I have published several books in the following subjects (I’ve been writing for decades, though didn’t start publishing my material until 2008):
- math books (including arithmetic, prealgebra, algebra, geometry, trig, logarithms, and calculus)
- science books (including physics, astronomy, and chemistry)
- puzzles (math puzzles and word scrambles)
- self-publishing on Amazon (detailed how-to guides, toward the bottom of the page)
- hobbies (chess and golf log books)
Below I describe and list my books. They are arranged by topic in the same order as the list above.
Alternatively, you can visit my author page at Amazon (see the link below). The problem with my author page is that Amazon defaults to my Kindle ebooks. Most of my older books are only available in paperback, and even with my newer books, most customers buy the paperback edition because it is convenient to write solutions on the paper, highlight, take notes, etc. If you visit my author page at Amazon, where it says “Books by Chris McMullen,” click the Paperback rectangle to see all of my books instead of just those that are ebooks.
amazon.com/author/chrismcmullen
MATH BOOKS
My most popular math book is Algebra Essentials Practice Workbook with Answers, which has a ton of practice problems. The key to developing algebra fluency is ample practice. Note that the answers are in standard form, so if you don’t rationalize the denominator or factor out perfect squares, you might get a different answer than the answer key has. (To make matters worse, some of the popular online algebra calculators don’t express their answers in standard form. As a result, a few customers have mistakenly believed that an answer in the book was incorrect, until they took the time to contact me by email, allowing me to politely show them that they hadn’t rationalized their denominator, factored out a perfect square, or reduced a fraction.) Here is a tip: If you’re confident with your answer, enter your answer and the book’s answer on your calculator and see if they are the same in decimal form.
My newest algebra book, Master Essential Algebra Skills Practice Workbook with Answers, is 388 pages (twice as long as my first algebra book), with more variety in the types of problems, and much more instruction. While it has a greater variety of problems, it doesn’t have nearly as many problems for any specific topic. The two algebra books go nicely together. My newer algebra book is more focused on the ideas and techniques, whereas my original algebra book is focused more on a ton of practice for the most important techniques.
Here is a list of my math workbooks from prealgebra onward (for arithmetic workbooks, keep reading once this list ends).
- Essential Prealgebra Skills Practice Workbook (new release)
- Algebra Essentials Practice Workbook with Answers (to my surprise, it has spent several weeks as #1 bestseller in Algebra on Amazon over the years)
- Master Essential Algebra Skills Practice Workbook with Answers (new release, my longest and most comprehensive algebra book)
- 50 Challenging Algebra Problems Fully Solved (the level of difficulty varies, they are intended to be doable by good students who are fluent)
- Algebra Word Problems Practice Workbook with Full Solutions (also available as an audio book with the amazing voice of Gracia Gillund who did an incredible job reading the book, great if you’re looking for word problems)
- Systems of Equations: Substitution, Simultaneous, Cramer’s Rule (an entire book devoted to systems with two or three unknowns)
- Basic Linear Graphing Skills Practice Workbook (thorough coverage of graphing ordered pairs, finding slopes and intercepts, equations for a straight line, etc.)
