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The Saga of Mathematics: A Brief History
For undergraduate-level courses in the History of Mathematics, or Liberal Arts Mathematics. Perfect for the non-math major, this inexpensive paperback text uses lively language to put mathematics in an interesting, historical context and points out the many links to art, philosophy, music, computers, navigation, science, and technology. The arithmetic, algebra, and geometry are presented in a way that makes them relevant to daily life as well as larger issues.
- GenresMathematicsHistory
320 pages, Paperback
First published September 12, 2001
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April 24, 2016
This is my review on Amazon dated November 29, 2011:
I find this book an excellent choice FOR BOTH MATH MAJOR and NON-MAJOR students. It provides the former with a brief, well-written history of the most beautiful subject, which they can build on to pursue it further (if desired). The latter learn about it with ease thanks to the authors' style of writing, within historical context and with connections being made to other disciplines such as music, art, philosophy or technology.
Each chapter ends with EXERCISES intention of which is to check one's understanding of the presented material, and make one (more) comfortable with the interesting methods/procedures/algorithms introduced in particular chapter. Many of them are worked out at the end of the book.
One may find some big-name figures (along with their theorems or achievements, and even stories associated with them) missing in the book (such as Cardano/16th century, or the 19th century giants like Gauss and Cauchy), but make no mistake: the aim of the book is to give a peek into the history of mathematics, and I think the authors did a TERRIFIC job in this regard!
Knowing Marty Lewinter, one of the authors, in person (he had been my professor at Purchase College, NY during 2001-02), I surmise that WITTY REMARKS in the book are the product of his unmistakable style. ;-) (It had been a pleasure and honor to be your student, Marty!)
This textbook was one of the two assigned in the "History of Mathematics" course I had taken during my graduate studies at CUNY (2004-06). The other one was "Math through the Ages: A Gentle History for Teachers and Others" by William P. Berlinghoff and Fernando Q. Gouvea.
The only negative one may feel about the book is its current price on Amazon ($45.13). Yes, I would probably agree it is a bit expensive (in comparision with others); could be by 30-40% less.
Lastly, for those interested in the names/regions/periods covered:
Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia (Babylonia), Classical Greece (Thales, Pythagoras, Hippocrates, Euclid, Archimedes, Apollonius, Ptolemy), China (a short mention), India (Brahmagupta), Arabic World (Al Khwarizmi, Omar Khayyam), Medieval Europe (Fibonacci, Oresme, Luka Pacioli), 16th century (Copernicus, Brahe, Kepler, Galileo, Bacon), 17th century (Fermat, Pascal, Descartes, Newton, Leibniz), 18th century (Euler, Lagrange, Cramer), 19th century (Einstein), and 20th century (the computer age).
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I find this book an excellent choice FOR BOTH MATH MAJOR and NON-MAJOR students. It provides the former with a brief, well-written history of the most beautiful subject, which they can build on to pursue it further (if desired). The latter learn about it with ease thanks to the authors' style of writing, within historical context and with connections being made to other disciplines such as music, art, philosophy or technology.
Each chapter ends with EXERCISES intention of which is to check one's understanding of the presented material, and make one (more) comfortable with the interesting methods/procedures/algorithms introduced in particular chapter. Many of them are worked out at the end of the book.
One may find some big-name figures (along with their theorems or achievements, and even stories associated with them) missing in the book (such as Cardano/16th century, or the 19th century giants like Gauss and Cauchy), but make no mistake: the aim of the book is to give a peek into the history of mathematics, and I think the authors did a TERRIFIC job in this regard!
Knowing Marty Lewinter, one of the authors, in person (he had been my professor at Purchase College, NY during 2001-02), I surmise that WITTY REMARKS in the book are the product of his unmistakable style. ;-) (It had been a pleasure and honor to be your student, Marty!)
This textbook was one of the two assigned in the "History of Mathematics" course I had taken during my graduate studies at CUNY (2004-06). The other one was "Math through the Ages: A Gentle History for Teachers and Others" by William P. Berlinghoff and Fernando Q. Gouvea.
The only negative one may feel about the book is its current price on Amazon ($45.13). Yes, I would probably agree it is a bit expensive (in comparision with others); could be by 30-40% less.
Lastly, for those interested in the names/regions/periods covered:
Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia (Babylonia), Classical Greece (Thales, Pythagoras, Hippocrates, Euclid, Archimedes, Apollonius, Ptolemy), China (a short mention), India (Brahmagupta), Arabic World (Al Khwarizmi, Omar Khayyam), Medieval Europe (Fibonacci, Oresme, Luka Pacioli), 16th century (Copernicus, Brahe, Kepler, Galileo, Bacon), 17th century (Fermat, Pascal, Descartes, Newton, Leibniz), 18th century (Euler, Lagrange, Cramer), 19th century (Einstein), and 20th century (the computer age).
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