problems!). The book can also serve as a reference for those of us who do some kinds of calculations too infrequently to recall the formulae. The book may be maddening, it may be fun (it will probably be both), it adroitly fills an important niche (or two).


Five stars!   February 6, 2000
6 out of 7 found this review helpful

Simmons' book cuts to the chase. Instead of wasting time with 800 to 1,000 (or more!) pages of tedium -- you can review, work problems, and get on to calculus! It is as simple as it can be -- but is no simpler.