During the next quarter at uni, I'll be taking a course in real analysis and since I prefer studying with an additional text I thought I'd come here to look for some book recommendations.
My background: I'm comfortable with linear algebra and single variable calculus, but shakey on multivariable calculus. I did have a slight introduction in to geometry.
For linear algebra I found the common recommendation of Hoffman & Kunze to be very helpful (although the abstractness came as a bit of a kicker at first).
For Single variable calculus I used the book Calculus by Adams and Essex, which I found frustrating to work with, because it often left me guessing at what they were trying to do or why they were doing it. I also felt that they exercised a certain lack of rigour. (Which may be due to the subject which would make it hard to derive from axioms.)
Details: Though it would be a complementary text, I'd prefer one which will still hold value as a work of reference at a later point in my studies. I've heard that Rudin's Principles of mathematical analysis is one of the better textst out there, but also read several comments discouraging Rudin's book as a first introduction to real analysis, hence my quest to gather more information and maybe get some more personalised recommendations.
The course: The mandatory course literature will consist of lecture notes, but 4 texts are suggested as recommended reading.
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T.M. Apostol, Mathematical analysis. Addison-Wesley (1974) J.
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Dieudonné, Foundations of Modern Analysis. Academic Press (1960) A.
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van Rooij, Analyse voor Beginners.Epsilon Uitgaven, no. 6 (2003)
- R.S. Strichartz, The way of analysis (1995)
Thanks in advance!
Best Answer
Apostol's book is very good for first learning analysis. However, it leaves out a number of multivariable calculus topics, such as line and surface integrals, and vector analysis. These topics can be found in other books, including the same author's Calculus, Vol. 2.
Overall, Rudin's book has less content than Apostol's and less detailed proofs. The exercises in Rudin's book tend, more often than Apostol's, to require you to come up with ideas that are very different from those in the main text, or to perform more steps in a proof without hints. For some people, this is an advantage of Rudin, and for others a disadvantage.
I would say that Dieudonné's book is probably the best "reference", because it's very formal and systematic. (For example, the first definition given of the derivative is for a mapping between two Banach spaces.) It also discusses important results in the exercises. It is actually the first part of Dieudonné's nine-volume treatise in analysis. Because of its comprehensiveness, it wouldn't be a good first book to learn from for most people, with the exception of someone with very high ability and motivation.
You could also consider Zorich's two-volume book Mathematical Analysis. Generally, the first volume deals with differential and integral calculus in $\mathbf{R}$ and differential calculus in $\mathbf{R}^n$, and the second volume deals with various advanced topics. However, even the calculus material in the first volume is taught in a relatively advanced way (for example, using lim sup and lim inf to simplify proofs, or open and closed sets). This could be a good book if you want to both start analysis and learn multivariable calculus properly (i.e., with full proofs and difficult exercises).
Based on a very cursory glance at the book by Adams and Essex, I'd say that, compared to rigorous calculus books like those of Apostol and Spivak, it doesn't seem like great preparation for a course in analysis. There is much less theory, and the exercises are easier. So whether you'd be successful starting directly with Apostol's Mathematical Analysis depends a lot on you. If you find that it's difficult going, then you could try using a book like Ross's Elementary Analysis, which is intended for students who have little background with proofs.