Noriko is just getting started as a junior reporter for the Asagake Times . She wants to cover the hard-hitting issues, like world affairs and politics, but does she have the smarts for it? Thankfully, her overbearing and math-minded boss, Mr. Seki, is here to teach her how to analyze her stories with a mathematical eye.

In The Manga Guide to Calculus , you'll follow along with Noriko as she learns that calculus is more than just a class designed to weed out would-be science majors. You'll see that calculus is a useful way to understand the patterns in physics, economics, and the world around us, with help from real-world examples like probability, supply and demand curves, the economics of pollution, and the density of Shochu (a Japanese liquor).

Mr. Seki teaches Noriko how to:

• Use differentiation to understand a function's rate of change

• Apply the fundamental theorem of calculus, and grasp the relationship between a function's derivative and its integral

• Integrate and differentiate trigonometric and other complicated functions

• Use multivariate calculus and partial differentiation to deal with tricky functions

• Use Taylor Expansions to accurately imitate difficult functions with polynomials

Whether you're struggling through a calculus course for the first time or you just need a painless refresher, you'll find what you're looking for in The Manga Guide to Calculus .

This EduManga book is a translation from a bestselling series in Japan, co-published with Ohmsha, Ltd. of Tokyo, Japan.

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 9 Ratings

Great Book - 2010-01-15
Reviewer Rating:
I have got to say, I am quite impressed with The Manga Guide to Calculus. As the title suggests, it is an introduction into the ideas of differential and integral calculus through the use of manga and a story line. The book fulfills on this goal and then some.

The Manga Guide to Calculus starts off with a brief introduction and review of functions. It then jumps right into derivatives, what they mean, and how to compute them. Integration is then considered along Taylor series and partial differentiation. Throughout the story, the guide frequently references real world applications in economics, physics, and chemistry, and explains problems in these fields through the use of calculus. The author also includes probability, statistics, and trigonometry sections with calculus explanations. Exercises exist at the end of each section for you to complete and solutions are presented at end of the book.

There are a few downsides to the manga style of presentation. Formal proofs and definitions do not lend themselves well to be included, and the book is certainly lacking in this area. There may also be some areas which the reader will have to go over a few times to fully understand and see how the book goes from one idea to the next because of the amount of information being presented.

I would recommend this book to those who want a brief review of calculus, beginners who want context as to its uses, and to those who enjoy reading a good math book. This book is not for those who need a thorough review since many important topics are skipped such as limits, related rates, and volumes of rotations. Overall, Hiroyuki Kojima and Shin Togami did an excellent job in writing and illustrating the book respectively, which makes The Manga Guide to Calculus a very different and attractive learning tool.

there will never exist a shortcut to calculus - 2009-12-06
Reviewer Rating:
There is a legend that when the greek mathematician Euclid was tutoring King Ptolemy in math, that Ptolemy in frustration with the difficulty of the subject asked Euclid if there was an easier way to explain the concepts, to which Euclid replied "there is no royal road to mathematics". That saying applies today to Calculus, there are no shortcuts to fast-track you into Calculus. You need a solid understanding of Algebra, Trigonometry and Geometry before you can learn Calculus. So if you have the prerequisite math background, you might find this book helpful. But if you think a cartoon book is going to open your eyes to the underlying concepts of Calculus and allow you to work backwards to understand the prerequisite math, well be prepared to have some cartoon characters make you look like a fool.

Worthwhile read - 2009-11-11
Reviewer Rating:
Upon receiving this book, I was skeptical on its ability to teach a complex topic in a story format. Having learned Calculus in the "traditional way", I had doubts that reading about Calculus in a story format, let alone a comic book format, would lead to strong delivery of material. In the book, concepts are delivered in a conceptual way, tied down to a real life type example. In general, I feel these connections to real life concepts allow students to get a better intuition for material when they began to move into more abstract things later on in their mathematics career. The book does a good job of reviewing material discussed in the story in a more traditional, but still casual, form at the end of every chapter. It definitely delivers mathematical knowledge.

My major concern is the lack of attention to the exercises. There simply is not enough of them. In order to really drive home some of these concepts repetition is key, and there simply isn't enough exercises in the book to accomplish this.

