To add to the suggestions here, "Number" by Tobias Dantzig is absolutely a wonderful history of mathematics. I mean, shoot, it's actually got a quote from Einst

To add to the suggestions here, "Number" by Tobias Dantzig is absolutely a wonderful history of mathematics. I mean, shoot, it's actually got a quote from Einstein: "This is beyond doubt the most interesting book on the evolution of mathematics which has ever fallen into my hands. If people know how to treasure the truly good, this book will attain a lasting place in the literature of the world. The evolution of mathematical thought from the earliest times to the latest constructions is presented here with admirable consistency and originality and in a wonderfully lively style." —Albert Einstein http://www.amazon.com/Number-Language-Science-Tobias-Dantzig/dp/0452288118 http://www.amazon.com/Number-Language-Science-Tobias-Dantzig...