Review by Choice Review
Posamentier's purpose in writing this book is to turn readers on to pure mathematics. He is concerned about mathematical competence levels in society, mediocre math instruction, and quick-fix remediation of mathematics education problems. He believes that math must be presented as intrinsically interesting, not merely a handy tool for life. Accordingly, Posamentier (City Univ. of New York) has assembled about 125 articles of roughly two pages each on pure mathematics. Chapter themes include number theory, arithmetic, reasoning, algebra, geometry, paradoxes, and counting. Specific articles include irrational numbers, the Russian peasant's multiplication algorithm, working backwards, rationalizing denominators, proofs of the Pythagorean theorem, division by zero, and unsolved problems. Strengths of the book are the brevity of the articles, their independence from each other, an easy-to-read style, and good technical production. For a book that intends to convey the nature of pure mathematics, Posamentier's is far superior to many, which often involve long, difficult presentations on a single topic. For high school, four-year college, general public, and personal libraries. ^BSumming Up: Highly recommended. General readers; lower-division undergraduates through faculty. W. R. Lee Iowa State University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
