Critics Corner

Reviews of books, websites, poster sets, movies, and other resources for learning and teaching the history of mathematics.

Discovering the Beauty of Science - Historic Texts at the Huntington Library

A math history class visits the 'Beautiful Science' exhibit at the Huntington Library in Southern California.

Historical Modules

A CD with eleven modules, each containing numerous activities designed to help secondary teachers use the history of mathematics to teach mathematics.

Review of Mathematics Emerging: A Sourcebook 1540-1900

Our reviewer praises the selection of excerpts, the use of facsimiles rather than transcriptions, and the commentary and English translation in this collection.

Awakening of Geometrical Thought in Early Culture

How does geometry begin? This work explores the origins of geometry in the work of artisans.

Famous Problems and Their Mathematicians

This resource consists of a series of 61 worksheets, each focused on a particular problem and related to a particular historical mathematical personality.

Unknown Quantity; A Real and Imaginary History of Algebra

A history of algebra from its early beginnings to the twentieth century.

Historical Topics for the Mathematics Classroom

This 1989 revision of the 1969 NCTM yearbook still provides wonderful suggestions for using the history of mathematics in the classroom.

The Pythagorean Theorem: A 4,000 Year History

A survey of this theorem's 4000 year history, with applications to many fields.

Archimedes: What Did He Do Besides Cry Eureka?

Archimedes' work, The Method, explained, along with many other important ideas of the great Greek geometer.