Books

  • The generally excellent Head First series by O'Reilly Media includes several math books. The Head First series is unlike anything I've ever seen, in a very good way. The authors use insights from recent neuroscience to present material in the most memorable ways. Read the intro section of their algebra book for some good tips on taking your learning habits to the next level. It is included in the Kindle version free sample which you can download or view online with the "Look inside" link at Amazon. Check out the whole first chapter to see what you think of their style.
     
  • Larry Zafran is a math tutor in NC who is self-publishing a series of books called Math Made a Bit Easier. The books are available for purchase through Amazon at a very modest price, but are free for viewing online (not downloading) through Google Books. I've done a thorough skim of the first book, Math Made a Bit Easier: Basic Math Explained in Plain English, and found it to be highly readable and very helpful. In particular, the first chapters talk in no-nonsense language about what it takes to actually learn math well — something many people don't seem to understand — and what you should do if you find yourself "in over your head" in a math class. Wise advice. The book lives up to the title; he does a very good job of explaining concepts in plain English. For example, he appeals to your common sense and daily experience handling money to help you understand concepts like place value and operations on signed (positive and negative) numbers.