What an awesome book - for my first couple of years at University I struggled with maths for a number of reasons, but one of which was that I expected it to be difficult and complicated and therefore refused to see that actually in most cases the concepts and processes involved are actually quite straightforward but presented in complex ways. Once I realized this I never really had a problem with maths again (and I went on to do six years of post graduate work in an engineering related field).
I wish I had something like that book while I was at school - something that emphasized that maths can be easy if you approach it the right way.
I think Feynman may have used this book. He mentioned having a calculus book that had the same quotation that this one begins with:
"I don't believe in the idea that there are a few peculiar people capable of understanding math, and the rest of the world is normal. Math is a human discovery, and it's no more complicated than humans can understand. I had a calculus book once that said, 'What one fool can do, another can.' What we've been able to work out about nature may look abstract and threatening to someone who hasn't studied it, but it was fools who did it, and in the next generation, all the fools will understand it. There's a tendency to pomposity in all this, to make it deep and profound."
This is one of my all time favorite technical books - I've been searching for a dead-tree copy on and off for years. You've reminded me that times have changed, the technology has improved, and I should search again.
Thank you.
ADDED IN EDIT: A quick search shows that the updated version is co-authored by one of my personal heroes - Martin Gardner. Now I'll need to get two copies.
It starts by ranting about uppity mathematicians and academics while showing how simply you can get your head around basic calculus.