- Geometry Proofs Essential Practice Problems Workbook with Full Solutions (all about the art of proofs)
- Trigonometry Essentials Practice Workbook with Answers (my most popular trig book, it offers ample practice; I also have a flashcard ebook on Kindle for memorizing the trig functions for common angles in all four Quadrants)
- Learn or Review Trigonometry Essential Skills (offers more instruction, introduction of concepts, variety of problems)
- Logarithms and Exponentials (learn what a logarithm means, practice a variety of calculations, also covers exponentials, graphs, hyperbolic functions, and complex numbers)
- Essential Calculus Skills Practice Workbook with Full Solutions (a fan favorite)
- 50 Challenging Calculus Problems Fully Solved (includes some classic, well-known problems; the level of difficulty varies, they are intended to be doable by good students who are fluent)
- The Four-Color Theorem and Basic Graph Theory (a really accessible introduction to the basic ideas of graph theory, just about anyone can understand it without any background, even middle schoolers who are good at math; this book provides comprehensive coverage in terms of ideas relating to the four-color theorem in a very accessible way, and important ideas of graph theory and presented in a way that’s easy to understand, not like the typical language of books or articles on graph theory; this book is also rich in new ideas and approaches and new ways of looking at things — I probably could have published a few papers by pursuing a few of these ideas more fully, but wanted to keep this book accessible; this is perhaps one of the most “important” works I’ve written in terms of the quality and uniqueness of ideas presented, but it’s also a fun book)
- The Visual Guide to Extra Dimensions (two-volume set; this is the first book I ever published, based on my lifelong curiosity about a possible fourth dimension of space; it provides an accessible introduction to the fourth dimension, some knowledge of basic geometry may be helpful; many cool topics are covered, and many unique diagrams are presented)
- Amazon’s Downloadable Educational Resources for Parents or Teachers (I have a handful of books in this new Amazon category, so far with fractions, decimals, algebra, and chemical equations; don’t search in Books; visit Amazon and change the category to Downloadable Educational Resources; these digital books are PDF’s and you may print out the pages; if these become more popular in the future, I will add to my collection)
For arithmetic, fractions, long division, percents, and grade level workbooks, see this list:
- Grade 6 Math Workbook with Answers (I wrote this when my daughter asked me if she could test out of 6th grade math; she used it over the summer and tested out of 6th grade with 93%, and earned an A in GT Math 7th/8th grade combined the following year)
- Grade 5 Math Workbook with Answers (and other grade levels to be released in the future)
- Master Long Division (starts out with facts, the divisors and dividends grow as the book progresses, finishing with remainders; I actually have two similar books, the newer one with Remainders in the title includes a step-by-step example to begin each chapter; the older one is a little less expensive and just has a ton of practice problems)
- Fractions, Decimals, and Percents Math Workbook (all about converting between fractions, decimals, and percents)
- Fractions Essentials Workbook with Answers (comprehensive coverage, includes instruction and examples)
- Practice Adding, Subtracting, Multiplying, and Dividing Fractions Workbook (provides a ton of practice problems to build fluency; there is also a similar book with the word Mixed in the title which just has mixed fractions)
- 7000 Multiplication Problems Practice Workbook (includes answers)
- 10,000 Addition Problems Practice Workbook (includes answers)
- 10,000 Subtraction Problems Practice Workbook (includes answers)
- I also have some workbooks dedicated to learning the facts (my newer multiplication book includes answers, and I also have one with two-digit numbers 10 thru 20 for those who want to learn beyond 10)
- Pyramid and Radial math workbooks present arithmetic problems visually and in color
SCIENCE BOOKS
I’ve published physics books that I’ve used in my own classroom, and popular astronomy and chemistry books. (I have over 20 years of experience teaching physics at universities in California, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, and Louisiana. I wrote the math books with the goal of helping students become more fluent in math. Hence the name of my math series, Improve Your Math Fluency.)
