Happy to have run across this by accident as I was researching Diophantus! I also enjoy reading math books and am not very good at it. I worked through my college Calculus textbook over the course of 30 years, ramming my head into the wall and making tiny dents, again and again, until I finally finished it.
The book I spent my life on is Calculus by George Simmons. This is, in my opinion, the greatest textbook ever written. Over the years, it felt kind of like a bible to me. Everything in it was carefully constructed to bring you to a higher understanding about mathematics, and maybe even human thought, if you took the time to really integrate it (no pun intended). I felt as though I was communing with him, the way I feel when I listen to a great piece of chamber music by Mozart or Brahms or Beethoven (to name a few).
Happy to have run across this by accident as I was researching Diophantus! I also enjoy reading math books and am not very good at it. I worked through my college Calculus textbook over the course of 30 years, ramming my head into the wall and making tiny dents, again and again, until I finally finished it.
Thanks for dropping by! I love Calculus Made Easy by Thompson. Check it out!
The book I spent my life on is Calculus by George Simmons. This is, in my opinion, the greatest textbook ever written. Over the years, it felt kind of like a bible to me. Everything in it was carefully constructed to bring you to a higher understanding about mathematics, and maybe even human thought, if you took the time to really integrate it (no pun intended). I felt as though I was communing with him, the way I feel when I listen to a great piece of chamber music by Mozart or Brahms or Beethoven (to name a few).
Amazing post. I learned a lot and thoroughly enjoyed reading it. What is the intro book on algebraic geometry you mentioned?
Thanks for the kind words. It's this book https://www.amazon.com/Algebraic-Geometry-Graduate-Texts-Mathematics/dp/0387902449