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The Annotated Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions

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The Annotated Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions (Hardcover)

by Ian Stewart (Author)

4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

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2 new from CDN$ 120.36 10 used from CDN$ 10.15

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Product Details

Hardcover: 160 pages
Publisher: Basic Books; Annotated edition edition (Nov 22 2001)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0738205419
ISBN-13: 978-0738205410
Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 19.3 x 2.5 cm
Shipping Weight: 726 g

Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

Amazon.ca Sales Rank: #328,088 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
Popular in this category:
#77 in Books > Science > Mathematics > Reference

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Product Description

From Amazon.com

The product of an agreeably dotty cleric named Edwin Abbott Abbott and first published in 1884, Flatland distills all that the Victorian era knew of higher mathematics--and then some--into a witty, complex novel of ideas.

Ian Stewart, the author of the equally witty sequel, Flatterland--which adds to Abbott's store of science the key discoveries made since--does a superb job of explaining the original book's enigmas, allusions, ironies, implausibilities, and what Douglas Hofstadter would call "metamagical themas." Among other things, Stewart comments on Abbott's comments on such things as the nature/nurture controversy, the fourth dimension and beyond, the role of multidimensional spaces in economic systems, infinite series and perfect squares, celestial mechanics, and other matters close to the hearts of cosmologists and science buffs alike.

Stewart's notes make an entertaining and learned addition to an already classic bit of writing--one that has never been out of print since its first publication. For both devoted Abbott fans and newcomers to his work, this is the edition to have. --Gregory McNamee

From Publishers Weekly

In The Annotated Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions, Ian Stewart (Does God Play Dice?) introduces and explains Edwin A. Abbott's 1884 math-geek classic. Stewart, a mathematics professor at Britain's University of Warwick, discusses Abbott's milieu and friends (including George Eliot and H.G. Wells), Victorian literary conventions (e.g., his protagonist gains understanding of the three-dimensional world in a dream), the low social status of Flatlandian women, Abbott's class and political affiliations, and a host of other entertaining and enlightening tidbits. Photos and illus.

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Customer Reviews

6 Reviews

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Average Customer Review

4.3 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)

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5.0 out of 5 stars A true classic!, Jun 13 2004

By	Jun Zhou Zhang (Coram, NY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Written over a hundred years ago, this book by Edwin A. Abbott is still by far the best introduction to the mathematics of many dimensions. This does not mean that it is a college-text-type of math books that contain complicated derivations and proofs. It is a novel. Ian Stewart's commentary makes it even easier to understand. Even the appendix written by Stewart is a valuable read which gives a brief intro to 4-dimensional mathematics.

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5.0 out of 5 stars A book for all philosophy fans, Sep 9 2003

By	Whirledtraveler "whirledtraveler" (Tucson, Arizona United States) - See all my reviews

I understand this book was written by a mathematician and possesses a juvenalian look at Victorian satire- but this book is so much more!! It is philosophy embedded in delicious metaphor and social commentary threaded in the tapestry of extended metaphor. And who said math was boring? This book is a must for every intellectual!!

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5.0 out of 5 stars Intellectual Fun with Commentary, Jun 2 2002

By	Timothy Haugh (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Flatland is a novel originally published in 1884 by Edwin A. Abbott. It is told from the point of view of A. Square, that four-sided resident of the titular country. The first part of the book consists of a description of what it is like to live in a two-dimensional world. The second part concerns A. Square's encounter with a sphere and his subsequent "visions" of pointland, lineland and spaceland.

The purpose of this novel is two-fold: to introduce the casual reader into the concepts of multi-dimensional spaces (i.e. what will become the concept of four dimensional space-time) and to provide social commentary on Victorian society. I cannot comment much on what he achieves in terms of opening the eyes of the Victorian reader to the ills of that society; however, I find his ability to illuminate the concepts of dimensionality extra-ordinary. As a math and physics teacher, I am always looking for ways to open my students' minds to visualizing what they are doing. Even after well over 100 years, few people have approached Abbott's clarity in helping people visualize the difference between different dimensions. One of the best examples: a square only "looks" like a square to someone who can see in three dimensions. A square itself, trapped in a plane, would see another square (or, indeed, any figure) only as a line. This leads to intriguing thoughts on what creatures who live in higher dimensions than our own see as they look at us.

Of course, the story of Flatland alone is wonderful but Stewart's annotation and commentary take the book to another level. On nearly every page, Stewart offers insight and background into the text. Unable to resist the pun: he added another dimension to the book. Having read Flatland many years ago and enjoyed it, I felt I understood the book much better this time around with Stewart's help. Anyone with an interest in math and physics should not pass up the opportunity to read this edition of Flatland.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Classic
Contrary to this silly form I am actully 14. I am an eighth grader and I read this for my Algebra 1 class. I fell in love with it instanly. Read more

Published on May 22 2002

1.0 out of 5 stars Flatland is boring
Flatland is for advanced students -seniors and up- who are participating in a physchological study class. This book warps your thinking about the geometric rules. Read more

Published on April 8 2002

5.0 out of 5 stars a brilliant annotated version of this math geek classic
I first read Flatland as an undergraduate mathematics major. It was an epiphany. With spectacularly clear words and explanations Abbott related, in a first person narrative, the... Read more

Published on Mar 31 2002 by audrey