Textbook Review: Karel The Robot: A Gentle Introduction to the Art of Programming

 

This is a book that will most likely be used in an introductory programming class. It is really an introduction to the method of problem-solving that programmers face and how to solve those problems without getting bogged down with complicated programming code. Basically, this involves writing simple code to move a robot around a screen, avoid walls, and pick up, or put down beepers, which are something like location beacons. You essentially program the robot to move around the world, avoiding walls, going into rooms, etc., and either placing beepers or picking up beepers. The instructions are written in computer code which tells the robot how to move when to pick up a beeper, and where to put a beeper down.

The book is a very good introduction to programming and computer science as a whole. The material in it is nowhere near as complex as what you will be exposed to if you decide to take classes beyond an intro class, but if you learn this it will give you a good idea of whether you want to continue on learning more complicated material.

Textbook Review: Concepts of Fitness And Wellness: A Comprehensive Lifestyle Approach

 

This is a book that the vast majority of people will get because it is required for a class (likely an introductory exercise science class). It is not really something you would pick up because you are looking for a home exercise or nutrition program. Although, it does have some workout tips/advice in it and gives some basic nutritional principles. It is very easy to read and understand and does not overwhelm the readers with so much information that you feel like you are drinking through a firehose.

Book/Study Aid Review: Student Solutions Manual for Blanchard/Devaney/Hall's Differential Equations, 4th

This is actually one of the better solution manuals I used when I was taking math. It is light on explanation, but that is really what the book is for. The book was not the best written and did not always make for the easiest read, but between the book and class lecture, I could figure it out. This has the solutions to the odd-numbered problems from the book. One of the reviews complains that it does not have the solutions to the even problems, but every student solution manual has just the odd problems worked out. Only the instructor's solution manuals have all the problems worked out, and those are very hard to track down (obviously). Generally, if you can work the odd problems you can figure out how to do the even problems.

What makes this better than some of the other solution manuals is that it has solutions for the vast majority, if not all, of the odd problems. I have used other student solution manuals that only have some of the odd problems worked out, and that is a pain. And, of the problems that I used this to check my work (my instructor assigned some problems from the book and made up others of his own), I did not notice any errors, so the editors did a good job. So, overall, it was a good investment.

 

Textbook Review: Linear Algebra and Its Applications, 4th Edition

 

This was one of the required books for my Calculus 4 class, which was a combination of an introduction to linear algebra and an introduction to differential equations. So, it was not a full course for either subject and as a result, we did not cover everything in this book. 

This is a pretty standard math book. It explains the theory fairly well and generally does not make it harder than necessary to learn the material. It gives a decent amount of examples, although, like all math textbooks, the examples tend to be of the "easier" problems, while the problem sets can get a lot more complicated. One thing that was a pain about the book is that many times in the answer key at the back, instead of giving an answer to an odd-numbered problem it will refer to the solution manual, so you could not even get the answer to the problem to see if you did the problem correctly.

Overall, I would say it is a decent book. It is not the best math book I had to use as I was getting my degree, but it is certainly not the worst. If you are trying to learn the material yourself, it will be a helpful reference, but you may want to get one of the study aid supplements out there to help you work through the problems.

Textbook Review: Differential Equations (Blanchard) Fourth Edition

 

This was the required book for my calculus 4 class which was a combination of linear algebra and differential equations. My professor did not actually use the book all that much so I honestly did not use it as much as I used other books in other classes. This is definitely a different kind of textbook. It does not really jump right into the theory and then problem sets like most books do. Instead, it almost reads like a novel, then starts getting into theory and examples, then has the problem sets after that. I am not exactly sure how I would have felt about that style had I needed to use the book more. In the differential equations portion of the class my professor basically taught from his own notes and made up his own problem sets (although he did use some problems from the book), so this was more ancillary to the class than the books I used in some of my other math. I remember thinking that it was kind of an odd way to set up a math book when I did read it until I discovered I could follow along with what my teacher was saying without having to consult the book. If you are in a class and your teacher does rely on the book heavily you may need to get some kind of study guide to go along with this, depending on how well you can understand how it presents the material.

Textbook Review: Calculus - Multivariable: Student Solution Manual

 

Getting a solution manual is always a mixed bag. If you rely on them too much you may not actually learn anything and will not be doing yourself any favors when it comes time to take an exam. However, Calculus III is probably the hardest class in the calculus sequence that anyone who wants to go into engineering or get a physics degree has to take, and the problems can be hard to figure out, especially if your teacher is not all that great. The textbook to which this solution manual is keyed is so useless and has so few examples, the solution manual is almost required to figure out how to do the problems. The book is not going to give you much guidance at all so the only way to quickly figure out how to do the problems without camping out in your professor's office during office hours is to use this.

The problem with this thing is that it only has solutions for some of the odd problems, and it does have some errors in it. And because it is a solution manual, it just shows the steps (although it does not always show every step, and sometimes omits crucial steps) and does not provide any explanation for why you have to do things a certain way. So, if you do not understand why the problems are being solved the way they are, you will still be lost. But, it will give you some worked-out examples to go off of which is better than nothing.

Textbook Review: Calculus Multivariable

 

I was forced to use this book for Calculus 3, and I must say it is the most god-awful waste of paper ever. Having gone through the entire calculus curriculum and earned an electrical engineering degree, I had to use a pretty wide variety of books and this was, by far, the worst of the bunch. The only good thing about it is that the authors were very direct, up front, that the book did not have many worked-out examples. In reality, it had almost no examples and provided very little guidance on how to approach anything but the most basic problems. The "explanatory" material was almost non-existent as well, sometimes amounting to a page and a half (or less) before you get to the problem set. The approach may have worked if the problem sets were limited to basic problems. But, many of the problems were so advanced that my teacher, who granted did not do much vetting of the problems when he chose exam questions, had to turn some of them into bonus questions because his solution when he was working out the answer key ended up taking five pages to work through.

So, if you have to use this book for class, look at it as a problems repository and if you have a good teacher, then just pay attention to the lectures. If you are looking for a book to teach yourself the material, run in the opposite direction far away from this one. If you need additional study aids, there are some good ones out there including the Calculus 3 Tutor DVDs, REA's Calculus III Essentials, the Schaum's outlines, etc. Any of those will provide much-needed context and guidance for how to solve the problems that this will not give you. Or, you can just look for things on YouTube and find a lot there, some of it better than others.

I do get the idea that the hand-holding and spoon-feeding should get reduced the farther you get into the curriculum. However, multivariable calculus is the most difficult class of the entire calculus sequence (even most professors admit that) so to write a book that basically just shows that you know how to work out the proofs is really not helpful to a student trying to learn the subject. So, I suggest avoiding this book at all costs if you can possibly do so. If you do have to use it, find a good study aid, ask lots of questions in class, and try to form a study group. I did all of those and managed to get an A in Calc III, but I gave up trying to read this to learn the material about three weeks into the semester.

Book Review: Introduction to Kinesiology: Studying Physical Activity, Third Edition

 

This is a book that the vast majority of people would get because it is assigned for a class. It is a pretty straightforward textbook that is easy to read and not bogged down with a lot of technical detail. While it does discuss some biomechanics and the more science-based aspects of Kinesiology, it also delves into the importance of staying physically active, the history of physical activity, the philosophy and sociology of physical activity, and various career options. It is probably not something that a lot of people would read just for pleasure or because they want to become more healthy, although there is some helpful material in the book if you are interested in that. Overall, if it is assigned for a class it is better than a lot of textbooks out there, but can be a bit dry in some parts.