Mathematics: From the Birth of Numbers

I love this book. It covers the history and makes a large births of math clear, largely in part because Jan explained one of a thousand concepts to his (era 1997? no-longer) children and they provided illustrations.Some textbooks start with a joke or have a few bits of dried humor hidden within. This oozes with humor, charm, history and the love of numbers.

How did this guy do it? He wasn't even a mathematician - he was a doctor. And he wrote a book that's fascinating for both mathematicians and non-mathematicians. The book goes all the way from the incention of numbers and the most elementary arithmetic, all the way through elemetary calculus. Along the way he manages to give at least an introduction to fractals, combinatorics, non-Euclidean geometry, harmonic analysis, and probability - all topics which the typical American student would probably miss on her or his way through the standard sequence of material leading up through calculus.But Gullberg does much more than just present the material. He includes the history of how - and WHY - each major mathematical innovation was developed, placing the entire subject in a human and historical context that is missing from almost any other book on any of these many topics.I don't care how much math you know - there are almost certainly historical facts in here that you haven't encountered before. And I don't care how LITTLE math you know - you'll find this book accessible and fascinating.The only thing I didn't care for was the silly little limericks and cartoons scattered throughout the book. Most of them weren't funny, and served only to distract the reader from the fascinating material.This book should be read thoroughly from page 1 through page 1039, and then read over and over again, as you dip randomly into whatever chapters happen to strike your fancy at any particular time, for the rest of your life. I originally bought a paperback copy, but I soon realized that I had to have a hardcover version that will stay on my shelf until the day I die - except when it's in my lap or on my desk.Unparalleled and irreplaceable.

This book is amazing for three reasons. First, it was not written by a mathematician yet it is a great, and in many places detailed, mathematics book. Second, it tackles very diverse topics. Third, it has really funny cartoons. You can read this book from cover to cover like I did, or pick out random chapters. There are chapters on logic, calculus, trigonometry, set theory, topology, geometry, number systems, fractals, complex numbers, and so much more. However, you must be warned that this is not a textbook. In many cases the author does not explain how he got a certain result. Instead. he just writes it down. Don't pick up this book and complain that the chapter on integrals does not explain why certain methods are used. This is not the main idea behind the book. I think that as a reference this book is great. You can easily find whatever it is you are looking for and the material is presented with some humour.It has been said that if you are to own one math book, then this should be it. I think that this is true but not for all people. If you should own one reference book about material which is not very advanced, then yes, this is the book. However, if you want a book ABOUT math, then I think 'The World of Mathematics' by Newman is the one you should own. Personally, if I were to own just one math book it would definitely be Hardy's 'A course of pure mathematics'. But why own just one math book? Buy all of them!

This is an excellent book for covering all topics in Mathematics, and for teaching you the history of Mathematics. You don't have to be a super duper maths genius to understand it, and when you have a question, you can google it. For example, I googled, "How can factorial 0 equal 1?" and found the answer. I'm no maths genius by any stretch, but I study math for mental exercise and it helps me in my daily life. This book is a lot of fun, I carry it with me if I know I will have to wait somewhere.

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!

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

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 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.

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.