Recommended Math self-study book

[Charlescqi]

Hi,

I'm currently waiting for admission into an engineering course at a local university,however,it has been a long time since I did any real math and most of the math was taught to us in a "plug & play" manner.

I want to ensure that my mathematics fundamentals are strong enough so that it wouldn't be a significant hindrance for me in engineering and be able to gain a deeper understanding into the subject.
To do that I decided to do some self-study and look for books that can help me do so with the following goals:
•A series of text that teaches me up to the level of (advanced) high school/A levels. I don't mind if some undergraduate level math is included.
•To be able to teach the hows and whys behind the concepts taught,instead of just "plug &chug".(in the forms of proofs and etc.)
•Preferably a text that's clear and concise with ample problems to solve.

At the moment,I'm going through Arithmetic for the practical man (J.E.Thompson). Although,it does prove to be refreshing at time to be no longer taught in a "plug & play" manner,I find it confusing to go through it at times with the large amount of text in it.

As a result,I'm thinking if I should look to another series instead such as the AoPS series (Richard Rusczyk),instead of the Mathematics for the practical man series.

I'm looking for advice if I should switch to another series like the AoPS or any other text that would better suit my needs.

Thanks.

 

[laramman2]

You should first start with the classic precalculus subjects: algebra, trig, analytic geometry.

I suggest go with Precalculus: Mathematics for Calculus by James Stewart. Also, a bit of probability and statistics won't hurt. Look for these in your local library.

You might also want to look at MIT OpenCourseWare. It contains a number of free courses to suit your needs for your academic preparation. Goodluck!