Description

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This enthusiastically reviewed text, which assumes one year of high school algebra and one of plane geometry, provides a unified treatment of algebra, analytic geometry, trigonometry, and introductory calculus. Its well-organized and thoughtful presentation is fortified with many problems, for which solutions are provided. In addition to its value as a classroom text, this book offers readers of any age or level the chance to attain a basic foundation in college-level mathematics, either as an end it itself or as preparation for more advanced study.
Starting with the simplest ideas of logic, largely in terms of elementary geometry, the treatment covers elementary algebra, functions, analytic geometry, the complex number system, conic sections, polynomials, algebraic functions, and the functions of two variables. Readers who delve deeply into this volume will receive an introduction not just to mathematical methods and problem-solving techniques, but also insights into the nature and beauty of mathematics as a logical structure.
Suitable for a one-year course for advanced high school students or for college undergraduates.

About the Author

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Kenneth O. May (1915-77) was Chairman of the Department of Mathematics at Carleton College and the author of several mathematical texts, including Elements of Modern Mathematics (now available in a Dover edition) and Measure and the Integral. He was instrumental in the founding of the International Commission on the History of Mathematics and was the first editor of its journal, Historia Mathematica.