Much of David Acheson’s accessible overview of some of the highpoints of mathematics is delightful and even amazing. There is something startling about seeing the beauty of a proof for a theorem for the first time. And whether it is Pythagoras or Pi or e or i, the story of discovery in the history of the subject lends support to belief that we (well, some smart people at least) may be able to solve almost any problem, even problems we don’t even imagine yet. Acheson catches this enthusiasm nicely.

The risk, of course, for anyone of Acheson’s mathematical prowess writing for the general public is that almost anything that might be included in such a book will be seen as “simple” by him. Indeed, whether it is the following simple example, or something that can be seen simply, or by performing some simple algebra, the general reader rather quickly gets the impression that it is they themselves who are simple. That’s not really a complaint. No one reads a book like this hoping to learn that mathematicians are no more clever than the rest of us. We read it, I suspect, to be amazed. And for the most part, I was.

Gently recommended. ( )

A very interesting book written by a Mathematician for the general public. Everyone can enjoy the book; no strong Mathematics background is required. With a little knowledge of Calculus, you can explore the whole journey created by the author. ( )

Great fun, chapters are short and easy to read. ( )

A nice very short book. Suitable for someone at O level or above. ( )

Minireview: This slight volume, both slim and small, introduces some of the central ideas and most famous results of mathematics, focusing on methods of proof and interesting applications. Few details are given for any topic, but the prose is clean and clear. I appreciated the book as someone who was already familiar with most of the main ideas, but I'm not sure how much a true novice would get out of it. ( )