You mention maths to people and they either think Mental Abuse To Humans or run screaming from the room. But we are surrounded by numbers, they are in the things that we read, play a key role in everything we do online and the wonders of a simple cone.

In this book Bellos draws out the stories behind the numbers. We learn how simple triangulation allows us to move around the country with maps and sat nav. How exponential growth is the key number behind You Tube sensations and Catalan architecture. We meet those playing the game of life are beginning to understand the deepest complexities of life from a simple computer programme and how a simple mathematical law can catch the financial crook, and we discover just what peoples favourite number are.

It is a reasonably accessible book too, even for those that normal turn a paler shade when the word maths is mentioned. He does drift of into the delights of calculus in one chapter, but all of the others are well explained, understandable, and may even make you smile every now and again. ( )

Alex Bellos has a knack for whimsical book titles (his previous book was Here’s Looking at Euclid) and for making math interesting. In The Grapes of Math, he covers a wide range of only tangentially (get it?) related topics like how parabolas differ from catenaries, the area under a cycloid, and an understandable derivation of Euler’s almost mystical eponymous equation. The transcendental numbers pi, e, and i each gets its own chapter along with a succinct, lucid explication of the nature and history of calculus. This is a fun romp for anyone who did well in advanced algebra.

(JAB) ( )

Imagine life without a number line. I had never considered the idea before this book. The Grapes of Math is a really fun and interesting read. I picked it up between other books and read pieces at a time, and almost every time, it made me happy.

I loved learning the history and context of the concepts presented. I now have a better understanding and appreciation for those concepts.

Note: I am not a mathematician, but I took a few math courses (2 calculus, a linear algebra, lots of statistics) in college (more than a decade ago) and find math interesting. There were a few parts that were a bit too technical for me, but for the most part I didn't have a problem following and enjoying the writing.

First Sentence: Jerry Newport asked me to pick a four-digit number.
Favorite Sentence: The i's pop out, leaving a term that even the Greeks would understand.

( )

Another math book from Alex Bellos, The Grapes of Math takes the reader through a history of the great achievements of mathematics – and the often flamboyant personalities who helped them along – starting from the basics and working its way to calculus and on.

This one did not quite grab me as much as his previous novel, Here’s Looking at Euclid, if only because Bellos has a habit of defining the very simple and then jumping to the very complex with no intermediate step. I only finished through calculus in school (which was quite some time ago), but even I remembered the basics of SOH-CAH-TOA and what an exponent is, but Bellos still defined them in aching detail. Part of this was necessary, I’ll admit, but it did feel a bit elementary – until it suddenly didn’t. Even the parts that I understood seemed convoluted.

That said, Bellos includes wonderful details about historic personages, including a few very funny anecdotes and some ego-driven feuds, and has an adorable narration voice (if you skipped the references or dedication page, go back for gems like, “According to David Bellos, professor of French at Princeton and the author’s dad…” (320), which is just too cute for words). I was also excited when he mentioned the Poincare Conjecture, having just read [b:Perfect Rigor: A Genius and the Mathematical Breakthrough of the Century|6684592|Perfect Rigor A Genius and the Mathematical Breakthrough of the Century|Masha Gessen|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1391802454s/6684592.jpg|6879898] by [a:Masha Gessen|24695|Masha Gessen|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1291557798p2/24695.jpg] on the eccentric man behind its solution, Grigori Perelman – it was like running into a friend unexpectedly.

Toward the end, when he began getting into the Game of Life (not the board game) and imaginary numbers, the text was fascinating – but the beginning was a bit of a slog to anyone who remembers even the rudiments of their old classes. ( )

Another math book from Alex Bellos, The Grapes of Math takes the reader through a history of the great achievements of mathematics – and the often flamboyant personalities who helped them along – starting from the basics and working its way to calculus and on.

This one did not quite grab me as much as his previous novel, Here’s Looking at Euclid, if only because Bellos has a habit of defining the very simple and then jumping to the very complex with no intermediate step. I only finished through calculus in school (which was quite some time ago), but even I remembered the basics of SOH-CAH-TOA and what an exponent is, but Bellos still defined them in aching detail. Part of this was necessary, I’ll admit, but it did feel a bit elementary – until it suddenly didn’t. Even the parts that I understood seemed convoluted.

That said, Bellos includes wonderful details about historic personages, including a few very funny anecdotes and some ego-driven feuds, and has an adorable narration voice (if you skipped the references or dedication page, go back for gems like, “According to David Bellos, professor of French at Princeton and the author’s dad…” (320), which is just too cute for words). I was also excited when he mentioned the Poincare Conjecture, having just read [b:Perfect Rigor: A Genius and the Mathematical Breakthrough of the Century|6684592|Perfect Rigor A Genius and the Mathematical Breakthrough of the Century|Masha Gessen|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1391802454s/6684592.jpg|6879898] by [a:Masha Gessen|24695|Masha Gessen|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1291557798p2/24695.jpg] on the eccentric man behind its solution, Grigori Perelman – it was like running into a friend unexpectedly.

Toward the end, when he began getting into the Game of Life (not the board game) and imaginary numbers, the text was fascinating – but the beginning was a bit of a slog to anyone who remembers even the rudiments of their old classes. ( )