What is the prerequisite for reading this book. Can I read this book effectively with basic knowledge of high school algebra and some calculus?

Yes. I did. It will be very challenging.

I, quite a few times, spent more than four hours with a pencil and paper making my way through 2-4 pages of material, as since my background was lacking, there were parts where I had to figure out how they got from A to B. IIRC, I spent multiple days on a few paragraphs at one point.

That said, it is written how I think math books should be written, is considered part of the start of Discrete Mathematics, and is conversational, illuminating, well-layed-out, and approachable despite it's level of difficulty.

I can't recommend it enough.

Don't view it as something where if you're not making progress you're failing. Take the time to ensure you understand every bit of what you read before moving on, and do all the exercises you can muster.

thanks a lot.