James Stewart, the author of the worldwide best-selling calculus texts, along with two of his former Ph.D. students, Lothar Redlin and Saleem Watson, collaborated in writing this book to address a problem they frequently saw in their calculus courses. Many students were not prepared to "think mathematically" but attempted to memorize facts and mimic examples. ALGEBRA AND TRIGONOMETRY was designed specifically to help readers learn to think mathematically and to develop true problem-solving skills. Patient, clear, and accurate, the text consistently illustrates how useful and applicable mathematics is to real life. The new book follows the successful approach taken in the authors' previous books, COLLEGE ALGEBRA, Third Edition, and PRECALCULUS, Third Edition.