which book is good for Maths

A number of books are good for maths. In fact I believe that it is rather easy to pick a good book on maths because it involves very little vocabulary from the english language. Anyways, lets get straight to the point. There is a very good website: www.archive.org from where you can download ebooks for free. I recommend the following to be downloaded from the site. Lets just assume you have no knowledge of mathematics, so lets start with the basics. I also assume that you can count, since god gave us the natural numbers and if you are god's child, this much must be true. 1. The First steps in Algebra - by George A Wentworth A good book to start with algebra from the absolute beginning. This book will teach u the basics of algebra but it will not give you much insight into the subject. Still, I feel it is a good book to start with. The book contains sufficient number of exercise for practice. 2. A treatise on Algebra - by Charles Smith A very old book, but do not think it is useless. Not much of algebra has changed since the beginning. Charles Smith has a very clear writing style. The book is voluminous but very resourceful. Read it for a very nice step by step introduction to the subject. I highly recommend this book and the one that follows. 3. Algebra: An Elementary Text-Book - by George Chrystal A delightful read, I highly recommend this book for the serious student of mathematics. Chrystal's writing style is amazingly clear. He will open your eyes so that you look at algebra from a totally different perspective. I loved reading this book and trust me, if you can master the problems from this book, you don't have to revise basic algebra ever in your life. You can download the two volumes from the following link http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/book/lookupid?key=olbp36404 Apart from the above authors you can also find high school algebra books by Hall and Stevens from S.Chand or AIBTS publishers. They are good books too, and I think should suffice one as a refresher. However if you want to have a solid foundation of algebra, go for charles smith or george chrystal either of them. Learning Basic Geometry: The only authentic book on geometry is written by Euclid, and I will not recommend a beginner of geometry to start with this book. The elements by euclid is too dry to read even after translation into the english language by thomas heath. However, we do have hope from the following books 4. Plane Geometry - by George Wentworth A good introduction to high school geometry. Worth the download effort and actually well written. 5. A School Geometry by Hall and Stevens On the same level as wentworth. The number of problems is moderate. Well written again with clear explanations. Okay if you have gone through these books then its about time you started with more advance and specialized topics Trigonometry: 6. Plane and Spherical Trigonometry by William A Granville This book is very well written. I won't say its the best book on trigonometry but it does its job well, which is, teaching the student how to do trigonometry. I recommend this book to start with since it has clear explanations and numerous problems. The writing style is a bit old but this doesn't compromise on the quality of knowledge within. You may download this book from the following link for free https://archive.org/details/planeandspherica029145mbp 7. Plane Trigonometry - by S L Loney If you think that an inexpensive book is not going to be a good book then you are just about to be proved wrong by Loney. Loney's book is classic, and has been used through the ages. It's one of the favorites for IITians and almost everyone has a copy of the two small volumes of the book. 8. Trigonometric Delight by Eli Maor This book will elate you by making your knowledge about trigonometry absolutely concrete. There are no problems in this book but the wealth of information within the book is invaluable. I ordered my copy from flikart for about 250/- and I am glad I bought it. This book will clear all your concepts on trigonometry from how it all started to who were the pioneers in the field to how the definitions came about to which is sine called since and how one can use trigonometry in solving different types of equations. I highly recommend this book for all the students. Read it like a novel, I am sure this book will get you interested in trigonometry. 9. Higher Algebra by Hall and Knight Do you really think I have to write more about this book. This book is the most famous book out there referred by students preparing for IIT JEE. This book doesn't get you any historical notes or any applications of algebra, yet it is a good book, why? Because it goes straight to the point. Problems from this book are of the intermediate type and the number of topics covered are numerous. Go for it, its one place for all the topics you need to learn in intermediate mathematics. 10. Coordinate geometry by SL Loney Again Loney's writing style is like that of a teacher trying to teach a kid. First with the easiest of all problems, then a level higher and so one. Well written book, and many problems. 11. Calculus and Analytic Geometry by Thomas and Finney These guys are one of the best when it comes to teaching calculus. The book is clearly written and starts from coordinate geometry and eventually ends up with differential equations. I love this book for its clear explanations and its stress on learning calculus using graphs. There is however just one demerit. The book has many problems but only of an elementary level. One feels the need for a good problem book along with this one. I recommend this book because its so clear in its explanation and introduces the student to numerous applications of calculus. 12. Introduction to calculus and analysis (volumes 1 and 2) by Richard Courant If you are still not excited by the name of the author of this book then here is a little introduction. Richard Courant was a student of David Hilbert, and David Hilbert was the most influential mathematician during world war 2. There is a courant institute for advanced mathematical studies in USA. Now if you wanna know more about richard courant please google search him. About this book, this book is a classic. It is one of the best books on calculus ever written. I loved this book as soon as I started reading it. The problems from this book will make you go crazy at times. Some of the topics covered in this book are beyond 10+2 level but volume 1 should be enough for a +2 student. Buy it if you have enough money to spend. It is sad that this book is so highly priced, because the wealth of information in it so good. Anyways if you ever do get your hand on this book from a library or a friend, go through it you will achieve a level higher than the average by simply going through it. 13. A course of pure mathematics by G H Hardy G H Hardy, for the people who do not know about him, was the same mathematician who worked with S Ramanujan on number theory. He was the one who noticed Ramanujan's exceptional intelligence and took him to London for mathematical research. This book, is an excellent book on basic topics such as series and limits and continuity. Not much calculus here, not as much as courant's book. However, when I tried to solve the first problem from this book, I was unsuccessful at the attempt. The level of problems in this book, i felt, is pretty high. This book is only for a serious student of mathematics. Try it and find out if you still wanna go through it. As for me, I decided to go through it, with a lot of struggle ofcourse. 14. Calculus: Early Transcendentals by James Steward This Canadian Mathematician has done a fine job. He has put before us, in his book, the subject of calculus in digestible bits. The selection of topic and the flow of information is so smooth that one actually enjoys the math. Very well written book with clear explanations and numerous problems for practice from the very basic to the intermediate. Buy it, its worth it. That's all I have for now on introductory mathematics, I may have missed a few books, I will update this list eventually. Happy Reading Cheers read less