MVT: A Most Valuable Theorem

Focusing on the rise and supposed fall of the mean value theorem, this work discusses the evolution of the theorem and the concepts behind it, how the theorem relates to other fundamental results in calculus, and modern re-evaluations of its role in the standard calculus course.

The mean value theorem is one of the central results of calculus.

It was called 'the fundamental theorem of the differential calculus' because of its power to provide simple and rigorous proofs of basic results encountered in a first-year course in calculus.

In mathematical terms, the book is a thorough treatment of this theorem and some related results in the field; in historical terms, it is not a history of calculus or mathematics, but a case study in both.