Functions and Graphs - by I M Gelfand & E G Glagoleva & E E Shnol (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

"Functions and Graphs" is one volume in a series of books that present basic mathematics in a clear and simple form. The book describes a way of transferring formulas and data into geometric forms; thus demonstrating the way in which changes in formulas change the pictures they represent. The content is fundamental to the study of calculus and other mathematical topics. The work is the result of the successful collaboration among three experienced college teachers, one of whom, I.M. Gel'fand is considered the most distinguished living mathematician. Gel'fand's impact on generations of young people, some now mathematicians of renown, continues to be remarkable.

Review Quotes

"All through both volumes [Functions & Graphs and The Methods of Coordinates], one finds a careful description of the step-by-step thinking process that leads up to the correct definition of a concept or to an argument that clinches in the proof of a theorem. We are ... very fortunate that an account of this caliber has finally made it to printed pages... Anyone who has taken this guided tour will never be intimidated by n ever again... High school students (or teachers) reading through these two books would learn an enormous amount of good mathematics. More importantly, they would also get a glimpse of how mathematics is done."

-- H. Wu, The Mathematical Intelligencer