Math Book: From Pythagoras to the 57th Dimension, 250 Milestones in the History of Mathematics (Union Square & Co. Milestones) Paperback – 7 Feb. 2012

I have been reading Dr. Pickover's books for some years now. I have always admired his almost glacial clarity, humour and enthusiasm.I am not going to give a page by page review - it's better than that. it needs to be read and admired for it's erudition and thought-provoking content.This book is, unsurprisingly, up there with the best of them! The format is inspiring I have so say - fantastic plates - each topic, which is covered in a tantalising single page is faced with a relevant image. The topics are extensive and intelligently accessed.it's one of those books you can dip in and out of and be a better (or at least more informed) person after a browse within it's world.For me, it is one of those books which, when one holds, look at and even smell, make one realise that eBooks will never replace the printed page!This book is a good read for everyone - from 8 to 80 as they say!Thanks for a great piece of writing. I love it!

As in another review was said: simply because of the photographs this book is worth its price. It's an interesting and thorough revision of the history of Maths. I like the text-photograph layout sorted by date. Maybe it could be said it doesn't enter too much into details, but I was looking for light reading, and this book it's perfect because it consists of a lot of short stories.

Reasonable Maths book with loads of topics, a one pager on that topic facing a colour photograph related to the topic.Very little in the way of formulae, just explains the concepts.Presented in chronological order of this topic being discovered/published.Useful popular introduction to capture the imagination. Search the internet yourself to find the meat for thes overviews.

Fabulous book with beautiful photos and immediate appeal. It's perfect for anyone with an interest in Mathematics. I would recommend it for students at KS4 and beyond, and for every maths teacher who wants to stimulate their students' imagination. A delightful "dip into" book.

I have given copies of this book to 3 generations of my family, everyone found it an inspiring read. Each page is like a chapter in the history of mathematics. It does not aim to serve as a definitive guide to any topic(1 page can not achieve that),but it certainly opens doors to many branches of the subject.Read about the cicada that uses prime numbers to survive, and be amazed (this is a great case-study for learning about mathematical models).I hope that a reprint is planned.

I bought this book as a present for student of engineering faculty, he enjoys this book.I really like it - there are many curious facts about Math written in chronological order.The language is really easy - book can be read also by teenagers and non-mathematicians. or by people,who do not have Advanced English.Every second page is colorful picture. Book quality is also good.

I have a deep interest in mathematics, not least from formal training and I bought this book thinking that it might broaden my mathematical culture. This it certainly achieves as any thick volume of history of science invariably would, covering the subject chronologically, trying to frame each of these pieces of text from a human angle.However, this rapidly gets formulaic, with a clear and repetitive pattern of writing, and pretty pictures that are not entirely relevant and not explained properly.To be fair to the author, now that I have the book, it certainly looks like one of those coffee table tomes and it probably never was meant to be taken at a single reading, as I did. Each page of text, on its own, while hardly going into the detail of the maths, or even explaining in an insightful manner how this really fits into the body of work of mathematics, reads well.So the treatment may not surprise or disappoint those with the expectation of light reading. It's just not aimed at readers with formal training in mathematics or a deep fascination with the subject.

Royal Mail excelled itself by getting my order to the other side of the world in three days so well done them. The book is adored by my mathematically-inclined husband - short summaries on so many features in the development of mathematical theory and practice which he can pick up and read whenever he has a sit-down.