Customer Rating: 
Summary: For math aficionados only
Comment: My 9 year old has great marks in math, but neither she nor I got much past the first chapter. The writing is complex and the stories of interest only to those who love number puzzles. My 13 year old boy was far more interested in this book. If your child is younger and they aren't fascinated by numerical puzzles, give it a miss.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Absolutely fabulous, never mind that it's 'obviously fake'
Comment: I absolutely loved this book! If I could afford it, I would be doling this out to my numerous young relatives at all gift-giving festivities. It is a good introduction for young people (and not so young)to mathematical curiosities such as magic squares, as well as probability and logic. Did you know that "diabolical" has another meaning?
It is also very, very good literary-wise. It is written in a style reminiscent of the 1001 Arabian Nights in that it has stories within a story within a story.
The sub-title "A Collection of Mathematical Adventures" belies the depth of the book. Beremiz Samir, the Calculator, does not just teach us number-crunching tricks, he also imparts to the reader a deep sense of equity (e.g. in the story about the division of bread, although through calculation he should have been compensated more, through compassion he shared equally) and social justice (e.g. read the story about halving a prisoner's life sentence).
At the end of the book, upon Beremiz Samir's marriage, the "author" aptly concludes that the best solution Beremiz found was not in mathematics, but in life and love.
My one sole grievance, as suggested by the title of this review, is that there are hints that the book was not written by an Arab Muslim and is 'obviously fake'. For example, in the introductory page, the "author" dates his introduction as 19 Ramadan 1321. If he was truly an Arab Muslim, he would have used the Hijri calendar year and written it 19 Ramadan 720.
Also, in one passage relating how cosmopolitan Baghdad was in the 13th century, reference is made to the Mohammedan, Jewish and Christian inhabitants. A Muslim would never refer to himself or his co-religionists as Mohammedan, but simply Muslim. It is, however, remarkably accurate elsewhere - like the number of times Jesus in mentioned in the Quran.
Though I would personally be glad if the minor hiccups would be edited off in the future, they are of relative insignificance. This book is a must-have!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great problems
Comment: The problems scattered through the story are mathematical classics. The story is plot and intrigue lite even for stories of the myth, legend, and fairy tale genre. However, the mathematical problems may be worth the price if you love mathematics or are looking for problems told in text.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Best introduction to math for kids
Comment: I would be a different person without this book. This is THE book that made me like math 35 years ago. Many (most?) educated Brazilians were exposed to this book and keep buying it for their kids.
The scenario shows only the good parts of Islam, making the story very "1001 Nights" like. Arabia is the right historic background to introduce math, as ancient Greece is apropriate to introduce geometry and so on.
When I recommended the book to the international school I help manage, I discovered that many families already had it - including at least one of the teachers. A must.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Good Book, but Not for School Use
Comment: I enjoyed reading this book, but would not use it in my middle-school classroom because of the overt religion in it, and the lack of cohesion for specific subjects. I guess I was just expecting something different.
Summary: For math aficionados only
Comment: My 9 year old has great marks in math, but neither she nor I got much past the first chapter. The writing is complex and the stories of interest only to those who love number puzzles. My 13 year old boy was far more interested in this book. If your child is younger and they aren't fascinated by numerical puzzles, give it a miss.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Absolutely fabulous, never mind that it's 'obviously fake'
Comment: I absolutely loved this book! If I could afford it, I would be doling this out to my numerous young relatives at all gift-giving festivities. It is a good introduction for young people (and not so young)to mathematical curiosities such as magic squares, as well as probability and logic. Did you know that "diabolical" has another meaning?
It is also very, very good literary-wise. It is written in a style reminiscent of the 1001 Arabian Nights in that it has stories within a story within a story.
The sub-title "A Collection of Mathematical Adventures" belies the depth of the book. Beremiz Samir, the Calculator, does not just teach us number-crunching tricks, he also imparts to the reader a deep sense of equity (e.g. in the story about the division of bread, although through calculation he should have been compensated more, through compassion he shared equally) and social justice (e.g. read the story about halving a prisoner's life sentence).
At the end of the book, upon Beremiz Samir's marriage, the "author" aptly concludes that the best solution Beremiz found was not in mathematics, but in life and love.
My one sole grievance, as suggested by the title of this review, is that there are hints that the book was not written by an Arab Muslim and is 'obviously fake'. For example, in the introductory page, the "author" dates his introduction as 19 Ramadan 1321. If he was truly an Arab Muslim, he would have used the Hijri calendar year and written it 19 Ramadan 720.
Also, in one passage relating how cosmopolitan Baghdad was in the 13th century, reference is made to the Mohammedan, Jewish and Christian inhabitants. A Muslim would never refer to himself or his co-religionists as Mohammedan, but simply Muslim. It is, however, remarkably accurate elsewhere - like the number of times Jesus in mentioned in the Quran.
Though I would personally be glad if the minor hiccups would be edited off in the future, they are of relative insignificance. This book is a must-have!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great problems
Comment: The problems scattered through the story are mathematical classics. The story is plot and intrigue lite even for stories of the myth, legend, and fairy tale genre. However, the mathematical problems may be worth the price if you love mathematics or are looking for problems told in text.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Best introduction to math for kids
Comment: I would be a different person without this book. This is THE book that made me like math 35 years ago. Many (most?) educated Brazilians were exposed to this book and keep buying it for their kids.
The scenario shows only the good parts of Islam, making the story very "1001 Nights" like. Arabia is the right historic background to introduce math, as ancient Greece is apropriate to introduce geometry and so on.
When I recommended the book to the international school I help manage, I discovered that many families already had it - including at least one of the teachers. A must.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Good Book, but Not for School Use
Comment: I enjoyed reading this book, but would not use it in my middle-school classroom because of the overt religion in it, and the lack of cohesion for specific subjects. I guess I was just expecting something different.