A Brief History of Mathematics: Complete Series

by Marcus du Sautoy

This ten-part history of mathematics reveals the personalities behind the the passions and rivalries of mathematicians struggling to get their ideas heard. Professor Marcus du Sautoy shows how these masters of abstraction find a role in the real world and proves that mathematics is the driving force behind modern science.

He explores the relationship between Newton and Leibniz, the men behind the calculus; looks at how the mathematics that Euler invented 200 years ago paved the way for the internet and discovers how Fourier transformed our understanding of heat, light and sound. In addition, he finds out how Galois' mathematics describes the particles that make up our universe, how Gaussian distribution underpins modern medicine, and how Riemann's maths helped Einstein with his theory of relativity. Finally, he introduces Cantor, who discovered infinite numbers; Poincaré, whose work gave rise to chaos theory; G.H. Hardy, whose work inspired the millions of codes that help to keep the internet safe, and Nicolas Bourbaki, the mathematician who never was.

The BBC Radio 4 series looking at the people who shaped modern mathematics, written and presented by Marcus du Sautoy.

Genres: Mathematics, Science, History, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Biography

Audible Audio

First published July 7, 2011

About the author

Marcus Peter Francis du Sautoy, OBE is the Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science and a Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford.

Reviews

[David Rubenstein · Rating 2 out of 5]

As the title of the book includes the word "brief", I suppose it delivers. The book is only available as an audiobook, divided into ten very short essays. Each essay gives a very BRIEF glimpse into the life and accomplishments of a famous mathematician. Perhaps this type of audiobook is good for someone for whom math, in school, "wasn't his thing." For me, each essay isn't enough to even be considered as a teaser. There is no depth here, not much insight. There is just enough here to wonder, "so what?"

[Bettie · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://bettie.booklikes.com/blog

[Tommy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was really fun! Less about the numbers and more about the people behind them. Some extraordinary stories - Paul Dirac, I mean really? Paul Erdös is my all time favourite mathematician, but this story really touched me. Some of the others live up to the image, but just the understanding of the under pinning of, well everything, that mathematics is. Ah, poor Abigail - I see a lot of primes in her future.

[Manethraen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Six word reviews

Mathemagical historical short bit of lovely

[Zack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of interesting little bits about mathematics here, lots of avenues of interest to follow down. The drama is hilarious. Yet the grand name doesn't suit quite fit with the parochial focus. And the claim that mathematics is the queen of the sciences, and that pure is better than applied is silly. Still, worth listening to

[Nghia Tran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leading the title with the word “brief” is entirely accurate 😂. This book is about 2-3 hours long on Audible, so if you are expecting something like “A Brief History of Time”, please adjust your expectations!

That said, it is beautiful done. The chapters explored small parts of math history well and spent enough time describing the subtle beauty of these histories that would please math lovers (who else would spend time reading about a history of mathematics?).

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

a quick audio book from the BBC Radio special. I enjoyed it .story format and not too in-depth. Found on Libby

[Marissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the beginnings of calculus to the applications of really large prime numbers in modern cryptography, this book gives — as the title implies — a very brief, high-level history of mathematics since the *discovery* of calculus. It pulled together scattered concepts I recall learning in undergrad and placed them all nicely in a timeline and eloquently built upon each one for the reader (listener) to understand how prior discoveries influenced the next generations of mathematicians to produce their own groundbreaking insights.

The simplicity in which the author explains advanced concepts that our entire world are built upon makes this book top tier.

[JenniferAustin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a delightful little collection of snippets about the history and impact of mathematics. It was originally a series of podcasts. I see that some people are annoyed that the segments are separated by a repeating bit of music, but I found that a helpful cue to stop and reflect. I found the energy and enthusiasm of Marcus du Sautoy charming. Segment after segment was a nudge to look up more on a mathematician and a mathematical idea!

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meant for non-mathy types, this does a great job at what it sought to do - talk about how a dozenish individual mathematicians affected their world. More interesting than one would probably expect. I learned a few new things, and considering how many history, mathematics, and history of mathematics courses that says something. Short enough that it won't overwhelm, and no one needs a math background to get what they're talking about, which is a big bonus.

