The Mathematical Universe: An Alphabetical Journey Through the Great Proofs, Problems, and Personalities

by William Dunham

Book Overview

"Dunham writes for nonspecialists, and they will enjoy his piquantanecdotes and amusing asides -- Booklist

"Artfully, Dunham conducts a tour of the mathematical universe. . .he believes these ideas to be accessible to the audience he wantsto reach, and he writes so that they are." -- Nature

"If you want to encourage anyone's interest in math, get them TheMathematical Universe."
* New Scientist

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0471176613
• ISBN13: 9780471176619
• Release Date: February 1997
• Publisher: Wiley
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.04 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.3" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Excellent

Excellent book that gives us a synopsis of the history of maths from early days. The only criticism I found (and no doubt other readers and the author) is that by virtue of the title, we are limited to one piece as per each letter of the alphabet. I personally would have liked to see the Z chapter written on Zero. That apart, quite an entertaining read and highly recommended. Dunham should write some more.

A Delightful Journey

As the book's subtitle suggests, it is a journey through some of the world's greatest mathematical achievements. It is a collection of quasi-independent essays, loosely patterned after children's ABC picture books.For me there were two things that made this book a joy to read. One was that, as the preface states, "each chapter provides a strong dose of history." This way each topic was considered in some human context that revealed just how remarkable its development was. The other trait I liked was that while each chapter followed the same basic formula, i.e., some history and then some math, no two chapters were presented in the same way. Thus, Dr. Dunham was able to avoid predictability.Though the mathematics in this book was not terribly challenging, the reader should be fairly mathematically inclined. The historical periods covered were weighted in favor of the classical Greeks and the 17th century Europeans, and the corresponding developments paralleled current curricula through lower division college math courses.On the minus side, I would like to have seen a bibliography in addition to the notes at the back of the book.

A Magnificent Overview

I first read this book a number of years ago and recently read it again. I still think it is a magnificent overview of basic mathematics. In fact, it is one of the best overviews of basic mathematics that I have ever read. Dunham covers a wide range of topics and he does so in a very readable and understandable manner without giving up reasonable mathematical rigor. Someone with elementary algebra and geometry can follow all of Dunham's arguments and enjoy.Of course, it is impossible to cover the entire range of mathematics in a book such as this but Dunham has chosen well. He sticks mainly to the fundementals of the major fields. In addition, his book reminds us that people with personalities have developed mathematics and that it's not a field created merely to strike fear into the hearts of schoolkids (and adults).This book will always hold a special place for me: it was the catalyst for an epiphany. I had been teaching high school geometry for a few years when this book came out and I was very good at teaching the modern methods of proof and problem-solving. On the other hand, I didn't really like teaching constructions, because, though I could do them quite well, I didn't truly understand their place and function in geometry and its development. When I first read chapter "G" of this book ("Greek Geometry"), however, it was like a thousand puzzle pieces fell into place and I knew more than how to do constructions, I understood them and was able to teach them more effectively.If you have any interest in mathematics at all, I recommend this book. It will not disappoint.

Wondrously entertaining and informative

This book is filled with enormously entertaining anecdotes about math and mathematicians, and it includes lots of very cute proofs. I've studied a lot of math (I have a PhD in physics), but I found much in this book that was fresh, nontrivial, and always enjoyable. It may be misleading to think of this as a "popular" math book.

Terrific, Witty, and Informative Book on Mathematics

Dunham has done a marvelous job of marching through the alphabet with clever proofs, interesting concepts, and funny moments of mathematics. Throughout the book, he flaunts his wit and guides any realms into the realms of number theory, geometry, algebra, and calculus. If you have any interest whatsoever in math, I would recommend buying this book immediately. Its illustration of the quirkiness of its practitioners and the beauty of its practice are worth the reading.