Precalculus Made Difficult

Notwithstanding its punchy title, Precalculus Made Difficult is a straightforward textbook that guides students from the Plains of Mathematical Nowhere to the base of Mt. Calculus in just 200 pages. The only mathematical prerequisites are arithmetic and a hazily-recalled past encounter with the rudiments of algebra. It is notable for its concision, style, and emphasis on building deep understanding and intuition. Seth Braver is the author of three other books on mathematics: Lobachevski Illuminated (winner of the Mathematical Association of America’s Beckenbach Book Prize), as well as Full Frontal Calculus and The Dark Art of Linear Algebra.

This second edition of Precalculus Made Difficult, now published by Vector Vectorum Books, is substantially the same as the original independently published edition, but changing publishers gave the author the impetus to resolve many of the original’s infelicities of typesetting, correct its known typos, and emend its exposition and exercise sets in a few spots.