I will not say, as is common in reviewers of books on calculus, that this is the best book of calculus that there is. Indeed, calculus is a subject with so many textbooks that it can be said that there is no best textbook, but that each person can find one that suits his/her needs.

Nonetheless, Courant's book is an old text, around 70 years old. It belongs to these classics of science that were influential and held its own as a source of common knowledge. Why?

I believe that the answer to this question is simple: Courant's book has the perfect balance between theory and applications. It does not use too much pedantry in its exposition, is full of examples (for the student to do and also some worked-out), ranging from simple to very difficult, and yet it proves everything that is important in a way that no mathematician can complain. Indeed, the authors leaves the most difficult demonstrations to appendixes that can be found in each chapter, so the reader that doesn't want to enter into the complications of the proofs can skip them. And the book is written in a conversational style, that much probably influenced the book that, in my humble opinion, is the best that can be found treating the subjects it treats (so I also have my favourite calculus text: Spivak's Calculus!).

There are two volumes, the first one dealing mainly with calculus of one variable and the second with multivariate and complex analysis. It contains the core of the mathematical theory useful for physicists and engineers and has this that is amazing: it develops the theory and always gives good physical examples. Indeed, a whole course of theoretical physics is contained in this book, almost hidden.

So, if someone is reading this review and is in doubt whether the book is good or not, I can say, with the experience of having read a long list of calculus texts, that the book is good and is worth-while. It is useful to the mathematician and to the engineer, to the philosopher and to the physicist, and serves extremely well both as a text book for class study, self-study and for reference. If you are worried that the treatment is dated, I can say that, although today the most common treatment of, say, multivariate calculus is through linear algebra, that leaves the subject much cleaner, Courant's work still is of value in that it explains everything in as simple way as possible, mantaining always ahead the objectives of each section. It is essentially a book of applications of analysis and if you read and work the examples, you will turn yourself into an expert both in theory and application and will be able to follow easily any work that has classical analysis as prerequisite.

Great classical book!

This two-volume text, originally written in German while Courant was still at Gottingen, is very much better for a serious student than most introductory texts on analysis. Most introductory texts have a flavor of having been written by geniuses for idiots; in this book, Courant treats the student as being his peer in intellect and interest, lacking only knowledge. This makes it an excellent book even for somebody reasonably familiar with the calculus. Although it covers the material from a strictly classical viewpoint, the text and the examples provide enough thinking material to help the student understand the motivation that led to measure theory, Lebesgue-Stieltjes integration, and algebraic topology; the wellsprings of these in classical analysis are seldom explained in modern math courses. So I can recommend it to any senior planning to do graduate work in math, or to any first-year graduate student in math. And of course, it can be well used as a first calculus text for students who are prepared to think and put in effort on the subject.

Courant himself, of course, was a great mathematician, although I don't personally consider him one of the greatest mathematicians of the 20th century; he was a better leader and inspirer of others than a creator of new mathematics. But among other things, he served as David Hilbert's personal assistant for two years, and this gave him superb judgment about what's important and what isn't. This shows throughout the book.

It also helps that the translator into English was E. J. McShane. McShane is less well-known than he perhaps deserves to be, because he was a truly first-rate mathematical researcher (in analysis) himself. This, together with the fact that McShane spent a year or two at Gottingen while Courant was still leading the Mathematics Institute at Gottingen, and came to know Courant well, allowed McShane to translate Courant's text with great understanding of

Courant's way of thinking.

My own copy of this text, bought more than 50 years ago, is in tatters, because I still haul it out and re-read pieces of it to connect my thinking when I'm groping.

I used this book in an Honors Calculus course decades ago, and it's still a useful reference. Unlike most calculus books, this is one from which you can learn real mathematics by self-study. It is not only solid on calculational techniques, but is also an introduction to real analysis, and to good mathematical reasoning and proof technique. Courant was a famous applied mathematician, and he introduced and developed the concepts in a way that is very well motivated and clear (not very common in mathematics texts these days).

Different calculus textbooks will go in and out of fashion as professors try to overcome the poor preparation of their students, but Courant's book will endure as long as there are students who really want to understand thoroughly what they are doing.

