How can we be sure that Pythagoras's theorem is really true? Why is the 'angle in a semicircle' always 90 degrees? And how can tangents help determine the speed of a bullet? David Acheson takes the reader on a highly illustrated tour through the history of geometry, from ancient Greece to the present day. He emphasizes throughout elegant deduction and practical applications, and argues that geometry can offer the quickest route to the whole spirit of mathematics at its best. Along the way, we encounter the quirky and the unexpected, meet the great personalities involved, and uncover some of the loveliest surprises in mathematics.
David Acheson is an Emeritus Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford, and the University's first winner of a National Teaching Fellowship, in 2004. He was President of the Mathematical Association from 2010 to 2011, and now lectures widely on mathematics to young people and the general public. In 2013, Acheson was awarded an Honorary D.Sc. by the University of East Anglia for his outstanding work in the popularisation of mathematics. His books include 1089 and All That (OUP, 2002), and The Calculus Story, (OUP, 2017).
Title: The Wonder Book of Geometry: A Mathematical Story
Author: Acheson, David
ISBN: 9780198846383
Binding:
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Publication Date: 2020-10-22
Number of Pages: 288
Weight: 2.5980 kg
Everything was explained clearly and concisely so that the wonders of geometry could definitely be seen. * Jasmine Wootten, LMS Newsletter *
Don't Miss: The Wonder Book of Geometry is full of pretty surprises... * New Scientist *
Give this to a curious teenager and they will fall in love with geometry. * Alex Bellos *
David Acheson has set geometry free from the confines of stuffy textbooks and lets loose its potential to surprise and delight. Theres a rich and ancient history to be found in these pages, and a future for the field that extends beyond neat (yet elegant) equations. * BBC Science Focus, Books of the Year *
This is by far the most approachable book on geometry I've ever read, and I wish it had been around in my day... if you need to learn the basics of geometry for whatever reason (there must be several reasons, surely) then this blows every known textbook on the topic out of the water... The Wonder Book of Geometry does what it does wonderfully. Acheson has done a remarkable job. * Popular Science *
Anyone who has read David's earlier books will instantly recognise his almost playful style... I highly recommend it as a marvellous source book on geometry. * Ray Huntley, Mathematics in Schools *
There is no better tour guide to the wonders of geometry than the delightful David Acheson. * Matt Parker, author of Humble Pi: A Comedy of Maths Errors and Things to Make and Do in the Fourth Dimension *
