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The best math book I've ever read -- which I think can completely transform somebody's appreciation of math -- was William Dunham's "Journey Through Genius - Th
by A_D_E_P_T 3y ago
The best math book I've ever read -- which I think can completely transform somebody's appreciation of math -- was William Dunham's "Journey Through Genius - The Great Theorems of Mathematics."
What this book did was place mathematics in human and historical context. It starts with Hippocrates' Quadrature of the Lune, then moves on to Euclid's proof of the Pythagorean theorem, and moves along through history all the way down to Euler and Cantor.
I've always thought that the book's format or method is the best way to teach mathematics in a general sense. It beats the rote practice of formulae out of context, and it simultaneously teaches the history of mathematics and science. I'm always gifting parents of school-age children copies of this book.
- kouru225 3y agoPutting it on my list
- gthrow12345 3y agoMy college advisor gifted me a copy when I graduated, and I passed it along to one of the best students that I had. Great book.
- edanm 3y agoAbsolutely my favorite pop-sci/pop-math book of all time, if you can call it that. That's because it's the only book I know which is in a good sweet spot between being a true pop-math book, giving the history and context of math (kind of like, say, Fermat's Enigma by Simon Singh), but while also being a real math book, and actually teaching real maths and real proofs of all the theorems talked about. There are some similar books, but most don't get the mix right, and even the ones that do, are just not as good. Such a wonderful wonderful book. Do you have any other recommendations for similar books?