- Essential Calculus-Based Study Guide Workbook (Volumes 1-3, provides a concise introduction to the essential ideas for each topic, presents problem-solving strategies, and includes many helpful examples with step-by-step solutions and explanations; I bought author copies and passed them out free of charge to my students when I was teaching, and I’ve received great feedback about this series)
- Essential Trig-Based Study Guide Workbook (Volumes 1-3, just like the previous set except it doesn’t have any calculus; again, I passed out author copies to my students free of charge when I was teaching)
- 100 Instructive Calculus-Based Physics Examples (Volumes 1-3, this is basically the solutions manual to the Study Guide Workbook described above, but is also great if you just want to read through 100 examples)
- 100 Instructive Trig-Based Physic Examples (Volumes 1-3, this is basically the solutions manual to the Study Guide Workbook described above)
- Essential Modern Physics Study Guide Workbook (includes relativity, quantum physics, and an introduction to Schrodinger’s equation)
- An Advanced Introduction to Calculus-Based Physics (Mechanics only; I wrote this when I was teaching advanced students, and again I passed out free copies to the students)
- A Guide to Thermal Physics (starts out at the first-year level and finishes at the level of Callen; I used this when I had a small class of very advanced students)
- Creative Physics Problems (Volumes 1-2, available with or without calculus, features my “famous” monkey problems)
- An Introduction to Basic Astronomy Concepts (I was featured in a local newspaper article regarding this book, and over the years it has spent some weeks as the #1 Bestseller on Amazon in astronomy subcategories; it’s very accessible, even kids or adults can read it)
- Basic Astronomy Concepts Everyone Should Know (this has the format of an illustrated children’s book and isn’t as comprehensive as my more popular astronomy book)
- Balancing Chemical Equations Worksheets (chemistry students and teachers love this comprehensive list of reactions to balance, but even math puzzle lovers enjoy these)
- Understand Basic Chemistry Concepts (focused on the main ideas behind chemistry, very accessible)
PUZZLE BOOKS
- 300+ Mathematical Pattern Puzzles (my most popular puzzle book, it introduces puzzles by topic; find full explanations in the back)
- Pyramid Math Puzzle Challenge (more challenging puzzles due to the layout of the puzzles and the fact that they aren’t organized by topic and there isn’t any text telling you about different kinds of patterns beforehand; if you find this too challenging, try starting with my other puzzle book first)
- VErBAl ReAcTiONS (I thought these were pretty cool puzzles since they are anagrams that use symbols from the periodic table to make words, like GeNiUS, instead of the usual anagrams with letters; you don’t need to know any science, they are just cool anagrams for people who appreciate math or science; many thanks to my coauthor for doing most of the hard work)
- Word Scrambles (many thanks to my coauthor, Carolyn Kivett, for doing most of the hard work, we have word scrambles for kids, spooky word scrambles, Christmas word scrambles, word scrambles for golf, word scrambles for football, military word scrambles, positive word scrambles, and even Word Scrambles that Make You Think; a great feature of these books is that there is a separate section for hints and answers, where the hint just gives you the first letter of the word in case you are stuck; another great feature is that the problems come in groups, where the first letter of each group forms an anagram for the group answer, which helps you figure out the ones that you don’t see right away)
PUBLISHING ON AMAZON
If you wish to publish your own book on Amazon, I have some very detailed guides that can help you with your quest (from formatting to publishing to marketing):
- A Detailed Guide to Self-Publishing with Amazon (Volumes 1-2; these books are so content-rich and helpful that I myself keep them handy)
- Word to Kindle Formatting Magic (because formatting for Kindle isn’t as intuitive as it could be)
- How to Self-Publish a Book on Amazon.com (a great place for new authors to start out)
HOBBY BOOKS
SELF-PUBLISHING
I enjoy chess and golf. When I first started publishing books, I made these to help master the art of publishing before publishing my math and science books. I wrote these books for myself, but others have found them helpful, too.
- The Chess Match Log Book (great for recording games)
- Make a Personalized Book of 500 Chess Positions (great for drawing chess diagrams)
- The Golf Stats Log Book (a little large for a stats book, but it has more detailed stats than just the most basic ones for golfers who appreciate this)
Chris McMullen, Ph.D., experienced teacher and author
Thank you for reading.
chrismcmullen 
Pingback: Would be self-publishers, this blog is a must | Justin Bell
Wow. You sure do have a wide variety of published books. I’m impressed. I hope to increase my variety of ebooks and make a consistent and growing income from them.
Thank you. 🙂 It’s very hard work, but if you’re passionate about it, it doesn’t seem like ‘work.’ Good luck with your books.
