This concisely written book gives an elementary introduction to a classical area of mathematics - approximation theory - in a way that naturally leads to the modern field of wavelets. The exposition, driven by ideas rather than technical details and proofs, demonstrates the dynamic nature of mathematics and the influence of classical disciplines on many areas of modern mathematics and applications. Featuring classical, illustrative examples and constructions, exercises, and a discussion of the role of wavelets to areas such as digital signal processing and data compression, the book is one of the few to describe wavelets in words rather than mathematical symbols.