Great Fun. Great Education. I can only say that this was the most educational math book I have read, and I liked it for all the reasons the author gives: (1) Many beginner calculus books are too big. Most people don't read big books. However, this book is a comfortable size. (2) Many "popular" calculus books don't have exercises. The basic philosophy of Calculus and Pizza is learning by doing. (3) Most importantly, no Intro calculus books have a pizza chef teaching you. For example, in what other book will you find meatballs rolling down Fifth Avenue in New York City or pizza restaurants overrun by bacterial colonies run wild?
The other big selling point for this book are the numerous solved problems. These problems alone give the book a lot of "meat" -- if you pardon the pun.
Excellent for learning or reviewing the basics of calculus Given the underlying mathematical rigor of differential and integral calculus, no popular book can ever truly explain it. However, it is possible to demonstrate a great deal of the foundations of calculus in a manner that can be understood by people with limited math backgrounds. A person with a solid understanding of college algebra will be able to understand nearly all of the formulas and concepts in this book, although the exponential and logarithmic functions may be too much. As the title implies, the setting is that of a pizza parlor and the calculus problems often contain references to pizza terms. Phrases such as "the pepperoni is 10 feet from the lamp", "the meatball is growing at the rate of" and "the rolling meatball is accelerating at the rate of" keep the focus on pizza while calculus is being taught. There are problems at the end of each chapter and complete solutions are included in a final chapter. This is a book that can give you the basic ideas of calculus or refresh your understanding if it has been some time since you learned it. The writing is excellent, the problems are well stated and entertaining and diagrams included when needed. It can serve as a review for a calculus exam but cannot prepare you for it. Don't Judge a Book By It's Title I have no doubt that this book will come in handy for college level "calc" students looking for a refresher, but DO NOT confuse this as a "Calculus for Dummies" approach to the subject. From the first couple of pages I felt as though I had been thrown in the deep end of the pool in order to learn how to swim. I was anticipating a more accessible book and I was disappointed. The examples of tomato sauce mold, rocket launched meatballs and giant pepperoni (don't ask) didn't serve to ground calculus in the real world for me. Again, maybe a terrific text for people that already have a grounding in the subject, but hardly as comforting as the title would lead you to believe.
