This book will de bunk the myth about apaches being savages and uncultured criminals. The apache people were a nomadic people, and the US Government taught them more about treachery than any village elder ever could. Treaties broken , starving people forced to march to barren wastelands, all the things the US Government forced the apache to endure are here. Only then did the apache begin to fight the white man in seriousness, and then only in small numbers. It is a tribute to their tenacity and strength that they were able to avoid capture by 'three stars' Crook for so long. In particular my favorite chapters were those about noble apache chiefs like Cochise and Mangas Colorado. These were the true leaders of the apache, Geronimo was never revered as a leader until he broke off from the main tribe. I have read this book over and over, its a hard read, but worth it.

This is an easy to use book, but I've checked the third and fourth editions, and except for different equations, the content is the same. My instructor said it made no difference which edition I used, so I went with the third one.

It's a shame what passes for algebra textbooks these days. This is a prime example. First of all, most intermediate algebra texts (including this one) are filled with color photographs and fancy covers, all of which contribute to the exorbitant price tag, yet are totally irrelevant to the learning of mathematics. The authors should peruse some graduate level math books. Math is done (and always has been done) in black and white. Secondly, I find it amazing that they find it necessary to issue a new edition (this is the 5th ed. mind you) every couple of years or so. I wasn't aware that any new research was being done in elementary algebra. What the authors have done is write ONE textbook, and change a couple of equations, rearrange a few chapters, and voila! Now we have a Beginning Algebra textbook. Compare them sometime. They are virtually the same textbook. We use both books at our college. So the students pay the same [amount]twice for the SAME BOOK! Outrageous! But it gets better. Are you ready? The book(s) isn't particularly well thought out. For example, the authors (like many others) think that to add fractions (or simplify them) one needs to factor the numerator and denominator. That's well and good, provided all the numbers you work with have only 2 digits. I challenge the authors to simplify some fractions with 5-digit numerators and denominators sometime, with factoring as their only tool. Oh yes, they don't even bother to give significant information on HOW to factor: Namely, Sieve of Eratosthenes (to find primes) and use of the square root (to determine when the number is factored.) They wave their hands when it comes to finding the LCM, and the method of finding the GCD is delayed until factoring polynomials. Even then it's FACTORING once again - the most grossly inefficient way to find the GCD. Have they ever heard of the Euclidean algorithm? I assume they have SOME background in mathematics. Applications - part of the title. Let's look at some. Coin/stamp/integer problems are totally contrived. Even the poorest student understands that in the REAL world (the world of applications) one does not start out knowing that he has $4.58 in his piggy bank, and that he has three fewer pennies than five times his number of quarters, and wants to find out how many of each coin he has. No. Where does one realistically get such information? One doesn't. If you want to know how many of each coin, you COUNT THEM, as you must do if you know you have $4.58. The authors should climb down from the ivory tower, and TALK to some people that use mathematics (instead of just taking their photograph.) Then write some real applications. Another complaint: Using graphing to find the solution to a system of equations. Are you kidding me? What if the slopes of two lines disagree by 1/10000000. Graph away and say "parallel". The student (or anyone else) has no way of knowing a'priori that this situation won't arise. What about the degree of a polynomial? The authors mention it in passing, and then move on without discussing any APPLICATIONS (there's that word again) of the concept. You know, like when does one stop with a polynomial division problem? Or, how many solutions does a polynomial equation in one variable have?

I could go on (all day.) In short: forget this one. If you want to learn algebra, without getting a 2nd mortgage on your home, try Schaum's Outlines.

The material in the book is very easy to understand. The chapter test all come with answers in the back of the book so you can check your own work.