Mathematics: From the Birth of Numbers Hardcover – Illustrated, 17 Mar. 1997

The fact that Jan Gullberg is not a professional mathematician is precisely what makes this book so good.He demonstrates a rare depth of knowledge and understanding, yet at the same time, because his mind has not been "tram-lined" by the traditional approach to teaching mathematics, he is able to write in a light-hearted way using jokes and cartoons that looses nothing in terms of clarity of content. This stands in stark contrast to normal mathematical text books that present their topics in dry, sterile and frankly boring abstractions.His creative approach to explanation makes mathematics fun again because now he takes the reader on a voyage of discovery. Consequently, if you buy this book expecting the normal "text book approach" to delivery, you will be disappointed. But speaking for myself, it is precisely the traditional text book approach to mathematics that put me off in the first place. At school, I gave up on mathematics because the subject matter had been so highly abstracted away from every day life, that I was unable to place what I'd learnt into any category I could call "reality". Upon leaving the classroom, I promptly forgot most of what I'd learnt.Fortunately, Mr Gullberg has changed all this.Well done, Sir!

I don't know anything about maths but my son is in his first year of Uni studying maths/ physics . I read the reviews on lots of the maths books and went for this one. I was so pleased when my son rang me up to tell me what a brilliant book it was. He said it covered all the maths he was doing at Uni and was interesting to read ( he has found lots of the course book dull)I can't be precise about any of the maths content in this book but my son gives it top marks and I give myself top marks for being good at shopping ( no marks for maths though)

This is really well laid out. The history of numbers and maths and how we interpreted them across cultures and era's. There's so much information to read through, it's nice to have on my shelf and im glad i have it now. I'd say its a bit like an encyclopedia but in a more fluid style of writing. There is a lot of info in here and you'll probably enjoy havingvit too

Maths comes alive when you know the history and understand that its an evolving science. It is written with humour and with easy to understand steps. The mixture of the history of each branch of mathematics and examples makes it so much better than the books that I was taught from whilst at school. Should be used as a part of the curriculum.

This is not a linear chronological history. Each chapter deals with a specific subject, starting with the very basics. Suitable for pre-GCSE to start of degree level. A heavy tome with a light touch.

A modern classic, now about 20 years old.Very helpful from high school thru early college - or for anyone with an interest in history of math, or how to actually solve various kinds of problem! Fun and informative, and very clearly written.

This is a truly outstanding work. Almost everything you can think of to do with maths, from the very beginning of counting and representing numbers, through equations, functions, geometry, calculus, limits, complex numbers; mathematicians, dates, history.. it's all in here. It's heavy duty, but with lots of examples, and a considerable amount of insight.

The book was ok, just as described, arrived as scheduled