I love chemistry themed ebook thank you for sharing
You’re welcome. Glad you like it. 🙂
I can’t figure out the example on page 133 bottom right of Algebra Essentials Workbook. Can’t follow the last equality
Are you talking about the “Check” in Example 4? There is a lot packed into that little space, so I can see how that might need a little more explanation.
After finding that x = –5/2 +/– sqrt(17)/2, I plugged this into the equation x^2 + 5x + 6 = 4 to check that the left-hand side equals 4. When I plugged this in, I got six terms. Three terms come from applying the “foil” method to square –5/2 +/– sqrt(17)/2, two terms come from multiplying 5 by x, and the last term is 6. The two terms with the sqrt(17) cancel out. For the remaining terms, make a common denominator and you should get 25/4 + 17/4 – 50/4 + 24/4 = 16/4 = 4, which shows that this solution works.
It’s easier to check the answer using a calculator with decimals. On a calculator, the two answers work out to –0.4384 and –4.5616 (to 4 decimal places), and when x^2 + 5x + 6 = 4 is evaluated for each answer, you should get approximately 4 (apart from slight round-off error). Better yet, plug the answers into the original equation 1/(x+2) = (3+x)/4 to check that they satisfy the original equation.
I hope this helps.
Hi Chris,
We are having a great time with Algebra Essentials Practice Workbook and enjoy all the examples. But we are stumped by Example 3 on page 111. We understand how to calculate the answer and check the right side of the equation. However we are getting stuck on checking the left side of the equation. It seems like there may be some intermediate steps that we are missing. Can you clarify? We have worked a ton of problems on the subsequent pages and want to be able to check answers without having to refer to the answer key immediately.
Thanks!
Thank you for the feedback.
On Example 3, page 111, use the FOIL method to check the left-hand side: (a + b)^2 = a^2 + 2ab + b^2, where a = 4/3 and b = sqrt(10)/3.
3x^2 + 2 = 3(4/3 +- sqrt(10)/3)^2 + 2
= 3(16/9 +- 2*4/3*sqrt(10)/3 + 10/9) + 2
= 3(16/9 +- 8sqrt(10)/9 + 10/9) + 2
= 16/3 +- 8sqrt(10)/3 + 10/3 + 2
= 16/3 +- 8sqrt(10/3) + 10/3 + 6/3
= 32/3 +- 8sqrt(10/3)
Thanks!!!
You’re welcome. I hope this was helpful.
Dr. McMullen,
Brought Calculus Based Physics (Mechanics). Excellent! I have a question, though. Chapter 4, Section 4.5, Example (Page 234) Why do drive force and resistive force cancel out? Isn’t drive force needed for forward momentum? Thanks…Joe
That’s a good question. Drive force is needed to gain speed. Once an object is moving, it has inertia, a tendency to maintain constant velocity. In the case of air resistance, a little drive force is needed to cancel the air friction. There is drive force; equal to the force of air resistance. The main idea here is that the speed is constant, which means that the tangential component of the acceleration is zero, which means that the net tangential force is zero. This is why drive force equals air resistance in this problem.
Here is another way to look at it. If the drive force exceeds air resistance, the car gains speed. If the drive force is less than air resistance, the car slows down. If drive force equals air resistance in magnitude, the speed is constant, which is the case here.
My 5th grader is currently enjoying the Algebra essentials book and also the basics of linear graphing workbook. Will you be writing a workbook on basics of quadratic graphing? It’s hard to find good workbooks on graphing. Thank you!
Thank you for using my workbooks and taking time to provide feedback. I appreciate the suggestion.
I’m in the middle of other projects at the moment. I do have a plan for a graphing workbook at some point, which would involve curves in general (so parabolas, ellipses, circles, and hyperbolas would be part of the book), but I’m not yet sure where it might fit into my schedule.
Hey! When I stumbled across your single variable calculus book I loved it because of how simple you make it and the format of the book and everything else 😀 Then I moved on to other books you have but I did not find any other calculus after multivariable calculus. I was wondering if you are planning on making books that are college math, such as diff eq, etc. If so that’s great but if not what you have so far is great! Keep up the great work!
