Colin Adams, “Zombies and Calculus” (Princeton UP, 2014)

The book discussed in this interview is Zombies and Calculus (Princeton University Press, 2014) by Colin Adams.   This is a truly unique book; a novel written in the first-person by the survivor of a zombie apocalypse who has managed to make it that far thanks to his knowledge of calculus.  The author starts his narrative by warning the reader that the book is not for the squeamish, but you shouldn’t be deterred by that, as I found the zombies to be more comical than horrific.  The book is especially worthwhile for the way it introduces some of the really intriguing applications of calculus that are not typically found in the standard three-semester calculus sequence, and the author has done a good job of making those applications relevant to his tale.  In an era when education competes with entertainment for attention – and generally fights a losing battle – books such as Zombies and Calculus are to be applauded.  They may prevent some of those taking math courses from becoming classroom zombies.

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