Mathematical Adventures is a beautiful, lively journey through history that puts the mathematics we do at school in context. Elegantly illustrated and sparingly written, it is suitable for anybody over 10.
Mathematics, like everything else, needs rooting in everyday life, in the excitement of discoveries past, in cultural shifts and past achievements. Taught without that context, there is a danger of the “why-do-we-study-this” question turning students off. Readers of this wonderful book will never be in such danger. Even better, in the later chapters the book opens reader’s minds to the wider wonderful world of mathematics.
This book aspires to give a glimpse into how things started and evolved, and how mathematics can help us from simple measurements to navigating ourselves using mathematically simplified tube maps.
The stories come up roughly in a chronological order and the accompanying activities (some easier and some more challenging ones) aim to get you engaged with what was happening at a given time. There are answers and explanations about all tasks in the end of the book.
Chalkdust Readers’ Choice 2020
Tarquin Publications