What is the best book for self-teaching Calculus?

[Mr. Ryan]

I have absolutely no doubt this question has been asked many times over, so I apologize in advance for that. This is my first day with the forums. The question is pretty much self explanatory. I need to become very familiar with Calculus over this summer, and I am already looking at the Calculus Lifesaver by Adrian Banner. Is that a good choice? Any other suggestions?

 

[micromass]

For a more mathematical treatise, I recommend "A first course in calculus" by Lang. It's fairly rigorous, but not too difficult since he leaves out the highly technical bits.

I hope you're very familiar with algebra and trig, because you're going to need it a lot.

 

[DrewD]

I need to become very familiar with Calculus over this summer

I think it is important to ask why you need to become familiar and how familiar is very. If you are only interested in applications to physics and engineering etc. you will probably want to take a much different route than you would if you are starting a B.S. in Mathematics in the fall and want to get a head start.

 

[Mr. Ryan]

I think it is important to ask why you need to become familiar and how familiar is very.

I will not be working toward a B.S. in Mathematics. I am soon to be working toward a B.S. in Physics. I am strong in both Trig and Algebra, but I did not want to have to learn Calculus and Physics side by side.

 

[Forensics]

I think it is important to ask why you need to become familiar and how familiar is very. If you are only interested in applications to physics and engineering etc. you will probably want to take a much different route than you would if you are starting a B.S. in Mathematics in the fall and want to get a head start.

I too need to learn calculus, but I need to learn the areas of it that apply to engineering students. What do you suggest as a learning resource for someone that wants to start learning calculus this fall after I finish my algebra and trig workbooks. (I am 27 and returning to college so I am relearning the basics to build upon.)