Customer Reviews

Math Through the Ages: A Gentle History for Teachers and Others

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As students struggle through their mathematics lessons, it is sometimes helpful for them to understand that the creators of their torment often struggled as well. Furthermore, when we present the polished mathematics of calculus, linear algebra and so forth, educators often forget the long historical road that led to the material that we handle so well. In this excellent book covering the history of mathematics, the authors demonstrate a competency of exposition and a focus on the key points that students and teachers can both appreciate.
It begins with a short and rapid recapitulation of mathematics from the first primitive scratches in the dust to the role of computers in solving problems. After this whirlwind beginning, you are subjected to twenty-five short essays, each about a specific point in mathematical history. By point, I don't mean in time, rather a point as in a position in a discussion. These essays are very well written and each would be excellent fodder for a one-hour class lecture or presentation. Questions for discussion and material for projects are included with each of the short essays. Topics covered in the essays include: the development of the zero, the story of pi, writing fractions, negative numbers, the development of coordinate geometry, complex numbers, Non-Euclidean geometry, probability theory and Boolean algebra.
This is by far the best book I have seen for courses in the history of mathematics. With the essays, problems and ideas for projects, all an instructor needs to do is read, discuss and enjoy. If your interest is in learning a bit more about the history of mathematics, it will also serve you well in that capacity.

Published in the recreational mathematics e-mail newsletter, reprinted with permission.

In my opinion, it is impossible to understand a subject without knowing something about the people who developed it. Like other subjects, a mathematical result rarely springs into existence in a complete form, but is developed in increments, with several people involved in the construction. I am also a firm believer that all undergraduate math majors should be required to take a course in the history of mathematics. With the proper resources, it can be the most enjoyable course in the curriculum, and given the quality of this book, if it is the textbook, then any problems you have in the course are due to other factors.
Starting at the point where humans began to count their fingers and toes and ending with the initial development of the digital computer, the authors manage an impressive amount of depth in so few pages. It is a rare occasion when a book can be recommended reading for teachers from the middle school level up through the undergraduate, but this is such a case. The authors were justified in using the word gentle in the title, and it can be read by anyone with a high school mathematics education and beyond.
The writing is clear, succinct, and yet complete. For those interested in greater detail, there is a section devoted to what to read next, a list of online resources and an extensive bibliography. If you can't find what you are looking for by consulting these references, then it probably does not exist. If you have an interest in the history of mathematics, there is no better place to start than this book.

Published in Journal of Recreational Mathematics, reprinted with permission.

Most of the texts available for history of mathematics courses are aimed at upper-level undergraduate students and try to be encyclopedic. This book fills a needed hole in the offerings through its accessibility to freshmen, and its explicit aim not to cover everything. It contains a 56-page snapshot overview followed by 25 articles on particular topics, ideal jumping-off points for student presentations and/or research projects. The articles are clearly written, not intimidating yet accurate and sensitive to the current state of the art in the field. The references to further reading are useful and reliable sources.

After 13 years of frustration, I may finally have found a book that works with my course. Highly recommended!

This book is a resource that all high school teachers should have. It begins with a relatively short (about 60 pages) history of mathematics and then diverges into a series of indepth explorations of particular mathematical topics.
The history section at the beginning has many small tidbits which will enhance the learning experience. The indepth explorations, which range from Pythagorus to geometry, will nicely enhance your lesson plans. Most of them can serve as the theme that particular lessons can be built around. I am currently working on my practicum at a local highschool and I am using the book regularly.

I came across this book because a friend of mine uses it in a college class for math ed. It's really well written and makes the material accessible for people whose math background isn't necessarily very strong. I bet it could even be used for high school students. The exercises and projects are really good, too.

