I took a multivariable calculus course in college and found myself having to revisit the material several years later. I was a theoretical computer science student in graduate school, and am no stranger to mathematical rigor. I found this book exceptionally useful for developing an intuitive understanding of what these operators do (as the title suggests) and equations such as the Laplace and Poisson equation (although I feel like an understanding of complex analysis and the calculus of variations goes a very long way in truly understanding what it means to obey these equations). The development of electro/magnetostatics and the (static) Maxwell's equations on the side is a great added bonus (plus, I believe a lot of these tools were developed for this particular application) - also, it's nice to see real world examples of the concepts.<br><br>I don't fully agree with the other reviewers that say this is a good book for engineers - a more rigorous treatment should be mandatory for anyone in science or engineering (note: I'm currently doing electrical engineering graduate work). For people learning the material for the first time - this would a fantastic add-on for a more rigorous treatment from another book. It also makes for an excellent review for people who need to brush up (like I did) on vector calculus. The figures in particular are simple, yet very effective in explaining the concepts. Either way, it's a must have for any applied scientists/engineers/math teacher's shelf.