Chapter 1 is brilliant.<p>I've been shouting from the rooftops for years that math[0] courses need more <i>context</i>. We can prove X, Y, and Z, and this class will teach you that, but the motivating problem that led to our ability to do X, Y, and Z is mentioned only in passing.<p>We can work something out, and then come back and rework it in more generality, but then that reworking becomes a thing in and of itself. And this is great! Further advances come from doing just this. But for pedagogical purposes, stuff sticks in the human brain so much better if we teach the journey, and not just the destination. I found teaching Calculus I was able to draw in students so much more if I worked in what problems Newton was trying to solve and why. It gave them a story to follow, a reason to learn this stuff.<p>Kudos to the author for chapter 1 (and probably the rest, but chapter 1 is all I've had time to skim).<p>[0] And honestly, nearly every subject.