Thank you for the feedback. I do hope to have a diff eq book out by the end of the year.
That sounds great can’t wait!
Hello Chris!
I would like to purchase some of your work for my brother, he’s going into his second year of university in Scotland studying physics! I wonder which books would be for this level? I know nothing about physics myself, but would volumes 1-3 of your 100 Instructive Calculus-based Physics examples be adequate?
Thank you!
I would recommend my calculus-based study guide workbook, vol. 1-3. These introduce the main concepts, include fully solved examples, provide practice problems, and include answers as well as several hints to walk students through the solutions. (If the hints are not enough, but full solutions are desired, my 100 instructive physics examples books are actually the solutions to the study guide workbooks.)
I see!! That’s perfect thank you so much.
Hi Chris, thanks so much for your books I love them and have completed a few. I’m going through Systems of equations substitution, simultaneous, cramers rule book and ran into issues with problems 16 and 20 on chapter 5. Are these valid problems or errors?
Thank you for using my math workbooks and taking time to contact me. You’re right; these two problems are indeterminate because one equation is a multiple of the other. You’re the first person to ask about these exercises. If you use the contact me option to send me an email, I would be happy to send you a complimentary copy of one of my books. Kindly, Chris.
Hi Chris, we are in love with your Math workbook for grade 6. Do you have equivalent for grade 7 grade 8 and on? Thank you very much
– lost homeschooling mother…
Thank you for the feedback. Currently, I have grades 5 and 6. Beyond that, I have prealgebra, beginning algebra, algebra, etc. I’ve thought about grade 7, but haven’t committed to it yet. Maybe.
Hi Chris, I love using this book with my daughter. I though have just lost the answers to the book. is their any where where you can get the answers for it? (the book is algebra essentials practice) I really just want to make my duagter the best kid she can be.
Thank you for the feedback. The answer key is included at the back of the book. (Did you cut those pages out and then lost them?)
Have you written books to prepare one to take the Engineering Fundamentalists Exam? I’ve been out of college for 35 years and have forgot so much. Thanks John.
I don’t have a book specifically for engineering. Some engineering students have used various math books to sharpen their math skills and have also used my physics books, but none of my books cover engineering. I hope your studies go well.
Hi Cris. Do you have a page where the problems in Algebra Essentials Practice Workbook with Answers are worked out? I am having difficulty verifying the answers you have prividecon many problems
That book only has the answers available. If there is a particular problem you would like to see worked out, I could post a solution when I get some free time. (A few of my other books provide more than just the answers in the back to offer more help with the solutions.)
I am a homeschool mom of 4 kids. My son will be a senior in the fall and plans to take the AP Physics C: Mechanics exam (and maybe the Elec. & Mag. exam) next spring. He worked through a standard high school physics course this year almost independently. I have a BS in mechanical engineering and was a licensed professional engineer, but I quit to be home with my kids 21 years ago, and I last took physics 30+ years ago. Would your Essential Calculus-based Physics Study Guide Workbooks Volumes 1 & 2 be sufficient to learn and study for the AP exam, or would I be better off purchasing something like University Physics by Young and Freedman (https://www.amazon.com/University-Physics-Hugh-D-Young/dp/0135216117) and helping him work through that while using your books as a supplement? Thanks for your help.
I taught from these books and had several students score 4/5 on the AP exams. If you need more comprehensive, detailed coverage and a hundred problems per chapter, you might be able to find an inexpensive copy of an old edition of Serway’s Physics for Scientists and Engineers. My books are concise, focused on the main concepts and how to solve standard yet involved problems.
Thank you so much for your quick and helpful reply! From the sample pages, your books do look great and just like you said — concise. I think we’ll give them a shot. Thanks also for the suggestion of an alternate traditional college textbook.
I hope it goes well.