We received this book as a gift for our son's first birthday, and he has loved it to death! He loved to fill in the missing words as we read to him, and quickly learned all of his nursery ryhmes. Now at age 2, he is rediscovering this treasure...he has fallen in love with the illustrations all over again, and he understands the meaning and humor in these wonderful rhymes!

I got this book when I was little and now I want this book for my little girl. My favorite nursery rhyme is the one about the Crooked man. I reccommend everyone buying this book for their children.

The Classic Mother Goose is the perfect book to introduce nursery rhymes to kids of all ages. The illustrations in this book captivate the smallest children and they will choose this book over and over again as a favorite for bedtime stories. My kids read our first copy to death. That is the true test of how good a book is.

I am one engineer who have to make the system of the electronic intelligence. But I don't have the good experience about this area. From this book, I can get the good guideline and reference. It is very good chance for my qualities. Because I cannot find more good guide-book from other place.

This is a beautiful and touching novel. The audience
shares in Bobby's experiences and grow to love him.
Bobby is able to learn more about himself when he is
learning about another culture. The Korean backdrop,
peace corps experience, and military culture ring as
entirely authentic. Again, Wiley is incredibly funny
while also being entirely serious, a paradox which
renders this novel as an important work of art.

This book is a fascinating treatise describing the development of Southern Baptist theology from the bedrock of Calvanism to the weeds of docrinal dissention which threaten to choke life from biblical inspiration. It is a well written book which educates, inspires and provokes serious thought about the origins and future of Southern Baptist theology. This book should be required reading for anyone, be they laity, ministers, or all who are curious about Southern Baptists. It is a worthy addition to any library.

Ritti writes an excellent view of corporate culture explaining the "why" decisions are made and "why" people act as they do in corporate America. It really helps to put the discipline of change management into perspective. I strongly recommend this book for anyone interested in organizational behavior (American companies only). My only criticism is that there is no short and simple explanation for each of the behaviors. The reader is forced to read the entire chapter and all of the short stories in order to get an idea as to what behavior is being described.

Ritti writes an excellent view of corporate culture explaining the "why" decisions are made and "why" people act as they do in corporate America. It really helps to put the discipline of change management into perspective. I strongly recommend this book for anyone interested in organizational behavior (American companies only). My only criticism is that there is no short and simple explanation for each of the behaviors. The reader is forced to read the entire chapter and all of the short stories in order to get an idea as to what behavior is being described.

This book is often touted as a great book for students, or for new workers just beginning their career. While I agree with that prescription, I think as well that this could be an important book for everyone, no matter what their age is or where they are placed in the corporate environment. Particularly in these difficult economic times, it's never a bad idea to remind yourself how organizations work, or how others may perceive you without your awareness. Updated with new stories for the 5th edition. Very useful bibliography of further reading.

I use this book as a college text.

SMAD offers a wealth of good information, but it's far too wordy and prone to personal ruminations on the parts of the contributors. It could profitably be shortened by at least 200 pages.

In addition, Chapter 9 (on payloads) needs significant re-work, especially on the discussion of optical payloads. The chapter somehow manages to be both too detailed, and too top-level, for the reader to actually use it. Those who can fill in the technical gaps will not need SMAD, and those who cannot, cannot use SMAD. The proper approach would be to offer a qualitative assessment of how payloads affect satellite design. Leave the deep-down technical details for other texts.

Finally, there are sections which can only be described as advertisements for Wertz's company. The discussions of autonomous orbit determination and autonomous orbit control are vastly biased, and do not cover the full range of considerations that have to go into selecting an approach for either activity.

Wertz has continued his good works, this time branching out with Larson from vehicle design (his book Attitude Determination & Control is considered a bible for NASA as well as contractor ACS engineers) to mission-oriented design. The scope is larger with emphasis on many example missions, so necessarily the technical detail is not as rich; but for ACS systems, definitely get his first one.

