That's Maths II: A Ton of Wonders

by Peter Lynch

This collection of mathematical articles covers a broad range of delightful topics in pure and applied mathematics. It is written in an expository style, making it accessible to everyone with a general interest in mathematics. There are articles about renowned mathematicians and about the history of some key ideas in maths. The importance of mathematics in the modern world is illustrated by applications in engineering, technology, astronomy, music and the visual arts. Reading mathematics is best done in small steps. The articles are all short, and they can be read in arbitrary order. Some articles are purely descriptive. Others go deeper and are at a more advanced mathematical level. Approximately half the articles have appeared in the author's regular column "That's Maths" in The Irish Times. Others have been posted to his mathematical blog, thatsmaths.com. All articles have been fully revised for this book. This is the second collection under the rubric "That's Maths". The first collection, published in 2016, was very favourably reviewed. The author has succeeded in bringing out the amazing beauty of mathematics and its utility in so many areas of our lives. The book should be appreciated by anyone with an interest in mathematics and science. In particular, teachers of these subjects, at both school and university level, should find a wealth of material to supplement and invigorate their classes.

239 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2020

About the author

Peter Lynch is an American businessman and stock investor. Lynch graduated from Boston College in 1965 and earned a Master of Business Administration from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1968.

Lynch worked at Fidelity Investments where named head of the then obscure Magellan Fund which had $18 million in assets. By the time Lynch resigned as a fund manager in 1990, the fund had grown to more than $14 billion in assets with more than 1,000 individual stock positions. From 1977 until 1990, the Magellan fund averaged a 29.2% return and as of 2003 had the best 20-year return of any mutual fund ever.

Though he continues to work part-time as vice chairman of Fidelity Management & Research Co., the investment adviser arm of Fidelity Investments, spending most of his time mentoring young analysts, Peter Lynch focuses a great deal of time on philanthropy. He said he views philanthropy as a form of investment. He said he prefers to give money to support ideas that he thinks can spread.