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Tim, September 2003
Your book pulled me through my rough timesAbout a year and a half ago, I was in the second semester of my junior year in high school and had just returned from spending the first semester in Australia. At the beginning of my junior year, I had decided that I would be able to learn calculus by myself and had signed up to take the AP AB test accordingly. I did get my textbook and worked a little on it while in Australia, but I eventually found myself just finished with limits, I believe, about three weeks before the exam.
At this point I'll admit, I thought that I was pretty screwed. My mom had bought me your Master the Calc AB and BC book, however, and I began spending about an hour and a half per day reading it, just reading. Even in the midst of my frantic cramming your book made me at times laugh out loud, in the depths of my hell-of-calculus your humor made the studying, seemingly without point, bearable. I think I finished reading your book about three days before the exam; at this point I began trying some problems myself. Immediately following the exam, I felt really bad; however, a couple months down the road I discovered that I had passed the exam with a score of 4.
To summarize here, I learned enough calculus to pass the AP in three weeks in huge part because of your book. Had I had simply a textbook, I am sure there is no way I could have pulled this off. Your humor, your clarity in describing and demonstrating concepts, your comprehensive coverage of the course material, pulled me through my rough times.
This last year, my senior year, I thought I could do better (also wanted to get out of AP Stat) and so signed up to take the Calc BC test. Again I read your book (though for more than three weeks this time) and again, with no other instruction save yours, I recieved a 4 with an AB subgrade this time of 5. My opinion of you and your book soared even higher.
I have to say, man, were it not for you, there is no way that I would have recieved a 4 on Calc AB, and probably wouldn't have passed; I would not have taken Calc BC independently my senior year, and I would have looked a hell of a lot worse to colleges. Right now I'm about to head off to UC Santa Barbara where I landed a bit of a scholarship, and couldn't be happier. I make no joke when I say that this happiness is in large part thanks to you.
Kate, November 2002
Your book is beyond helpful!It is essentially my key to getting through AP Calculus. Math has always been my strongest subject up until this year. My parents hired a tutor for me but that did not seem to help. When I purchased this book I was shocked by the degree of comprehension I had for the subjects that in class were so out there and bizarre. The basic concepts of calculus are explained so elementary and step by step that anyone can follow the guide. Thank you so very much for creating this book. I will definitely take this with me next year when I look forward to facing college calculus! Thanks again.
Amazon Reviewer from Pennsylvania, July 2002
An awesome book by an awesome teacher!
If you need help with calculus or just want more practice for the AP test, this is the book for you! Mr. Kelley is the reason I got a 5 on the AP Calculus test, so his book is very highly recommended. This book is entertaining as well as helpful. Mr. Kelley's sense of humor as well as incredible knowledge of calculus is a winning combination that makes it so much easier to learn, because it helps relieve the tedious and painful aspects of calculus that so many people feel. It will be a book you like even if you don't like math, and especially if you do!
Amazon Reviewer from Kentucky, July 2002
This is THE BEST AP Calculus Book ever written!My AP Calculus teacher has used Mr. Kelley's book extensively in our class to clarify topics that are not covered well in our textbook. This book has been the PERFECT aid in helping me to understand calculus! You only need to purchase ONE AP prep book---THIS ONE! This book covers topics much more clearly than Barron's or Princeton Review. I know because I've tried both. Another huge plus to this book is the fabulously entertaining writing style that Mr. Kelley uses. He definitely knows how to write to appeal to high school students! My advice----YOU MUST BUY THIS BOOK!!!! It's great!!
Amazon Reviewer from Oklahoma, July 2002
Good aide for the AP Test!This book was probably the best out of all of the AP test books and was probably a major factor in why I got a 5 on the AP test, although I have made 5's on all of my tests so far (Government, U.S. History, Calculus, English, Biology, Chemistry) this test was probably the easiest thanks to this excellent book. I spent about a week working on this book before the AP test and learned twice as much as I had during the school year (i didn't go to most of my classes :)) and the book put it in a manner that it was totally understandable, concise and MEMORABLE. I didn't forget anything on the test day and I still remember it all. Thanks Mr. Kelley.
Amazon Reviewer from Minnesota, July 2002
This book is awesome!If it had not been for this book, I would not have survived my first year of Calculus. And the two AP practice tests (for Calc AB; there are also two for BC) in this book were at the same difficulty level of the real test, unlike other highly recommended sources (like Princeton's review) that were also used in my classroom!
Cezary, September 10, 2001
You are the best math teacher I've never had!If the ancient Greeks would have had to pick a god of calculus, they surely would have looked to the future and chosen you. You are the best math teacher I've never had!
I give you my most sincere gratefulness and appreciation for making your book available to me. It made my summer much MUCH more enjoyable and provided me with great laughs. You are the wittiest math teacher who ever lived. I say that without exaggeration. Instead of the same bland crap I find in my textbooks, your book is loaded with the wittiest problems, comments, and jokes. Nay, I ought not to call them problems. I should call them works of art.
