Overview

This excellent book, written by the established author David Acheson, makes mathematics accessible to everyone. Providing an entertaining and witty overview of the subject, the text includes several fascinating puzzles, and is accompanied by numerous illustrations and sketches by world famous cartoonists. This unusual book is one of the most readable explanations of mathematics available.

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9780199590025

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Reviews

Thought provoking. THES Popular maths is not easy to do, but David Acheson has really achieved it with this pocket-sized gem of a book. Brian Clegg, Popular Science

Thought provoking. THES Popular maths is not easy to do, but David Acheson has really achieved it with this pocket-sized gem of a book. Brian Clegg, Popular Science

Popular maths is not easy to do, but David Acheson has really achieved it with this pocket-sized gem of a book.

Fasten your seatbelts! * Mathematics in School * An amusing and entertaining roller-coaster ride into the world of mathematics. * American Mathematical Society * Wow! * Mathematics Teacher * The jacket blurb does not exaggerate.....at least, not by much. * Canadian Mathematical Society * An ingenious, pleasure-filled and humorous journey into mathematics. * Upsala Nya Tidning * Even though you have doubtless read everything by Keith Devlin, Simon Singh, Martin Gardner...and you-name-it, this wonderful work is yet another 'must' for your bookshelf! * European Mathematical Society Newsletter * An ideal present for friends and relatives who are not mathematicians. * London Mathematical Society Newsletter * Every teenage mathematician should have a copy. * Symmetry Plus Magazine * On the surface this book is another of those 'let's look at the funny things about numbers' books. But no, this one was far more than that. It treated subjects briefly but in depth and breadth, linked them together, didn't make assumptions... Truly inspiring, and a great read over a weekend. * Mathematics Teaching * The reader is left with a sense of the magic of mathematics ... An earlier reviewer has advised everyone to 'go out and buy a dozen copies', and I heartily agree, and hope that our embattled schoolteachers (and university lecturers!) take up the cry. * UK Nonlinear News * My ten-year-old daughter read the book with my guidance and loved it. Even mathematicians will find fresh perspectives on old themes in this playful and inventive book. * John Mighton in The Mathematical Intelligencer * The tone of this little gem of a book is set by the allusion in its title to the W.C. Sellar and R.J. Yeatman classic 1066 and All That, and the outrageous Steve Bell cartoon on its cover ... The book is such an easy and entertaining read (my non-mathematical family members agree) ... There are few mathematicians who succeed in writing popular accounts of their craft without being superficial or condescending. With this book David Acheson has joined the best of them. * Times Higher Education Supplement * Every so often an author presents scientific ideas in a new way... Starting from such minimalist material, David Acheson works his way up to chaos and catastrophe theory. Not a page passes without at least one intriguing insight... Anyone who is baffled by mathematics should buy it. And all mathematicians should buy at least a dozen copies to hand out to people they meet at parties. My enthusiasm for it knows no bounds. * Ian Stewart, New Scientist * Possibly the nicest maths book ever written. * Kjartan Poskitt, author of Murderous Maths * Review from previous edition 1089 and All That is an instant classic... an inspiring little masterpiece. * Mathematical Association of America * Popular maths is not easy to do, but David Acheson has really achieved it with this pocket-sized gem of a book. * Brian Clegg, Popular Science * Thought provoking. * THES *

Author Information

Dr David Acheson Fellow, Jesus College Oxford

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