Six Math Essentials

by Terence Tao

Six Math Essentials by Terence Tao is a forthcoming title from Quanta Books.

Genres: Mathematics, Science

128 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication October 27, 2026

About the author

Terence "Terry" Tao FAA FRS (simplified Chinese: 陶哲轩; traditional Chinese: 陶哲軒; pinyin: Táo Zhéxuān) is an Australian-American mathematician who has worked in various areas of mathematics. He currently focuses on harmonic analysis, partial differential equations, algebraic combinatorics, arithmetic combinatorics, geometric combinatorics, compressed sensing and analytic number theory. As of 2015, he holds the James and Carol Collins chair in mathematics at the University of California, Los Angeles. Tao was a co-recipient of the 2006 Fields Medal and the 2014 Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics.

Reviews

[Christopher Walthorne]

An attempt to cash in on the Carlo Rovelli market. There are some interesting historical anecdotes about where mathematical principles come from, but Tao’s attempt to make mathematics accessible and fun falls short - whilst it starts off simple, he loses the reader by page 10, and ultimately, instead of being an enjoyable read, it becomes frustrating and boring. Maybe if Tao had approached this with the mindset of a high school teacher, rather than a Fields Medal winning academic, it may have worked, but instead of bolstering an interest in mathematics, this is far more likely to put readers off it.

[Bailey]

A simple but effective look into the world of math, its effectiveness and the ways in which it is crucial to our day to day lives.

I found this to be an interesting read, but nothing more than that, I think if it were a bit longer and maybe a tad more in depth I would have enjoyed it more.

[Venneh]

Dr. Tao does a fantastic job of explaining complex issues in mathematics in a way that myself, someone who is not very good at it, can understand and grasp what's being talked about. If you're wondering what's going on in the field today, this is a good way to get an easy overview.