Mathematical Mountaintops: The Five Most Famous Problems of All Time [Hardcover]

John L. Casti (Author), NA (Illustrator)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 177 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, Incorporated; First Edition edition (2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195141717
• ISBN-13: 978-0195141719
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,757,942 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Popular Account Worth Revisiting, June 23, 2010

By 

Customer (Baltimore) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mathematical Mountaintops: The Five Most Famous Problems of All Time (Hardcover)

This book I found used at a cheap price. For the cost I've had great returns.

Casti draws on a reader's natural ability to appreciate ingenuity and invention. We can marvel at the creation of transfinite numbers and turing machines just as we can the invention of the wheel and the light bulb. Casti achieves this end in an exceptional way, really articulating the fundamental concepts that prove so profound in the deep reaches of each problem. I *always* leave this book with aesthetic appreciation for mathematics -- and this is why this book is so remarkable.

Further nice features are the reference sections for further reading and the color plates. Also this book has a very interesting (and idiosyncratic) introduction that discusses how problems are the heart of mathematics and the potential of computers to aid problem solving in the future.