» Of Men and Numbers: The Story of the Great Mathematicians

Of Men and Numbers: The Story of the Great Mathematicians Reviews

Customer Rating:
Summary: E. T. Bell clone - shares his regrettable style
Comment: It is a pity that Jane Muir seems to have modeled her book on "Men of Mathematics" by E. T. Bell. Like him, she "embellishes" her biographies to the point of sacrificing historical accuracy. Unfortunately (from my point of view) she also shares some of Bell's anti-Christian sentiments. For example, in the section on Blaise Pascal, she portrays Pascal as a mentally ill religious lunatic. Naturally, in the section on Evariste Galois, the great mathematician Cauchy is made out to be a fool and a bigoted religious fanatic while Galois (a very unstable, self-destructive character if there ever was one) is made out to be the martyred hero!

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Customer Rating:
Summary: A brilliant book
Comment: I have been reading a lot of popular math/biography books, and this is one of the best books I have read. The way the author weaves history and math in a seamless manner is just awesome. Even the descriptions of the countries/cities where the mathematicians lived makes you want to grab a history textbook to know more.

P.S: You might be surprised by certain politically incorrect phrases like "we modern men", etc ...That is because this book was originally published in 1961

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Customer Rating:
Summary: "Of Men & Numbers by Jane Muir - A review
Comment: This is an ENJOYABLE book. I am not a mathematician, but came across this book by chance while looking for some specific explanations. The book was so interesting and well written that I stopped my research and read it through. I would characterize it roughly as a chronological explanation of the lives of the world's great mathematicians. It relates their lives and contributions to knowledge to those who lived before and after them. The author strikes a very nice balance between explanation of their environment and their contribution to knowledge (and its acceptance, rejection, or being ignored). Its all nicely woven together. The book gave me the feeling of getting just the right amount of detail and explanation with plenty of references for those who wish to study deeper on many subjects covered in the book. Try it. You'll like it. End of review

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Excellent non-technical book on the development of math!
Comment: This is an great book for anyone who has even a slight interest in mathematics. There are lots of references to interesting math ideas & concepts, but nothing overbearing or over-techincal. It doesn't read like a textbook at all. In fact, it reads like a biography - an intriguing look into the lives of famous mathematicians with plenty of math ideas to keep your mind going - all that can be understood with a minimal education in high school math. If there is anything to complain about the book, it is that sometimes it focuses too much on the lives of the mathematicians and not enough on their work (this is why I gave it 4 and not 5 stars). However, if you're into biographies AND math, then this is a must-read, 5-star book!

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