Customer Reviews

Makers of Mathematics

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I enjoyed this book immensely as it painted the picture of how modern mathematics evolved from ancient times. The author does a great job of bringing you through the issues of time when the theories were forming and providing an understanding of how ancient cultures dealt with math that is otherwise rudimentary today.

If you have always enjoyed math (as a hobby or career) you will most likely appreciate the road that has been paved before us by the mathematical giants detailed in the book. For those who may not have much math experience, this book does a decent job at explaining most of the concepts before referring to them.

However, if you are merely interested in a good story and lack the appreciation for the mathematical contributions of these great thinkers (as another reviewer has) this book is not for you.

A very interesting history of mathematics by british author Stuart Hollingdale. The book is arranged in chronological order, with the first chapter dealing with the mathematics of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia and the last chapter with the latest developments in math. The mathematics of ancient Greece is covered very thoroughly, in particular. Each chapter, with the exception of the first one, takes the work of one mathematician to analyze the mathematics of the period. One can argue with the book here and there (putting Einstein as a mathematician, covering very little of 20th century developments) but all in all this is a good volume. Note: while the book is not overly complex, it is not for the completely uninitiated either, as it supposes some previous knowledge of math to understand it.

Somehow this book found its way into my library 20 years ago. (I am a land surveyor who does trig and geometry for a living.) I value it highly, and since it is yellowing, I searched Amazon to see if it is still available. Thankfully, it is. The chapter on Archimedes, and especially his "Method" of "mechanically" relating weights, levers, and volumes, should humble the most vain intelligence out there.

I love the books. Very enjoyable history of mathematics, that is fairly accesible to non-mathematicians.

I picked up this one after reading Koestlers 'The sleepwalkers'. The cover pic too shows us Newton and other mathematical giants, so I was hoping to find a good biographical account, of the factors that shaped the lives of the makers of mathematics, and some of the social and political events that led to their theories being published.

However... the book is a far cry from a biographical account. It instead dwells more on the mathematical contributions of these pioneers, and the emphasis is on presenting their works in more accessible and readable ways. Thus, it might be a good book if you wish to indulge in coffee table discussions of what Euclid's Elements was all about, but if you want to know how 400 men just walked away with Pythagoras to join the brotherhood after hearing his inspiring speech, without even going back to tell their families... this is not the book for you.

My rating is low since it did not live up to my expectations, formed from the title of the book.