No Bullshit Guide to Math

Math for adult learners

This book is for adults who think they suck at math and feel uncomfortable around equations and formulas.

No math background required

Learn the fundamental ideas of mathematics regardless of your previous math experience.

Clear explanations

This book is the printed version of the
author's 17 years of tutoring experience.

Concise and complete

The book covers in 200 pages the material that other textbooks would cover in 2000.

Why learn math?

Face your math anxiety

Chill out, math is not something to fear. You can easily get to know this beautiful subject.

Everyone is a mathematician

Learning math is about recognizing patterns in numbers and geometric shapes. How hard could this be?

Easier than you think

As an adult, you can learn years worth of high school math material in weeks.

See the connections

This book shows how math concepts are connected.

Make friends with math

No exams and no stress this time. This book is just about the good parts.

Experience knowledge buzz

Learning math brings lots of aha moments when you see ideas "click" into place.

Still not sure?

Previously asked questions about learning math

Is this book for me?

Yes this book is for you if you’re an adult who wants to learn math.

No seriously, I suck at math—I'm just not a math person.

Give math another chance. It's not that bad.

It's super useful to know the basics.

I never liked math and I don't think I can learn this.

This book will help you learn math regardless of your background. Don't worry if your math skills are a little rusty. You can do this!

Everyone benefits from learning basic math the same way everyone benefits from knowing how to read and write.

How long will it take me to get through the book?

Reading this book can be as quick as one week if all you need is a refresher. A deeper reading will take a month. Don't rush! Take the time to read carefully, do the exercises, and solve some practice problems.

Any other questions or concerns? Ask me anything below!

What Readers say

Lots of positive reviews from students, parents, and other adult learners:

I like the conversational tone of your writing. It's almost like I'm learning math from a friend. Kevin Del Castillo, student

I'm glad somebody with proper math understanding wrote this excellent piece about math with refreshing material like charts, diagrams, and examples. Wojciech Pietrzak, developer

My daughter loves her book, it helps her understand math at a whole new level. Beth Castellano, parent

Read more reviews

Get your copy

Pages	242
Book type	Digital
Formats	PDF (2x), ePub, and Mobi

Price	$10

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Also available on Kindle

Pages	242
Book type	Paperback
Format	5½" x 8½" / 14 x 21.6 cm

Price	$19

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Also available through Amazon

Pages	242
Book type	Hardcover
Format	6" x 9" / 15.2 x 22.9 cm

Price	$29

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Preview the book

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Free stuff

Printable tutorials for your next coffee break

Math concept maps

Explore these concept maps to learn about math topics and the connections between them: equations, algebra, functions, geometry, vectors, and set notation.

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Linear algebra explained in four pages

This is a linear algebra tutorial on fast-forward: vectors, matrices, linear transformations, matrix representations, eigenvalues, and eigenvectors.

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Make computers do math for you

Learn to use SymPy to solve math problems. This tutorial is recommended for people who fear math. Once you learn SymPy, math problems will fear you!

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About the publisher

At Minireference Co., we publish introductory math and science textbooks. We want to make advanced math modeling skills accessible to everyone, without the need to spend years inside an educational institution. Our use of print-on-demand technology allows us to continuously improve the texts based on readers' feedback.

Finally textbooks that don't suck!

Learn more