Can anyone recommend me a good algebra book?

homeylova223

I am not sure where to post this so sorry if I posted in the wrong forum.

But my question is I took algebra 1 and 2 at high school but I forgot most it and my level of understanding in math is probably at the arithmetic level. Can anyone recommend me a good book for learning Algebra one for self study because I want to teach myself.

qspeechc

How about the Schaum's Outline series? Start with Elementary Algebra, then Intermediate Algebra. That should cover the algebra you learnt at school. If you want to learn more after that, try Geometry, Trigonometry and PreCalculus books. That should take you up to the point where you can start studying calculus. Good Luck.

homeylova223

Alright I'll try those.

brocks

The Schaum's books are good for review, but IMO not as good for learning from scratch, because they are extremely terse (which is what you want when reviewing).

I'd recommend a basic algebra text if you think you have truly forgotten everything, or a precalculus text if you just feel shaky. The only precalc texts I'm personally familiar with are those by Stewart and Swokowski, and both are good. But you might go to Amazon and search for algebra and/or precalc texts, and just read the reviews. Every book seems to have a few people who don't like it for some reason, but try to find reviews from people who sound like they have the same concerns as you do, and see which books they rate highly.

Be sure you are looking at BASIC algebra books; some advanced algebra books don't show it in their title. Look through the table of contents, and if you see topics like rings or fields, it's not what you want.

And don't spend much money on texts. You can find plenty of free, public domain materials on the net, or if you prefer a book you can hold, an old used edition will work just as well as a brand new one.

jcw99

Elementary Algebra by Harold Jacobs has been very helpful to me.