Chapter 1 is easy. By Chapter 16 (The Implicit Function Theorem), you will be reading sentences three times. By Chapter 26 (Nonlinear Differential Equations), you will question your career choice.

Have you survived Simon & Blume? Drop a comment below with your favorite (or most hated) chapter.

Twenty years after its publication, no better textbook has replaced it for bridging the gap between "I know calculus" and "I can read Econometrica."

The book that has served as the gatekeeper and the guide for decades is by Carl P. Simon and Lawrence Blume.