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Mathematics: A Human Endeavor (3rd Edition) 3rd Edition

by Harold R. Jacobs (Author)
4.6 out of 5 stars 19 customer reviews
ISBN-13: 978-0716724261
ISBN-10: 071672426X
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Product Details

  • Hardcover: 678 pages
  • Publisher: W. H. Freeman; 3rd edition (January 15, 1994)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 071672426X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0716724261
  • Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 1.3 x 10.3 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 3.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #221,678 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

137 of 139 people found the following review helpful
This book fosters true love of math.
By Julie A. Moser on November 15, 1999
Format: Hardcover
I'm a 36-year old homeschooling mother who had done calculus in high school and college, and mechanically got some right answers, but never knew why. I hadn't bothered to slow down and notice the beauty and power of the language of mathematics. In his textbook, Mathematics: A Human Endeavor, Harold Jacobs smashed my lack of confidence into a million pieces. He showers the student with so much real-life relevance and humor, that even a slight amount of curiosity about the subject bears delicous fruit. Working through this book will convince any human being, of almost any age, that he or she is a born mathematician.
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108 of 114 people found the following review helpful
Math as science, art and life
By hyperbolium on September 12, 2000
Format: Hardcover
What's so truly impressive about Jacobs' book is the way in which he demonstrates that math is all around. His choice of subjects provides the reader with a broad introduction to the mathematical sciences, including geometry, probability, combinatorics, statistics, topology and more. More importantly, his examples and explanations make it relevant and fun.

Jacobs' writing is clear (which cannot be said for many books on math at any level) and his organization sweeps the reader right along. Though technically a textbook, this is excellent reading for anyone who's interested in learning about math. I read it in junior high school, and have re-read bits and pieces as I progressed through college and graduate school. His subjects are complex enough to merit rethinking, yet his explanations clear enough to be grasped by the first time reader.

Truly one of the great introductory math texts -- especially for those who think they don't need to know or can't understand math.
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67 of 70 people found the following review helpful
Best Introduction to Mathematics !
By A Customer on December 5, 1997
Format: Hardcover
I stumbled across this book when I was 17 whilst rummaging in my school library. It was too late for me to use it as my workbook but I enjoyed reading it nevertheless. My sole regret was that had I found it earlier than I might have had success in teaching my fellow students the joys of mathematics. The book is beautifully designed with gorgeous graphics to demonstrate mathematical ideas. There are also wonderful cartoons that people on this side of the Atlantic may never get to see otherwise. This is the book (with its companion "Geometry") that I give all my nephews/nieces on their 10th birthday so that they may not claim that they were deprived of good maths tuition.
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51 of 53 people found the following review helpful
Reading, `Ritin', and `Rithmetic - with fun and games thrown in.
By Peter Renz on March 7, 2006
Format: Hardcover
Around 1976, Donald Knuth, a giant in computer science, then at Stanford, asked me how he could get hold of Mathematics: A Human Endeavor because he wanted to begin his son's education using it. He said that all computer science and mathematics was problem solving and he liked Jacobs's book because it engaged students immediately with interesting problems - ones that led somewhere. Knuth's hopes for the book were realized, and the one correction he noted was taken into account in the next edition.

The Preface to this third edition is by Martin Gardner, who wrote the prefaces for the previous editions as well. Gardner begins with a quote from Ralph Boas, whose reply to someone who said to him "You make mathematics seem like fun" was "If it isn't fun, why do it?" Jacobs makes mathematics fun, and he shows you that it is useful as well. Yes, there are uses for otherwise dull computation. That is part of the power of mathematics.

I am a mathematician. I taught a course at Bard College using this book. One of my students told me that her mother asked her what she was doing and she replied "Mathematics." Her mother replied, "You hate mathematics;" she replied, "Not anymore." Jacobs shows us that thoughtful writing that respects students and subject material can raise education to a higher level.

Start here. Back your efforts with the Teacher's Guide, which is a rich resource. Then explore further. There is a marvelous world out there.

And, yes, as you explore it you will learn to read, to write down your thoughts and conclusions, and to do arithmetic.
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16 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Got me interested in math!
By Origamister on September 29, 2010
Format: Hardcover
This was my textbook in 5th and 6th grade 1985-86 and it definitely set me off on the right path mathwise, a path which ended in a B.A. in math at UCSC. I can't blame my propensity for math all on this book, but it was my first exposure to the concept that math can be fun. With this book, you just can't say math is boring!
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23 of 29 people found the following review helpful
An introduction to the applications of mathematics
By Robert Staskiewicz on February 20, 2011
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
Mathematics: A Human Endeavor is not a primer textbook, rather it is a peak into the applications of Mathematics.

There are many anecdotes and historical lessons that follow naturally into exercises. There is a chapter on how the hexagon is the most efficient structure to build a mosaic, then examples are given that illustrate why pentagons or squares are not optimal for building a beehive. There are many historical lessons, such as where a concept originated from, or who propagated a certain branch of mathematics, and this adds to the experience of seeing mathematics develop throughout the book.

The purpose of this textbook is clearly to pique your interest and not instruct. The book is filled with ancient puzzles and formulas for a given scenario, but you never learn to apply it elsewhere. The photographs in the book are difficult to see, this is exacerbated when an exercise asks you to count something indistinguishable. A lot of exercises ask you for impractical things, listed from most practical to least: Ruler, Protractor, Tracing paper, Scissors, Rubber band, Cards, Candles, Two mirrors, and a Razor Blade(for cutting the candle). There are several exercises that ask you to trace something and make several figures, then put them together, or make 10 copies of a figure and try to solve an ancient puzzle, the concept is to physically put the geometric shapes together, however, in practice, it is tedious.

I would recommend this pseudo-textbook for piquing your interest in mathematics, not as an elementary textbook for trying to teach yourself, or others math, but rather of its many applications. Furthermore, I advise skipping the arts and crafts exercises and exerting judgment on which problems are reasonable and which are ridiculous.
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