SILVANUS P. THOMPSON (1851-1916) wrote several science manuals and biographies of major scientists.MARTIN GARDNER is a regular reviewer for the New York Review of Books. He lives in Hendersonville, North Carolina.

• PrologueTo Deliver you from the Preliminary TerrorsOn Different Degrees of SmallnessOn Relative GrowingsSimplest CasesNext Stage: What to do with ConstantsSums, Differences, Products and QuotientsSuccessive DifferentiationWhen Time VariesIntroducing a Useful DodgeGeometrical Meaning of DifferentiationMaxima and MinimaCurvature of CurvesOther Useful DodgesOn True Compound Interest and the Law of Organic GrowthHow to Deal with Sines and CosinesPartial DifferentiationIntegrationIntegrating as the Reverse of DifferentiatingOn Finding Areas by IntegrationDodges, Pitfalls and TriumphsFinding SolutionsA Little More about Curvature of CurvesHow to Find the Length of an Arc on a CurveEpilogue and Apologue.

'Martin Gardner is one of the great intellects produced in this country.' - Douglas Hofstadter 'For more than half a century, Martin Gardner has been the single brightest beacon defending rationality and good science.' - Stephen Jay Gould