What can I say about SMAD? It is THE book for the practicing space systems engineer. After several years in this industry my copy of SMAD is well-thumbed and constantly borrowed by colleagues. I refer to it regularly, and don't know how I could have survived without it. Every time I go back to this book I find some new nugget of information. Wertz and Larson have managed to condense a whole slew of useful information into one volume. The only problem with SMAD is that it takes a kind of "cookbook" approach, without many derivations. But that approach is necessitated by the breadth of material it covers, and is made up for by a wealth of references for more in-depth material. Highly recommended!

This book is very well written as far as scientific material is concerned. Having a very funadmantal understanding of such concepts as the Big Bang would prove to be helpful while reading, but not once was I utterly confused. The book is jam-packed with useful info and data. Kudos to Richard Morris for a fine book.

This clumsy novel reads like a rough draft that a good editor should have polished and tightened. The detective/narrator, Nora, is a buffoon who constantly hampers the mystery she is allegedly solving. The suspense never works. Why would Nora, hot on the trail of a bad guy, interrupt to tell him she's running late, just when he's trying to let her in on a clue? (When she's finally ready to hear, he won't tell.) This book teeters between the conventions of a mystery and the conventions of a novel desperately seeking a deeper meaning. It succeeds on neither level. For a marvelous Kenya setting read Francesca Marciano's "Rules of the Wild" or even go back to Karen Blixen's "Out of Africa." For authentically-menacing African politics read Nadine Gordimer or V. S. Naipaul. The only people who should read this turkey are those who want to use it as a textbook for Creative Writing 101: How Not to Write.

I came to Ahmed's Revenge quite prepared to love this book; I admire Wiley's choice of settings and subjects for his books and a review whet my appetite. The beginning is most promising; the story reads as if Wiley worked pretty hard on getting the first 40 or 50 pages right. Then it is like he ran out of time or interest and rushed through the rest. The bulk of the book reads too much, for a writer of Wiley's ability and pedigree, like a first draft. There are loose ends and dead ends and repeated ideas and wooden stage directions. People's reactions don't ring true. The narrator is breathless and racing about but despite her protestations I do not buy that she is a grieving recent widow, I don't buy the emotions she says she's feeling. Some interesting characters crop up and there are some nice passages but it is very uneven. The sudden (and very convenient) friendship that develops with the opera singer is particularly unconvincing and inorganic to the story. The follow through on the mystery is a bit weak. The sheer story telling is not at all sure or strong. Again, much of seems like first draft material that should have been revised if not dropped. I am sorry to find this book to be so thin.

Wiley escapes limited genre assignments with this novel which embraces so many themes. It is entertaining and surprisingly humorous in areas; it touches on class,race,and gender issues. His success is in crafting an intricate and engaging story which races the audience through political and social commentary that is subtle, and so more effective. The language is often beautiful and the backdrop is sensual. This is literature that offers a counter-history in the form of a personal memoir. I loved it; I read it in one day.

This textbook is so boring that although I made an A in the class, I couldn't wait to finish it. It uses too many technical words, it makes reference to subjects that students with a few courses in Human Resources know already. It would be better if it offered some real life examples. If you are a teacher looking for a textbook, please keep looking! If you are a student whose teacher assigned you this book..... I am sorry for you!

This is an outstanding book. It is very easy reading, organized and it communicates information to the student. It is loaded with easy following diagrams which reinforce the material, and it is loaded with real world Corporate America and Military Organizational Behavior examples to support the text work. It has an OUTSTANDING CASE Section which again reinforces the material and makes the student apply the concepts learned in the chapters. Also, this text is complete with alot of Personal Assessment Exercises which make you think about the type of person you are, how to improve yourself in working with others. I've used in now for 3 different schools and the students enjoy it...Mainly for the Easy Reading and the way it introduces the concepts. Price is IRRELEVANT. You can go spend $40 on an Organizational Behavior text and you won't get anything out of it because it is poorly written, no cases and no assessments. Highly recommend for any instructor who wants his students to learn. Great reference book also. Don't sell it!!!

I'm reading this book only because it is required for my class, but in reading it, had I known about its quality, I would have purchased it anyhow. It's a very expensive book (and I do doubt whether it's worth $100--but then, I think books are overpriced nowadays)--but the content is very good. Maybe the difference between the previous reviewer and me is that I don't know much about organizational behaviour and haven't compared it to other books in this field.