[Aileen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to the audio book version but it felt like little mini podcasts so maybe that was the original format. It wasn't as in depth as I had hoped but not a bad place to start. It didn't cover very many different figures in mathematical history and was also very western-white-male-centric. Which is sad because the History of Maths is a very rich and varied history of time and place.

[Sierra · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a series of mini-lectures, each around 5-10 minutes long. In the audiobook, a musical intro is played between each lecture which got really annoying given the frequency. While maybe I should have anticipated this from the title, it is a *really* brief history. The audiobook was only ~2hr so while it was interesting, there wasn't much content.

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this to be a fun but short overview of some mathematicians' lives with limited applications noted. It gave a really nice perspective on the development of mathematics, helping me to realize how cutting-edge the standard math of today is.

[Jenny Webb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ten bits of math history that were interesting, and about which I knew very little. Well worth the read, and if you don’t enjoy math, don’t get that stop you. The author does a good job of breaking down complex abstract concepts into accessible and engaging bites.

[Arthur Ryman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to this as a series of BBC podcasts. Very entertaining. Nice historical review of math leading up to the current era. However, it is highly biased towards European math. Mostly omits ancient China, India, and the Arab world. I highly recommend it.

[Sarah Galvin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just wish it was not so very brief.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this so much more than I thought I would actually. And there are at least 2 parts I cannot wait to share with Jackson, my mini-math-genius.

[Cathy Wu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and sweet, accessible and well-explained. Good for a glimpse of the history of mathematics, before looking to other resources for more depth.

[Rachel Welton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most interesting.

[Rhiannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely wander through some of the mathematical greats. Still, a very masculine portrayal, despite all we know of women quietly working away in stem.

[Jeffrey Kent · Rating 5 out of 5]

love the story about all the interesting eccentric persons that developed the discipline. I was entertained.

[Gunnar Strand Jacobsen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring, with little depth.

[Eric Xia · Rating 1 out of 5]

No depth

[Oleksander Lysenko · Rating 4 out of 5]

Далебі короткий огляд історії математики кількох попередніх століть.

[Joshua · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brief is an understatement, but still a good look into some important mathematicians and their contributions.

[Mahmoud · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed it , but it's focoused on the 19th century mathematics and beyond.Mostly Europian mathematicians, ,nothing about the eras before.

[Allan Laal · Rating 2 out of 5]

very short and concise

I recommend reading these instead:

* Zero to Infinity: A History of Numbers - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9...
* Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...

[Donna Brown]

I am not a mathematician. I am not a scientist. I have studied a little of both but by and large my interest is a layman's one. I am, however, fascinated with history in all its forms, including the history of science, technology, medicine and - of course - mathematics.

'Beauty', 'elegance' and 'charm' are not words you would necessarily associate with this discipline but Marcus du Sautoy uses all of them and with great enthusiasm. I've thought of numbers and theories as many things but I'm not sure I'd ever considered that to a mathematician or scientist they could be beautiful. Yet I found it almost impossible not to get swept away on his love of numbers and how they can be used, manipulated and worked to bring almost miraculous advantages to our lives.

This was an excellent history of mathematics - short enough to remain fascinating to readers who don't want to explore the complexities of this area and simple enough for a layman to understand, without denigrating the hard work of the many talented and awe-inspiring geniuses mentioned within.

[Sheila · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't often read or listen to non fiction but what is it about maths?! Perhaps because I stopped my maths education at calculus, but this is an interesting, enthralling look at those famous mathematicians over the centuraries . It's good because you don't need to do the maths to understand or get soemthing out of this book, it explains to you why their theorems and findings are important today - be it the basis of Einstein's theory of Relativity or why our credict card details are safe on the internet because of the quirks of prime numbers. Intriguing read!

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book consists of 10 short snippets describing the life of some of the great mathematical minds. You do not need to be a math-geek (I'm certainly not one) to appreciate this book.

Also available online at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00sr...