Customer Reviews

Al-Khwarizmi: The Inventor of Algebra (Great Muslim Philosophers and Scientists of the Middle Ages)

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I read two books in the series Great Muslim Philosophers and Scientists of the Middle Ages by Rosen Publishing. They were the books about al-Khawarizmi and al-Biruni.

I liked both books for the following reasons:

1. They were in general not "religious", meaning they did not attribute scientific progress or lack thereof to religion, particularly Islam. When discussed, secular factors, primarily sponsorship by the wealthy and powerful, were identified as the cause of scientific progress.
2. They contained illustrations with informative captions, sidebars introducing tangential lines of inquiry, and discussions of the subjects' ideas and their place in their intellectual milieu.
3. They have a glossary and a recommended reading list.

I got these two books from my public library. I encourage librarians to acquire these books. For this blog, I'm planning to start tagging books I believe appropriate for public libraries with the tag "Good for Public Library."

The publisher recommends this for grades 5-8. I think it could benefit students at all levels, yet the writing is accessible to the younger age group the publisher recommends.