Crimes And Mathdemeanors [Paperback]

Leith Hathout (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 24, 2007 | ISBN-10: 1568812604 | ISBN-13: 978-1568812601

This collection of short detective stories provides an exciting new challenge for young adults who have graduated beyond the ever-popular Encyclopedia Brown mysteries series and are interested in applying high school level mathematics and physics to solve problems. The main character, Ravi, is a 14-year-old math genius who helps the local police solve cases. Each chapter is a detective story with a mathematical puzzle at its core that Ravi is able to solve; the author invites the reader to solve the case on his or her own and then explains the mathematics used to find the solution to the puzzle.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This is a truly delightful book that should inspire many a high school student, bored with classroom word problems, to take a second look at the subject with fresh eyes. The more so if they realize that the author is, like them, a high school student! In Leith Hathout s talented writing I detect the next Martin Gardner. --Keith Devlin, Stanford University, NPR's "Math Guy", and author of The Math Gene and The Math Instinct

In this quite charming book, Leith Hathout has taken the idea of a word problem to a whole new level-the short story problem. People who enjoy watching the brilliant math professor Charlie Eppes solve crimes on Numb3rs should also get a kick out of the way Hathout s even younger hero, fourteen-year-old Ravi, reduces complicated crimes to math problems-and then solves them. What fun! --Gary Lorden, Professor of Mathematics, Caltech, and math consultant for Numb3rs

Leith Hathout, drawing on a great love of mathematics, has with incredible ingenuity embedded fourteen lovely problems within fourteen mystery yarns. You ll enjoy matching your wits with Ravi, a teenage genius who manages to solve each mystery and to provide clear and elegant proofs. Only high school mathematics is involved, except for one mystery in which a bit of calculus creeps in. --Martin Gardner, author of Mathematical Games

About the Author

Leith Hathout, an accomplished young mathematician and a mystery enthusiast, is a high school student in California. He began participating in national mathematics competitions at the age of 9, eventually winning several awards at the national level and achieving a perfect score on the California Math League exam. Outside of his studies, he excels at playing SET and is a nationally ranked foil fencer.

Product Details

• Paperback: 150 pages
• Publisher: A K Peters Ltd (April 24, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568812604
• ISBN-13: 978-1568812601
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #69,567 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #29 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Puzzles & Games > Math Games

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ideal for high school libraries, classroom use, and for adults who want to keep their math skills sharp!, August 6, 2007

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Crimes And Mathdemeanors (Paperback)

Crimes and Mathdemeanors is an Encyclopedia Brown-style book of short detective stories for young adults and adults alike - to test their mathematics skills and knowledge! Ravi, the 14-year-old math genius, must apply his knowledge of math and physics and his general cleverness to deduce the answers to riddles, mysteries, and puzzles. Tales rely on trigonometry, probability, combinatorics, and deductive reasoning to uncover the secret of whodunnit in this delightful educational and learning tool. Ideal for high school libraries, classroom use, and for adults who want to keep their math skills sharp!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Crimes and Mathdemeanors: A wonderful blend of mystery and math, September 29, 2007

By 

Brendan Kelly (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Crimes And Mathdemeanors (Paperback)

A Mathematical Mosaic: Patterns & Problem Solving
Crimes and Mathdemeanors is a well-written brilliantly conceived book for those who love mysteries and puzzles. Author Leith Hathout wrote this delightful book while in high school, yet the quality of the writing and the sophistication of the underlying mathematical themes reflect a mature blend of literary and mathematical talent. I found his murder mysteries both engaging and challenging. If you enjoyed the riddles in Dan Brown's "The da Vinci Code," you will find this book a delight.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Young Talent, July 5, 2008

By 

HA Hacky (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Crimes And Mathdemeanors (Paperback)

Leith Hathout has written a recreational math book for all ages. I have many math and recreational math books and still had not encountered most of the puzzles he chose to build his mysteries around. The mysteries are a bit "underwritten" but this is a recreational math book as opposed to a novel. His explanations are excellent. I suspect that we will be hearing more from him in the future.