Shortlisted for the Galaxy Non-Fiction Book of the Year 2010.
This is a richly entertaining and accessible book, in which Alex Bellos explodes the myth that maths is best left to the geeks. Covering subjects from adding to algebra, from set theory to statistics, and from logarithms to logical paradoxes, he explains how mathematical ideas underpin just about everything in our lives. Alex explains the surprising geometry of the 50p piece, and the strategy of how best to gamble it in a casino. He shines a light on the mathematical patterns in nature, and on the peculiar predictability of random behaviour. He eats a potato crisp whose revolutionary shape was unpalatable to the ancient Greeks, and he shows the deep connections between maths, religion and philosophy.
A tenth anniversary edition of the iconic book about the wonderful world of maths
Sunday Times bestseller | Shortlisted for the BBC Samuel Johnson Prize
'Original and highly entertaining'Sunday Times 'A page turner about humanity's strange, never easy and, above all, never dull relationship with numbers' New Scientist 'Will leave you hooked on numbers' Daily Telegraph
In this richly entertaining and accessible book, Alex Bellos explodes the myth that maths is best left to the geeks, and demonstrates the remarkable ways it's linked to our everyday lives.
Alex explains the surprising geometry of the 50p piece, and the strategy of how best to gamble it in a casino. He shines a light on the mathematical patterns in nature, and on the peculiar predictability of random behaviour. He eats a potato crisp whose revolutionary shape was unpalatable to the ancient Greeks, and he shows the deep connections between maths, religion and philosophy.
From the world's fastest mental calculators in Germany to numerologists in the US desert, from a startlingly numerate chimpanzee in Japan to venerable Hindu sages in India, these dispatches from 'Numberland' are an unlikely but exhilarating cocktail of history, reportage and mathematical proofs. The world of maths is a much friendlier and more colourful place than you might have imagined.
This anniversary edition is fully revised and updated.
'Alex's enthusiasm for mathematics shines from every page... deserves to become an instant classic' Ian Stewart, author of PROFESSOR STEWART'S CABINET OF MATHEMATICALCURIOSITIES
'An unforgettable journey of intellectual discovery, a true transcultural Magical Mystery Tour' Apostolos Doxiadis, author of LOGICOMIX and UNCLE PETROS AND GOLDBACH'S CONJECTURE
'A truly marvellous survey of modern mathematics... a book that would have delighted Lewis Carroll' Martin Gardner, for more than 25 years author of the 'Mathematical Games' column in Scientific American
Author
About Alex Bellos
Alex Bellos is a reporter for the Observer and the Guardian in Rio de Janeiro.
Futebol: The Brazilian Way of Life captures the romance and the passion of Brazil. 'Football is how the world sees Brazil and how Brazilians see themselves.' The art, the players, the myths, the legends, the teams, the history, the supporters, the heartbreaks — the book traces the past and the present of a game which symbolises the racial harmony, flamboyance, youth, innovation and skill of Latin America's largest country. It was shortlisted for the WH Smith Sports Book of the Year and was nominated for the 2004 British Book Awards.
