What is a good book to learn all of precalculus?

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I need a no-fluff book with great exposition on precalculus. It should cover up intermediate algebra, trigonometry and anything else needed to get a strong preparation for Spivak's Calculus. It shouldn't contain annoying images or anything agitating, just serious math. But above all things, it should be very comprehensive and rigorous. It should help me to understand the concepts, and not just memorize them like we're supposed to do with most American textbooks...

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What you want are Gelfand's books: Algebra, Trigonometry, Functions and Graphs, and The Method of Coordinates. It is a shame these books are not better known and used.

Axler has a book on precalculus, but it is far more boring and typical than Gelfand's.

Simmons also has a lovely little book, Precalculus Mathematics in a Nutshell.