>>13297669No, absolutely not. Trying to do this is probably why many potential autodidacts ultimately fail. You need to know the basics of factoring an equation, graphing a function, have familiarity with trigonometric functions, and a bit more. You do not want to try and work straight through some 1000pg precalculus text, though. Doing that will eventually tire you out and you'll get bored and lose interest.
What you should do instead is start with the book that challenges you. Pick a calculus book and do selected problems. When you find something you cant progress beyond, then you open a precalc book for reference and work with that topic until you are comfortable enough to continue.
An example, I worked quite far through a discrete math textbook before I found difficulty because I hadn't worked with logarithms in a while, and a lot of the proofs in that chapter relied on properties of logarithmic functions. I went to a precalc book and worked through the sections on logarithms.
I was more motivated because I had something to relate the dry facts too, and I progressed much more rapidly. This also increases retention, in my opinion.
In summary: start with what you are interested in, and work backwards only as necessary. This is a much more organic learning experience and will feel more rewarding than simply grinding through hundreds of exercises for the sake of it. Trust me, I tried that method before and its pointless. You will forget almost everything if you try learning that way.
