From Amazon.com
"The evolution of science, philosophy, and mathematics, all related, is far more important to the history of humanity than a parade of rulers and a procession of wars." Strong words, but Richard Mankiewicz comes mighty close to backing them up in his fascinating book,
The Story of Mathematics.
Divided into brief chapters, the book traces the development of mathematics from a baboon's fibula with 29 clearly visible notches (from Swaziland, circa 35,000 B.C.) to the Babylonian sexagesimal--or base 60--number system, which survives to this day in our method of timekeeping, to Euclid's Elements, described as "the most important textbook of all time," to fractals and other Mandelbrot sets. Along the way, Mankiewicz pays tribute to the men and women at the forefront of mathematics, though he's not afraid to dispel some myths: the Pythagorean theorem was widely known in antiquity before Pythagoras was even born, and a 14th-century Chinese manuscript clearly depicts what is now known as "Pascal's Triangle," a good three centuries before Pascal was born. Most entertaining are the chapters on practical applications of mathematics: astronomy, codemaking and -breaking, military strategy, modern art, and navigation.
At times, it is difficult to follow the actual complex mathematics, but the vast majority of the book is readily accessible to the general reader. Filled with beautiful illustrations taken from ancient papyri, medieval manuscripts, scientific instruments, Renaissance painting, and computer-generated art, The Story of Mathematics is a singularly handsome volume and a pleasure to read. --Sunny Delaney
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
A producer of events about the cultural dimensions of math and associate researcher at Middlesex University, Richard Mankiewicz presents The Story of Mathematics (with a foreword by Ian Stewart), a visually stunning work that takes the reader across time, highlighting the key moments in the development of the mathematical sciences and their cultural influences. The narrative is intriguing, the 80 color illustrations are magnificent and the inclusion of writings by famous mathematicians is a wonderful touch. The only problem with the book is that the primary font is so delicate and the type size so small that even the most avid math fans will have difficulty doing more than peruse its contents.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
