Advanced Calculus - a Differential Forms Approach - H. Edwards
Preface
There is a widespread misconception that math books
must be read from beginning to end and that no chapter
can be read until the preceding chapter has been thor-
oughly understood. This book is not meant to be read
in such a constricted way. On the contrary, I would like
to encourage as much browsing, skipping, and back-
tracking as possible. For this reason I have included a
synopsis, I have tried to keep the cross-references to a
minimum, and I have avoided highly specialized notation
and terminology. Of course the various subjects covered
are closely interrelated, and a full appreciation of one
section often depends on an understanding of some other
section. Nonetheless, I would hope that any chapter of
the book could be read with some understanding and
profit independently of the others. If you come to a state-
ment which you don't understand in the middle of a
passage which makes relatively good sense, I would urge
you to push right on. The point should clarify itself in due
time, and, in any case, it is best to read the whole section
first before trying to fill in the details. That is the most
important thing I have to say in this preface. The rest of
what I have to say is said, as clearly as I could say it, in
the book itselfi If you learn anywhere near as much from
reading it as I have learned from writing it, then we will
both be very pleased.
New York 1969
- Hardcover: 523 pages
- Publisher: Birkhäuser Boston; 1 edition (January 5, 1994)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0817637079
- ISBN-13: 978-0817637071
- Product Dimensions: 0.7 x 1 x 0.1 inches
Preface
There is a widespread misconception that math books
must be read from beginning to end and that no chapter
can be read until the preceding chapter has been thor-
oughly understood. This book is not meant to be read
in such a constricted way. On the contrary, I would like
to encourage as much browsing, skipping, and back-
tracking as possible. For this reason I have included a
synopsis, I have tried to keep the cross-references to a
minimum, and I have avoided highly specialized notation
and terminology. Of course the various subjects covered
are closely interrelated, and a full appreciation of one
section often depends on an understanding of some other
section. Nonetheless, I would hope that any chapter of
the book could be read with some understanding and
profit independently of the others. If you come to a state-
ment which you don't understand in the middle of a
passage which makes relatively good sense, I would urge
you to push right on. The point should clarify itself in due
time, and, in any case, it is best to read the whole section
first before trying to fill in the details. That is the most
important thing I have to say in this preface. The rest of
what I have to say is said, as clearly as I could say it, in
the book itselfi If you learn anywhere near as much from
reading it as I have learned from writing it, then we will
both be very pleased.
New York 1969