As a college senior majoring in Mathematics Education, I needed to take a Math History class. I read two books that focus on the history of mathematics; one of those books was Math Through the Ages. I found this book, especially in comparison with the other book, Journey Through Genius, to be disjointed, redundant and vague. The first part of the book reads like a typical math history book and the second part repeats the information given in the first part but reads more like a textbook, including questions and projects that pertain, loosely, to the information offered in each section. I found that the questions were often irrelevant for anyone not specifically majoring in Math history, which is fine for a history book... unless that book claims to be great for students of math education. Also, I felt that the questions and projects asked more from the student than the book gave to the student. It is one thing for the projects to expect extra research, but the point of a book is to give you the knowledge you need, especially to answer its end-of-section questions, not just pose more questions than it answers. Really, if you want a better understanding of Mathematics and its history, check out Journey Through Genius. It reads better and offers more detail in explaining concepts that pertain to today's mathematicians.

If you like math and want to read a short history of it, you'll like this book. It is written at a "popular mathematics" level, so it is accessible to nearly anyone who would take an interest in it. The writing is vibrant and to the point. The content is exemplary for a first look at the subject. The structure of the book is practical, intelligent, and effective. It begins with a 59 page summary of the history of mathematics, and this summary hits the high points. Then there are 25 chapter sketches over the next 179 pages, the chapter lengths being either 6 or 8 pages (meaning numbered pages, where a book leaf has 2 pages). These sketches discuss a single topic from the history, going into detail not given in the summary. The sketches and the summary each conclude with 2 pages of questions and projects that are as interesting and stimulating to read as the rest of the book.

Throughout the book the authors refer the reader to books and articles listed in their bibliography, which has 141 entries. After the 25 sketches there is a 7 page section called "what to read next" which directs the reader to specific math books and also to web sites they believe will be especially helpful. They include in this discussion 15 historical books they think you ought to read. This section could be thought of as a partial annotation of the bibliography.

Here are the topics covered in the sketches:

1. writing whole numbers
2. where the symbols of arithmetic came from
3. the story of zero
4. writing fractions
5. negative numbers
6. metric measurement
7. the story of pi
8. writing algebra with symbols
9. solving first degree equations
10. quadratic equations
11. solving cubic equations
12. the pythagorean theorem
13. Fermat's last theorem
14. Euclid's plane geometry
15. the platonic solids
16. coordinate geometry
17. complex numbers
18. sine and cosine
19. the non-euclidean geometries
20. projective geometry
21. the start of probability theory
22. statistics becomes a science
23. electronic computers
24. logic and boolean algebra
25. infinity and the theory of sets

Here are the 15 historical books they think you ought to read:

Tobias Dantzig - Number the Language of Science
William Dunham - Journey Through Genius: The Great Theorems of Mathematics
E. T. Bell - Men of Mathematics
Lynn Osen - Women in Mathematics
Howard Eves - Great Moments in Mathematics (before 1650)
Howard Eves - Great Moments in Mathematics (after 1650)
Dava Sobel - Longitude
Robert Osserman - Poetry of the Universe
David Bodanis - E=mc^2: A Biography of the World's Most Famous Equation
Asger Aaboe - Episodes from the Early History of Mathematics
S. Cuomo - Ancient Mathematics
David Salsburg - The Lady Tasting Tea
Benjamin Yandell - The Honor's Class
Donald J. Albers & Gerald L. Alexanderson (eds.) - Mathematical People
Donald J. Albers & Gerald L. Alexanderson (eds.) - More Mathematical People

This is a great book. The fist 60 pages are a general history of math and the subsequent pages are "sketches" that go into more depth on some of the more important topics throughout math's history. It is very well written and has an excellent list of resources and suggestions for further reading.

If you don't like Mathematics, GET THIS..........
If you like Mathematics, GET THIS BOOK...........
All in all, I am saying GET IT. This book is so fascinating, interesting and you will learn so much. It is not too big, or complicated. Just right. You will learn that there is a number considered of "no value" really has value and that there is something less than that no value number........interesting right? Yes........Best book ever

I saved a ton of money on this book, as compared to if I had bought it in the school bookstore. Although the book was listed as used, I really couldn't even tell that anyone had ever opened it. Thank you.