Algebra the Easy Way

This book left me with more questions than answers. The word problems in the end of each section went completely without explanation on how to solve them. The story-line was wordy, and any math tips worth reading were few and far between. I got frustrated very early, and bought another book. (The greatest book to learn Algebra is "Practical Algebra - A Self-Teaching Guide". I believe anyone can sail through that book with little struggle.) I am still puzzled that the title of this book contains the word "Easy" in it! Not for me!

Algebra the Easy Way was my last hope to passing College Algebra. I had taken Algebra in High School, but had lost much of what I had learned. I looked for many ways to obtain the vital information needed to pass College Algebra, and then this book was referred to me. After reading it one summer, when I was having knee surgery and contemplating on dropping out of college, I found that it was quiet interesting and as I followed the story, I learned many of the concepts necessary to go on and take the college algebra. When I returned back to college, I was able to do a self-paced class within half a semester without much help from the professor. I aced the course and have since been able to go on and take trigonometry and calculus without much trouble. This book was enough to allow me to become successful in my college career. Thanks Algebra the Easy Way! I have since started getting copies of it for friends, who happen to find themselves in much the same predicaments as I started out in! If you need help passing College Algebra, this is the book for you!

I got this as my Homeschooled freshmans math text. I like that it is written in a way that even parenst can help.
She likes the way it flows

This book has an interesting approach and can sometimes present concepts in a practical way that can make them easier to understand. However, many concepts are glossed over very quickly and not explained well at all.

What's worse, at least half the exercises at the end of each chapter require far more knowledge than was presented, leaving you shaking your head wondering how to solve them. Half the exercises involve word problems which can be very confusing. What's worse, the answers to those problems at the end of the book often don't explain how their solution was arrived at. Other reviewers suggest that some short-leaps are necessary to work those out. I disagree - some very long leaps are required as well as outside knowledge to solve them.

The book seems to assume you already know algebra or have access to someone who does and can help you along. As a self-teaching guide, it is not very useful and proves to be a very time consuming exercise in frustration. I think most people should avoid this and would be better served by Practical Algebra written by Peter Selby and Steve Slavin, a book that does explain the concepts well and gets straight to the point.

When I first began to study with this book, I was happy with the level of instruction. I also didn't mind the fairy tale that developed as the story moved forward; it took a lot of the scare factor out of the material.

What frustrated me was that there were concepts that weren't explained very properly or at all. I'm still befuddled as to how to solve for x in an equation. They don't give you a clear-cut or definite way; they only tell you to add/subract on both sides of the equation. And that's not working for me. The book seems to make a lot of assumptions, namely, that you're also taking an algebra class and can direct the questions the book doesn't answer to your teacher. All things considered, not a good self-help book.