Product Description

From ancient Babylon to the last great unsolved problems, Ian Stewart brings us his definitive history of mathematics. In his famous straightforward style, Professor Stewart explains each major development - from the first number systems to chaos theory - and considers how each affected society and changed everyday life forever. Maintaining a personal touch, he introduces all of the outstanding mathematicians of history, from the key Babylonians, Greeks and Egyptians, via Newton and Descartes, to Fermat, Babbage and Godel, and demystifies maths' key concepts without recourse to complicated formulae. Written to provide a captivating historic narrative for the non-mathematician, Taming the Infinite: The Story of Mathematics is packed with fascinating nuggets and quirky asides, and contains 100 illustrations and diagrams to illuminate and aid understanding of a subject many dread, but which has made our world what it is today.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #12377 in Books
• Published on: 2009-09-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

About the Author
Professor Ian Stewart is a world renowned popularizer of mathematics, having won many awards for furthering public understanding of science, including the Royal Society's Michael Faraday Medal and the Gold Medal of the Institute for Mathematics. He is the author of over 20 popular science and mathematics titles including Does God Play Dice?, Nature's Numbers (shortlisted for the 1996 Rhone-Poulenc Prize), Life's Other Secret and Flatterland, which was in the top 20 Bestseller List in the USA. Professor Stewart is the mathematics consultant for New Scientist, and has been a consultant for Encyclopaedia Britannica. From 1990 to 2001 he wrote the 'Mathematical Recreations' column in Scientific American. He is an active research mathematician with over 160 published papers and is currently Professor of Mathematics at Warwick University where he is Director of the Mathematics Awareness Centre. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2001.

Customer Reviews

Review of `Taming The Infinite' by Ian Stewart
This is a fantastic book on the history and applications of mathematics. It starts with Hindu Arabic numerals and ends with Chaos Theory. Of course every major mathematical theorem or topic during this period could not be stated in a book of this size and as the author states he had to be selective. My only complaint about the selection is the lack of `linear algebra' because it is perhaps the second most (first being calculus) powerful mathematical tool ever invented.
To fully appreciate this book you must have a reasonable mathematical ability such as a good pass at Further Mathematics A level or equivalent.
Stewart does write in a way that will appeal to most readers and also you can dip into any chapter without digesting the previous chapters. The author has hit the right tone and progression.
A lot of research and time must have been invested into writing this book because of the coverage of applications, the history behind important mathematical developments, profiles of the leading mathematicians etc. I really do like the broad range of mathematical applications throughout the book. The author explains where differential equations are used in the field of physics and modern technology such as radio, tv and commercial jet aircraft and how important Navier Stokes Equation is in fluid mechanics. It goes on to explain where coordinate geometry and trigonometry are used in real life such as graphics, stock market fluctuations, navigation, surveying etc. This is an excellent resource for any A level mathematics teacher who wants to inspire his/her pupils.
The history of mathematics starts with the Hindu Arabic numerals and how they were brought to Europe by Fibonacci. It highlights major historical figures in the mathematics by placing a brief biography in a light shaded grey with an image of the mathematician. However I did not find this sort of feature for Leibniz which is a serious omission since he and Newton founded calculus.
I found the following minor typos:
1. Page 73 the result `sin(theta/2)=sqrt(1-cos(theta))/2' should be `sin(theta/2)=sqrt(1-cos(theta)/2)'.
2. On page 156 the statement of Riemann Hypothesis should read `complex zeros lie on the line z=1/2 plus or minus it' not `z=1/2 plus it'.
3. Page 260 the statement is written `x(t+3)' should be `x(t+ epsilon)'.
This is an excellent book and would recommend that anybody interested in mathematics should purchase this book. The book is a fantastic resource for any college or university library.
Kuldeep Singh
Sunday, 12 April 2009

Mugwump
Great build up on enticement page but leaves cunning mathematical voids or rather assumption of great leaps in comparative logic which takes me back to my first term at Dartmouth in 1945 with HKP, fruity Prout, he of the tenor voice who sang G & S's Rataplan (and had solved Pi to something lihe 59 places) "I'm a military man" but couln't penetrate literary minds with what he was demonstrating with a flagstaff and a sextant to find the solution for tan. Oh hades oh mores. I have yet to find the easy and perfect solution. Who can give me a suggestion?
Martin H