It is that personal touch that made me feel as if I had a teacher with me all along while I worked through your book this summer. WHAT? Reading a calculus book over the summer? Allow me to explain.
I got my basic math education in the ghettos of Chicago suburbs. Earning an "A" in my middle school adv. Alg. Class meant nothing. Thus, when I entered my high school's advanced math program, I realized I had no idea what Algebra was. That first year was hell. So my teacher suggested doing an Algebra book over the summer to save myself. I did the whole book (Foerster). I enjoyed it so much, that the following summer I did a Trigonometry book before entering Trig/Pre-Calc. That was a worthwhile experience also, but when I went back to my math teacher this year to mooch for a Calc book to do over the summer, she handed me a beastly, oversized piece of junk that I knew I could not finish in the summer.
I thus went shopping.
I needed a solid book that would explain things thoroughly and make me remember what I learn. Since I was shopping online, I could not flip through every book, but the reviews to your book seemed more favorable, so I told Amazon.com to send me a copy. Right after I got back from vacation, the book was on my table, waiting for me. I flipped through it and immediately noticed that, ohmigosh, it was written with a voice. YES, A MATH BOOK WRITTEN WITH A VOICE!! I couldn't believe it. The more I did, the more addicting it became. I had some classical works of literature on my reading list, but I put them aside and put my best into your book. I did all eleven calculus chapters in about a month and a half, filled up two notebooks with math problems, AND ENJOYED EVERY MINUTE OF IT! Screw the Princeton Review.
I hate those dry, boring prep books written by know-it-alls with doctoral degrees who think they know everything. Even if they do know everything, they have no idea how to communicate it to teenagers you do. You are a superior teacher. I was blown away by the effectiveness of your analogies. That flour-flattening analogy for the avg. value of a function is the best teaching analogy I've ever read. The smiley faces in concavity, all the different mnemonics, the Rosanne "nekkit" formula, all of those things just make me remember sooooooo much of what you've taught me. Thank you for this book. Thank you. I enjoyed it so much that I even took it with me when I went hiking in the Appalachian Mountains. I had to carry a 35 lb backpack on my bag, but I spared room for a notebook, calculator, and your wondrous book. I attached some pictures of me doing calculus up in the mountains. It was a very relaxing activity after hard, uphill hikes.
I take my calculus BC class in a distance learning center here at East Leyden High School in Franklin Park, IL. On the first day, my teacher mentioned the "brutal" series chapter we do at the end of the year. That was not brutal, I thought. Why did I think that? Because YOU made it easy to understand, Mr. Kelley. I blew away my classmates when my teacher asked us to name a few trig identities. Momma, Poppa, Baby, and the whole gang just leaped out of my brain without trouble. We are currently finishing limits, and I have had no trouble at all ( I even used a little L'Hopital to make my life easier!) I love being able to focus on mastering all the concepts now that I understand them. That is why I appreciate the "understanding" focus of your book I understand. Now I shall master.
So once again, thank you for this book. You should not be humble in asking me to review it online. I'll be delighted to post a review on every online site that sells it. I'll keep it short (unlike this letter), and sweet. Also, as my fellow classmates begin looking for calc prep books of their own, I'll make sure to point them in the right direction . . .
Thank you again for everything. Keep teaching, keep writing!
Lynne, California: July 25, 2001
I just recently took the Calculus BC AP exam and got a 5!!!
I am informing you because I really feel that I have you to thank. I found your ARCO published test prep book and it was the most helpful guide/resource (even better than my teacher!) I have been telling everyone that the only reason I was able to manage a 5 was because I used your book. Your book made all those shady topics that I failed on in class clear and emphasized topics such as slope fields and differential equations that my class barely had time to touch on. Anyway I am a horrible student in the area of Calculus so I was extremely surprised to pass, let alone get a five. Your book helped me in a million ways. Sorry to be gushy, but I really wanted to let you know. Keep up the good work!! I will be a senior next year and expect you to write books on every subject that I will be taking!!
Rupali, May 22, 2001
Cool Test Prep Book!
Your master the AP Calculus prep book was totally awesome and without it I would have probably failed this year's AP test... . But your book was ten times more easy to understand than Barron's and more complete than Princeton Review. Kudos!
Janice, April 30, 2001
The Absolute, Without a Doubt, Best Prep for the AP Calc Exam
I am an AP Calc teacher who has searched for an extraordinary resource to help prepare my students for the exam. This is it!! My students have found Mr. Kelley's explanations to be clear, concise, and easy to follow. The Hands On Activities have been very successful with my students in explaining a concept in the simplest of terms. A huge bonus to both my students and me is the fabulous humor that is interjected in the explanations and text. Mr. Kelley definitely knows his calculus and knows how to write to appeal to students! If you can only purchase one book, this must be THE ONE!!!
As promised in the differential equations chaper, here is the program by Greg Hoerst, for the TI-83 and the TI-83+. You'll need the TI Graph Link in order to download these to your calculator. If you get a weird message when you open the file, just ignore it--as far as I can tell, the error doesn't mean anything. If worst comes to worst, just type the program in by hand; it can be found on page 434.
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