Overall, this book is a good choice for someone who is looking to get an idea for the basics and get a few laughs along the way.

Excellent way to get in to calculus! - 2009-11-27
Reviewer Rating:
This book follows the same great approach as the Manga Guide to Physics: Break a complex idea down in to small pieces, clearly explain it with practical examples, and use the fun Manga comic style to wrap the entire concept in a great story.

I never took calculus in high school or college, yet I was able to get through the Guide and come out at the end with a pretty fair understanding of it. Moreover, I actually enjoyed the learning journey!

My nine year-old daughter loves these books and always reads through them after I'm done. She's not coming away from the books with great knowledge of the concepts, but she's finding them interesting, fun, and is less intimidated with the subjects. I think that's a big win because these guides are laying some good ground work for her to come back to later.

Fun with Calculus - 2009-10-30
Reviewer Rating:
Reviewed by Ken Rogers, GCPCUG Member

Calculus is about describing relationships, about demonstrating how you can start with x and end up with y. If y is a product, a function, of x, calculus provides the formula that explains this cause and effect relationship. Of course, cause and effect relationships aren't limited to the world of mathematics - but if you can produce a mathematical formula that accurately describes a real-world relationship (such as the effect of environmental change on crop production, or the impact of consumer spending on stock prices), you can predict the future outcome of current events, how x in the present will lead to y in the future.

This belief in calculus's ability to describe real-world relationships is at the heart of The Manga Guide to Calculus, another in No Starch Press's fascinating line of technical guides illustrated in manga, the distinctive Japanese style of cartooning. Like the other books in this series, the calculus guide does not shrink away from the complexity of its subject. If you have any hint of an inner math geek, you'll be delighted by the pages upon pages of formulas, graphs, and theorems in this book. Conversely, if you're looking for a light read or a dummy's guide to the subject, you probably won't appreciate what this book has to offer.

Also familiar to the series are the characters and plot devices that guide the reader through the subject. The book is told primarily through the perspective of Noriko, a young woman with a burning desire to become an influential journalist, but with no idea how to realize her dreams. Her first assignment has her working for Mr. Seki, an accomplished young journalist who has recently been demoted to the small branch office where Noriko gets her start. (Indulge me in a quick side comment - each of the three books I've read in this series has featured an ambitious but naGǦve female being instructed by a clearly brighter male . I won't meet anyone's definition of a feminist, but I do hope that subsequent books in this series will provide some variation on these roles. Thank you - now back to our regularly scheduled review.)

Noriko soon finds that Seki is not your typical journalist. Barely interested in writing style or interviewing techniques, Seki is an unapologetic math nerd (his colleagues dub him Mr. Calculus) who believes in the power of math to describe the workings of society - as he puts it, "if you can approximate what you want to know with a simple function, you can see the answer more clearly." Much to Noriko's surprise, Seki then trains her on the finer points of linear and approximate functions, differentiation and integration, exponential and logarithmic functions, and the fundamental theorems of calculus. To demonstrate math's real-world relevance, Seki explains formulas that describe how television commercials affect corporate profits, the appeal of choreography, the relationship between wages and stock dividends, and the appearance and movement of bubbles in carbonated beverages. In true manga fashion, the action is swift and fanciful, as Seki and Noriko quickly change their appearance or become part of the formulas they are explaining.

Noriko often explodes with anxiety and frustration, but she is a quick student who discovers the reason behind Seki's mysterious demotion. In keeping with the spirit of the book, she uses a mathematical function to show Seki how he can restore his reputation and career. While Seki is a fairly static character throughout the book - think of him as that staid but amiable teacher you remember from high school - Noriko is dynamic and engaging, a perfect guide and companion for the reader.

This book isn't for everyone - those who find math intimidating will be quickly overwhelmed, and those seeking a refresher course in calculus may find it incomplete - but for young readers with an interest in mathematics and an appreciation for comics, The Manga Guide to Calculus is highly recommended

Browse Similar Topics

Top Level Categories:
Hardware

Sub-Categories:
Hardware > Calculator