The Prince of Mathematics: Carl Friedrich Gauss

by M.B.W. Tent

Learn about the boy who - could read and add numbers when he was three years old, - thwarted his teacher by finding a quick and easy way to sum the numbers 1-100, - attracted the attention of a Duke with his genius, and became the man who... - predicted the reappearance of a lost planet, - discovered basic properties of magnetic forces, - invented a surveying tool used by professionals until the invention of lasers. Based on extensive research of original and secondary sources, this historical narrative will inspire young readers and even curious adults with its touching story of personal achievement.

Genres: Biography, Science, Mathematics, History, Nonfiction, Ebooks, Physics

237 pages, Hardcover

First published January 30, 2006

Reviews

[Hildur · Rating 1 out of 5]

What I wanted from this book was more information about Gauss's discoveries, but it barely scraped the surface. Instead it's mostly filler material: fake conversations, useless trivia etc.

The characters keep saying "I wonder if -this- and -that- will happen in the future", for instance motorized carriages and other things that have been discovered since then. Also, when Gauss's wife gave birth to an above average sized child, the author added that nowadays people would have linked the large size of the kid with the mother having diabetes. Those two are examples of the sort of useless filler material that got me really frustrated. Gauss did a lot of cool things and this book barely mentions most of them.

It reads like both a below-average book that's been written for kids as well as one that's for adults, but has been badly translated. It was just awful and not worth my time even if the book was short.

[John Korniotakis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a brief description about the life of one of the greatest mathematicians that ever walked on Earth: Carl Friedrich Gauss... The author begins describing Gauss's family from an early stage; when he was still in elementary school. He describes how his family treated his talent in Maths, how Carl advanced in his education, his love interests, his life with his children and at last, his death... This is a must-read for everyone, because this book tells the story of one of the greatest men ever alive...

[Dimitris Gabriel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Εκπληκτική γραφή, μια ωραία ιστορία από την αρχή μέχρι το τέλος, ένας από τους λίγους μαθηματικούς που δεν κατέληξε αλλοπαρμένος, μια προσωπικότητα με πολλά ενδιαφέροντα και ασχολίες, ένας νους που ασχολιόταν με τα γιατί και τα πως. Θα μπορούσε να ήταν το είδωλο της εποχής

[Jean-Marc Krikorian · Rating 3 out of 5]

In reading some of the other books on mathematics I've been reading of late, Carl Frederich Gauss' name came up often and I was eager to learn more about him. Sadly, very few books exist on him (biographies that is).



The book was interesting those it is somewhat fictional especially with the fake dialogues that occur between Gauss and other people in his life. Also, many of those dialogues were somewhat "silly".



Aside from this gripe the book was engaging and a quick read. It's amazing to learn how many discoveries Gauss had in the fields of mathematics, astronomy, surveying and other disciplines. A veritable genius who was well-known and respected during his lifetime.

[Antonia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely magnificent and highly digestible read, with accurate and extensive information on Gauss' life, skills, and work. It flows like a common book, but is something more than just a story. I enjoyed it to the greatest extent. Highly recommended to people interested in Maths and History. My only "concern", if I could use these exact words, is that I'd love it slightly more if it included more details on the actual mathematical processes Gauss worked on. But I guess this would go out of the limits of a creative biography.

[Angie Libert · Rating 4 out of 5]

The actual retelling of "Fred" from Life of Fred! I loved it and so did the kids. His life was absolutely inspirational. He was so blessed to have had the opportunity to live out his life passion and effect such beautiful changes in our world. I also loved that he told his mother early in his life what he wanted and then he got it. A fabulous Law of Attraction story. I was in tears several times through the story.

[Elisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book if you are interested in maths and biographies.

[Konrad · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is clearly meant for younger readers, which the blurb unfortunately neglects to mention. The fake dialog felt really ridiculous at first, but it grew on me, somehow. The author also made up for it with quotations that must have been drawn from actual correspondence. I look forward to learning more about Gauss! ("Measuring the World"/"Die Vermessung der Welt", also written in the form of a novel, is what I plan to check out next.)

[Ms · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would expect a deeper presentation of the math achievements e.g. a reference to the Gaussian distribution or to other significant theorems he proved. On the other hand, the description of his life is very well presented but I don't think that this is enough for one of the greatest mathematicians of the world.

[Ronan2212 · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book does a good enough job at detailing the key events in Gauss’ life, but it is written as if it were meant to be for children. It could have also been longer, providing more examples of Gauss’ wide range of accomplishments in greater depth.

[miffythereader · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can’t believe Gauss, Laplace, and Möbius had existed together. 😍

[Todd Stapley · Rating 3 out of 5]

C

Feels like it was written for a child’s audience. Dialogue very contrived. Does review Gauss’ accomplishments and outlines his family, friends and career.

[Paul, · Rating 2 out of 5]

An amateur biography of Gauss written for math-inclined children. Quick read, kind of informative.

[William · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gauss for babies

[Jacob Antons · Rating 2 out of 5]

Such an easy read that I don’t really care that it didn’t go into what I wanted. Interesting enough but not technical enough.

[Rebeka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Μόλις το διάβασα και ήταν ένα από τα ωραιότερα βιβλία που έπεσαν στα χέρια μου, αν σκεφτεί κανείς ότι το διάβασα σε διάστημα λιγότερο της μιας εβδομάδας. Πρόκειται για ένα υπέροχο βιβλίο, κατάλληλο για τον καθένα γιατί τα Μαθηματικά που περιέχει είναι τόσο απλά γραμμένα.
Αυτό που με εντυπωσίασε είναι η απλότητα αυτού του μεγάλου Μαθηματικού, η ισορροπία στη ζωή του και ο μετριοπαθής χαρακτήρας του συνδυασμένος με την γνώση των ικανοτήτων του. Ένα πολύ ευχάριστο ανάγνωσμα, το οποίο συστήνω σε όλους ανεπιφύλακτα ... απόλυτα δικαιολογημένη η ονομασία που του δόθηκε ως "Ο Πρίγκιπας των Μαθηματικών". Κατάφερε να με συγκινήσει και πραγματικά άξιζε το χρόνο που του αφιέρωσα !!!

[Kostas Kiousis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tent's writing is fluffy, still I learned a few things about Gauss. I'll try and find another book on him, though.

[Daniele Scaglione · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of Gauss is amazing, and to tell it as a fiction is a good idea. This book is a combination of these two elements, and the result is very good.

[Sid S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Legendary book for one of the legends of Math.