| View Larger Image | Of Men and Numbers: The Story of the Great Mathematicians | Paperbackby Jane Muir (Author)
| List Price: | $10.95 | | Price: | $8.76 | | You Save: | $2.19 (20%) | | | Available: | Usually ships in 24 hours |
| | Binding: | Paperback | | Publisher: | Dover Publications | | Page Count: | 256 Pages | | Publication Date: | February 09, 1996 | | Sales Rank: | 350,618th |
|
EDITORIAL REVIEWS |
Product Description
Fascinating accounts of the lives and accomplishments of history’s greatest mathematical minds--from Pythagoras to Georg Cantor. Charming anecdotes about Descartes, Euler, Pascal, many more, as well as accessible discussions of their contributions to mathematical thought. 30 diagrams. Bibliography. |
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.0 based on 7 reviews)
|
Good Historical Reference by D. R. Barnes (Nashville, TN USA)  4 Stars
June 27, 2009
This happened to be just what I was looking for: info on some of the more prominent mathematicians in history, in a short readable format. Not written as a necessarily easy, novel-like read, but definitely worth adding to my library.
| |
One of the Best Books I've Ever Read by Dan VandeBunte (Valparaiso, IN) 4 Stars
March 28, 2009
I am a high school math teacher and picked this book out of one of my cupboards for some lame "read during school" promotion (It's not like they ever have "do math during school" promotions...). I found the book difficult to put down. The book is filled with intriguing information at several levels; the math, the biographies, the drama, etc. Terrific book.
| |
A really awesome book. by Austin Somlo (Vincentown, NJ)  5 Stars
June 16, 2007
I've read Of Men and Numbers twice and have enjoyed the book immensely. It's so interesting and sometimes funny, and Jane Muir paints a great picture of the twelve most famous mathematicians that ever lived. Many mathematics books can be technical when presenting a story, but not in Of Men and Numbers. The writing is so simple that Jane Muir made the book extremely accessible for anyone and even for the kids. There are legends associated with many of the famous mathematicians, and they are all contained in this book. Before I read Of Men and Numbers for the first time, I had no idea of the men, only just their names associated with special numbers, proofs, etc., and afterwards, I felt my knowledge enriched by the colorful sketch of each man's biography. Of course, as I use the word "men," there is no biography of a female mathematician because the title Of Men and Numbers implies its omission. All in all, I greatly recommend Of Men and Numbers to anyone regardless of her/his interest in mathematics.
| |
E. T. Bell clone - shares his regrettable style by Marco Bellini  1 Stars
May 15, 2007
It is a pity that Jane Muir seems to have modeled her book on "Men of Mathematics" by E. T. Bell. Like him, she "embellishes" her biographies to the point of sacrificing historical accuracy. Unfortunately (from my point of view) she also shares some of Bell's anti-Christian sentiments. For example, in the section on Blaise Pascal, she portrays Pascal as a mentally ill religious lunatic. Naturally, in the section on Evariste Galois, the great mathematician Cauchy is made out to be a fool and a bigoted religious fanatic while Galois (a very unstable, self-destructive character if there ever was one) is made out to be the martyred hero!
| |
A brilliant book 5 Stars
January 04, 2004
I have been reading a lot of popular math/biography books, and this is one of the best books I have read. The way the author weaves history and math in a seamless manner is just awesome. Even the descriptions of the countries/cities where the mathematicians lived makes you want to grab a history textbook to know more.P.S: You might be surprised by certain politically incorrect phrases like "we modern men", etc ...That is because this book was originally published in 1961
| |
SIMILAR PRODUCTS |
| Men of Mathematics (Touchstone Book)
by E.T. Bell (Author)
Here is the classic, much-read introduction to the craft and history of mathematics by E.T. Bell, a leading figure in mathematics in America for half a century. Men of Mathematics accessibly explains the major mathematics, from the geometry of the Greeks through Newton's calculus and on to the laws of probability, symbolic logic, and the fourth dimension. In addition, the book goes beyond pure mathematics to present a series of engrossing biographies of the great mathematicians -- an...
| 
| Women in Mathematics
by Lynn M. Osen (Author)
The colorful lives of these women, who often traveled in the most avant-garde circles of their day, are presented in fascinating detail. The obstacles and censures that were also a part of their lives are a sobering reminder of the bias against women still present in this and other fields of academic endeavor. Mathematicians, science historians, and general readers will find this book a lively history; women will find it a reminder of a proud tradition and a challenge to take their rightful...
| 
| A Concise History of Mathematics
by Dirk J. Struik (Author)
Revised 4th edition covers major mathematical ideas and techniques from ancient Near East to 20th-century computer theory. Work of Archimedes, Pascal, Gauss, Hilbert, etc.
| 
| Remarkable Mathematicians: From Euler to von Neumann (The Spectrum Series)
by Ioan James (Author)
Ioan James introduces and profiles sixty mathematicians from the era when mathematics was freed from its classical origins to develop into its modern form. The subjects, all born between 1700 and 1910, come from a wide range of countries, and all made important contributions to mathematics, through their ideas, their teaching, and their influence. James emphasizes their varied life stories, not the details of their mathematical achievements. The book is organized chronologically into ten...
| 
| Journey through Genius: The Great Theorems of Mathematics
by William Dunham (Author)
Praise for William Dunhams Journey Through Genius The Great Theorems of Mathematics "Dunham deftly guides the reader through the verbal and logical intricacies of major mathematical questions and proofs, conveying a splendid sense of how the greatest mathematicians from ancient to modern times presented their arguments." —Ivars Peterson Author, The Mathematical Tourist Mathematics and Physics Editor, Science News "It is mathematics presented as a series of works of art; a fascinating...
|
|
|