Mr. McMullen,
I am curious if there is a listed order your math books should be introduced to a child? Due to the recent school issues, it has come to my attention my grandson is not performing at an appropriate grade level. I endeavored to start him on your Fractions, Decimals, and Percents Math Workbook, which thankfully has been a great success. Since we will be together full-time for the summer and part-time thereafter, I figured we would continue on through the rest of the materials you have produced thus this inquiry.
Thank you for your time and any recommendations.
That book is good for practicing those specific conversions; parents looking for more comprehensive coverage of fractions or decimals like my Fractions Essentials book and my Master Decimals book.
Beyond that, my prealgebra book provides good prep for algebra and mastering arithmetic skills needed for algebra, or my Grade 6 or Grade 5 workbooks are specific to grade levels.
My long division with remainders book covers this specific topic. I hope this helps.
I appreciate your interest in my books.
Hi Chris,
My son is taking Prealgebra this year. So I decided to buy your Prealgebra book and work through it so I can help him with his homework. Honestly I haven’t taken a math class in 30 plus years so I needed a refresher. I found it to be a lot of fun. I plan on buying the rest of your books and working through them one by one. I did notice that you don’t have a Precalculus book. Is there a reason for this? Is Precalculus covered by your other books?
Thank you for using my books and taking time to provide feedback. I have one book on logarithms and others on trigonometry, which are a large part of precalculus. Someday, I would like to make a dedicated precalculus book.
Kindly,
Chris
My daughter will be in 9th next year. I bought your Pre-Algebra workbook to make sure she was on track this year. Many items she knows well, some we are studying this year. We were using Spectrum workbooks through 8th for math.
For 9th grade Algebra, what order do your books go in? How should I use them? I see Algebra Essentials, Master Essential, Beginning Algebra, Intermediate, etc. Is the “beginning” more of a pre algebra (8th) or for beginning 9th? Do I use the Algebra Essentials and then Intermediate or Master Essential? Which books would be best Algebra 1? We will then do Geometry in 10th and Algebra 2 in 11th.
She is an “average” math student.
Thank you for using my math workbooks.
Master Algebra offers the best introduction. It is more comprehensive and builds up from the beginning. I would start here.
If you decide that you would like a lot more practice with factoring and a few other basic skills, Beginning Algebra offers a lot of such practice exercises. For students who need a lot of practice with just the most important topics, Algebra Essentials has ample practice to build fluency. For students looking for graphing practice, I have a basic graphing book (like y=mx+b).
Intermediate Algebra is more like Algebra 2.
Thank you so much! That was exactly the guidance i needed!
Dr. McMullen,
I am searching for an accessible, self-teaching guide-like book on partial differential equations and have not had any luck. I was wondering if you had any recommendations for such a book?
That’s a good question. Most of these texts tend to be advanced and abstract, which is suitable for many math, physics, and engineering majors, but is often not designed for accessible self-teaching. I sometimes liked the way that it was presented in advanced physics texts, as they aren’t teaching partial differential equations, but are showing how to solve them. But on the other hand, these have limited scope because they are focused on specific problems, and sometimes it isn’t practical because the author found some fancy way to form the solution. Maybe Schaum’s… I know they have a diff eq book, but I’m not sure if they have one devoted to partial diff eq.
Thank you for your response. Based upon my extensive searching for PDE books of the nature that I described and comments that I have received from folks such as yourself, it seems to that there is a niche for the type of PDE book that I described that is unfilled and therefore an opportunity for someone to publish such a book. Given that there are hundreds, if not even thousands of the obtuse-style PDE books, we certainly do not need yet another of those. I really do not understand the desire among some in academic circles, to write books for student use, that are almost useless to most students. If it is about maintaining rigor, there are very obvious ways to write in which one can maintain technical rigor, while still presenting material accessibly. I have read several PDE books, in which I was following the concepts fine, only to be thrown off of the track because the author decided to introduce a notation scheme, that they barely explained and never provided a justification for making the change. Yes, the notation was a little bit shorter, but in reality all that it did was add yet another layer of material that the reader needed to translate, in order to understand the text. What I see in this behavior is pomposity for the sake of pomposity. During a period in which the academy is under attack by a significant portion of our citizenry and therefore many politicians, it seems to me that we should be striving to make our work more accessible rather than more opaque. By the way all of this is presented as a person who was a tenured faculty member at a Carnegie Research Level 1 university for more than 25 years, and who published my fair share of peer-reviewed papers. So I am looking at this problem from both sides of the equation.
