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Title: The Book of Numbers
ISBN: 038797993X
Author:
John H. Conway
Richard Guy
Publicate Date: 1995-03-16
Publish: 1995-03-16
List Price: $35.00
Average Customer Rating: 4.5
Format: Hardcover
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $12.47
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $12.48
Amazon Merchant Price: $23.10
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| Customer Review: |
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1: Heavier than I thought
I enjoyed reading this book very much. But I do not agree with the reviewers who say it does not require more than a highschool level in mathematics.
I have an M.Sc. degree in electrical engineering, so I can safely say I have a good knowlegde of mathematics, but still there were parts I didn't completely understand.
Maybe we don't have to understand it all at once, maybe this level is needed to keep it interesting. And interesting it was, right up to the last page. And after reading the last page, I would have loved to read more like it.
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2: A Fascination with Numbers
This is a marvelous book written by two very distinquished mathematicians with a knack for teaching and fascinating their readers. "The Book of Numbers" is a romantic text - Conway and Guy are truly in love with the subject and their passion is truly contagious. Enter, "The Book of Numbers" and plan on staying a while - not bceasue it is a difficult read but becasue you will have no desire to checkout. Truly enjoyable.
L J Petrillo
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3: Daughter of Jackson's Fans responds (Robert Jackson)
I have met one of the authors, Dr. John Conway, at Princeton University. Dr. Conway was consulted by my Father, Robert Jackson, of Jackson's Difference Fans,(a 1937 Princeton alumnus -Chemical Engineering with Honors). Although I, myself, am not a math inclined individual, the explanations found in various sections of the book have been used in the history courses I teach on the middle and high school grade levels. They are designed for the beginner and the advanced math intrigued mind.
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4: very nice, but wishing for a clean up
This is an 'almost done' type of book. I like the way the subject is handled. The pictures and the thoughts that go with them are really good food for thought. Still, when I read the text, I get the feeling that this book was rushed to press. One more review by the author could have helped. I get this feeling because the text does not always follow the illustrations. It neither does much to elaborate on them or to completely discuss what has been included.
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5: Gets off to a strong start
Conway and Guy start this book with an enticing survey of how numbers pervade the English language, showing the hidden (or not-so-hidden) numerical roots of common words. They also mention other numbering systems, including the Roman numerals, Greek, Egyptian, and cuneiform Babylonian - numbers that persist in our 60-based measures of minutes and seconds, in both time and angle.
Next, they move into squares, triangular numbers, and many others with rich geometric meanings. Chapters 1 and 2, especially, create vivid images that bring many of their concepts to life. I had a bit of trouble finding ch.3's focus. It touches briefly combinatorics, a world in itself, and difference techniques. I found "Jackson's Fan" fascinating, but too terse for easy application to real problems. After this, the going gets a lot tougher, fast.
By ch 4, "Famous Families," the illustration is no longer as vivid as before. Ch. 6, on fractions and decimal expansions also held some interest - it touches on complexity in the decimal forms of fractions, and the numeric roots from which it springs. The section on continued fractions is only just enough to titillate without really enlightening. Discussion of imaginary numbers is OK, and offers some enjoyable insights. The section on quaternions, though, does a lot less to invite personal involvement and stir the imagination. Later sections of the book present readable surveys of their topics, but require a lot more form the reader in the way of determination and mathematical background.
If the whole book sustained the initial energy, it would have been an instant classic. The later parts of the book were clear, readable, and even enjoyable, but didn't match the breadth or vividness of the first half. I enjoyed this, but I may not come back to it.
//wiredweird
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