The best historical treatment I've yet found is the Time-Life book on mathematics. https://www.amazon.com/Mathematics-David-Bergamini/dp/B0007G5WYG https://www.

The best historical treatment I've yet found is the Time-Life book on mathematics. https://www.amazon.com/Mathematics-David-Bergamini/dp/B0007G5WYG https://www.amazon.com/Mathematics-David-Bergamini/dp/B0007G... I know that Freeman Dyson attributes his proficiency in math to his love of math, which he claims was kindled as a teenager by reading Bell's "Men of Mathematics"