The last chapters of my modern physics workbook try to give a quick intro to differential equations with Schrodinger’s equation in mind, expecting that some students have not taken a course on the subject, and I actually have an ordinary differential equations book that will be released in a couple of weeks. I’m not sure if I will work on a partial differential equations book, as I currently have other projects (like probability).
I believe that advanced concepts can be taught in an accessible and understandable way (but it’s not always easy to carry this out to perfection).
If you find an accessible book, I’d appreciate hearing about it. Good luck.
Hi Dr. McMullen, I’m a huge fan of your books (I have a some of the Algebra, Trig, and Calc ones). I searched Google for “chris mcmullen probability” and wound up here. I saw you mentioned in a recent comment that you’re working on a probability book currently. Do you know when that might be available? I’m starting to get into probability and stats. Looking forward to it. Thanks!
I hope to have a probability workbook available by the end of the year, if all goes well. I appreciate your interest in my books.
Sounds great, hoping all goes well!
Sir would you please share with me that,, mathematics essential calculus work book please am stranded
I’m not sure what you would like. Do you want a link to where the book is available at Amazon?
When I press that option to buy the steps do not sell well
,,On the link well noted sir
Okay, maybe I understand now. On this page on my website, I have pictures of some of my books; these are just pictures, not links. If you type the name of the book at Amazon, or part of the book’s title and my author name, it should be easy to find. If not, I can make a link for you.
I was wondering if you had any box sets of your books or if they were all available separately
Currently, they are all separate. I would like to have a boxed set someday…
Hi,
Do you have the answers to the creative physics problems vol 1 published anywhere?
Some of the answers are included at the back of the book.
Hi, Chris,
I just bought your calculus mechanics book and your thermodynamics book. Wonderful job! I’m having endless hours of pleasure going through the problems. When are you going to write an EM book? Modern physics? Quantum mechanics? I’ll buy them. Keep the books coming.
John Johnson
Physics teacher
The Foundation for Hispanic Education
San Jose, California
This reminds me that I need to update this list. I do have a modern physics book. Also, my study guide workbook series includes electricity and magnetism (there are 3 volumes in all).
Dear Professor McMullen,
My children have used many of your books, and with a little help from my wife and me they are top of their classes and way ahead of every other child. The teachers think they are savants with hyperintelligent parents, not realizing that all the praise ought to be directed to you! My wife and I will never be able to thsnk you enough for making so much so accessible and sparking my children’s imagination, education and love for subjects that are more often than not turn children off and away from mathematics and science. You are a pedagogical and educational genius.
The question is not for them but in fact for me! I studied physics many years ago and can still
am pretty good up to everything an undergraduate is expected to know. My problem is that for the life of me I cannot find a McMullen-style book on group theory or differential geometry – preferably from a physics perspective rather than a mathematics perspective of axioms, lemmas and all that incomprehensible and coma inducing stuff – or anything that would make textbooks in these two subjects accessible?
A googleplex of thanks from my family. Looking forward to a potential reply! If there are no books you can think of, there’s a new project for you!!
Kind regards,
John.
Thank you for using my math workbooks and taking time to provide feedback.
It’s difficult to find advanced math workbooks, especially on abstract topics, that strive to make it clear what most students really want to know, or the practical methods that are most likely needed in applications. Experts in the field tend to write in concise, abstract terms, expecting students to think through the missing steps as they themselves had once done.
