Of Men and Numbers: The Story of the Great Mathematicians

by Jane Muir

Book Overview

Of Men and Numbers, first published in 1963, is a fascinating look at the lives and works of history's greatest mathematicians. Beginning with the early Egyptians and Greeks such as Pythagoras, Euclid... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0486289737
• ISBN13: 9780486289731
• Release Date: February 1996
• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.4" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

One of the Best Books I've Ever Read

I am a high school math teacher and picked this book out of one of my cupboards for some lame "read during school" promotion (It's not like they ever have "do math during school" promotions...). I found the book difficult to put down. The book is filled with intriguing information at several levels; the math, the biographies, the drama, etc. Terrific book.

A really awesome book.

I've read Of Men and Numbers twice and have enjoyed the book immensely. It's so interesting and sometimes funny, and Jane Muir paints a great picture of the twelve most famous mathematicians that ever lived. Many mathematics books can be technical when presenting a story, but not in Of Men and Numbers. The writing is so simple that Jane Muir made the book extremely accessible for anyone and even for the kids. There are legends associated with many of the famous mathematicians, and they are all contained in this book. Before I read Of Men and Numbers for the first time, I had no idea of the men, only just their names associated with special numbers, proofs, etc., and afterwards, I felt my knowledge enriched by the colorful sketch of each man's biography. Of course, as I use the word "men," there is no biography of a female mathematician because the title Of Men and Numbers implies its omission. All in all, I greatly recommend Of Men and Numbers to anyone regardless of her/his interest in mathematics.

A brilliant book

I have been reading a lot of popular math/biography books, and this is one of the best books I have read. The way the author weaves history and math in a seamless manner is just awesome. Even the descriptions of the countries/cities where the mathematicians lived makes you want to grab a history textbook to know more.P.S: You might be surprised by certain politically incorrect phrases like "we modern men", etc ...That is because this book was originally published in 1961

"Of Men & Numbers by Jane Muir - A review

This is an ENJOYABLE book. I am not a mathematician, but came across this book by chance while looking for some specific explanations. The book was so interesting and well written that I stopped my research and read it through. I would characterize it roughly as a chronological explanation of the lives of the world's great mathematicians. It relates their lives and contributions to knowledge to those who lived before and after them. The author strikes a very nice balance between explanation of their environment and their contribution to knowledge (and its acceptance, rejection, or being ignored). Its all nicely woven together. The book gave me the feeling of getting just the right amount of detail and explanation with plenty of references for those who wish to study deeper on many subjects covered in the book. Try it. You'll like it. End of review

Excellent non-technical book on the development of math!

This is an great book for anyone who has even a slight interest in mathematics. There are lots of references to interesting math ideas & concepts, but nothing overbearing or over-techincal. It doesn't read like a textbook at all. In fact, it reads like a biography - an intriguing look into the lives of famous mathematicians with plenty of math ideas to keep your mind going - all that can be understood with a minimal education in high school math. If there is anything to complain about the book, it is that sometimes it focuses too much on the lives of the mathematicians and not enough on their work (this is why I gave it 4 and not 5 stars). However, if you're into biographies AND math, then this is a must-read, 5-star book!