Breaking the mold of heavyweight calculus books, this text presents a straightforward introduction to calculus. The author uses an intuitive approach to explain real-world problems and then develops a rigorous mathematical treatment for their solution. He introduces standard preliminary topics, such as trigonometry and limits, by using them in context. The book is ideal as an excellent tutorial for self-study and exam preparation as well as a textbook for beginning courses at major universities and colleges. A solutions manual is available upon qualifying course adoption.