Hi Professor McMullen,
Thank you for writing Logarithms and Exponentials, it has been a very helpful review and re-learning tool for me. Do you compile “errata” somewhere. Just noticed on page 179 for Exercise Set 5.2, #7 it says “Divide by 4 on both sides”, but it should say “Divide by 3 on both sides”.
Thank you again,
Billy
Thank you for reporting this. I try to update my books periodically if/when a typo is reported. That’s a good suggestion about errata.
Dear Prof. McMullen,
Recently, in my middle age, I’ve taken an interest in learning math for cognitive exercise and development. I only made it up to the Algebra and Geometry level in school and was a humanities major in college (i.e., no math).
Now I’d like to learn it systematically and if not from soup to nuts then at least well at the soup level.
I learned about your books from the Math Sorcerer on YouTube who highly recommends your books but he didn’t suggest where to begin or how to use them. I wanted to know where to start and how to progress systematically, even if I have to relearn/reinforce what I already know.
I plan to buy all of the your books (print version) from Amazon soon so when I get them I wanted to know the proper progression. E.g., “Systems of Equations” after “Intermediate Algebra”? “Logarithms and Exponentials” after “Beginning Algebra”? “Algebra Word Problems” concurrently with “Beginning Algebra” or after “Intermediate Algebra”? Etc.
Maybe you details this information (proper progression) in the preface to these books in which case ignore my request.
Nb: I’m using other resources now (Pre-Algebra and Algebra & Geometry Big Fat Notebook books and just got Thompson’s Mathematics for the Practical Worker series, etc.).
Thanks,
Gerard
I appreciate your interest in my math workbooks.
Beginning Algebra offers practice with some basic algebra skills. After Prealgebra, this is my most basic algebra book.
Master Essential Algebra Skills provides a comprehensive introduction to the subject. This is the place to really begin learning algebra.
If you want to practice applying algebra to word problems, the word problems book will help with this. I have another word problems book without the word algebra in the title that is more basic and offers more variety.
Some students would then proceed to use my two-volume geometry books before continuing in algebra, though it’s not quite necessary.
Algebra 2 is covered in Intermediate Algebra. Students looking for additional practice with systems would use my systems of equations book.
After that would come trigonometry before learning about exponentials and logarithms.
Dear author Chris
I completed worked out your “Calculus Essential calculus skills practice workbook with full solutions” book and willing to learn more advanced calculus contents made by you. I checked the test read of
“Calculus with Multiple Variables Essential Skills Workbook: Includes Vector Calculus and Full Solutions Kindle Edition” from amazon. But found it to be rotated photos of a paperback book. I am afraid of this poor quality. So can you tell me where to buy the paperback or pdf format of this book ?
Wow. Thank you for reporting this. The Kindle book with sideways pictures is actually a PIRATED book and has been reported to Amazon; it should be removed soon. This book is currently only available in paperback. If you search the ISBN 1941691374, you should find it.
Thank you,
Chris
So, why did Kindle change its table of contents method? I’ve done about 40 books with them and then all of a sudden I can’t figure how to create links anymore? Used to just follow the Word instructions?
That’s a good question. It’s been a few months since I’ve uploaded a Kindle book, so I haven’t yet seen any changes. If it did change, authors are probably discussing it on the KDP community forum.
Dr. McMullen,
Been 30 years since Calculus I & II. I am preparing to take University class in Linear Algebra, that expects experience in MultiVariable Calculus. I want to buy copies of your books but I am not sure how far back I need to go in math. Maybe Geometry to Calculus III?
Can you recommend your titles that would prepare me?
Thank you.
Anthony
P.S. – I am pursuing a Masters in Data Science.
Calculus with Multiple Variables, Essential Calculus Skills, Intermediate Algebra (especially the chapter on systems, if you don’t recall Cramer’s rule fluently), possibly Essential Trigonometry Skills (if you need a trig refresher), and maybe Logarithms and Exponentials (the last chapters include complex numbers and calculus) are what I would recommend.