Critics Corner

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

Math for Mystics

A book connecting mathematics to mysticism, but not recommended.

Great Moments in Mathematics Before 1650

A collection of short lectures by Howard Eves giving details on 20 important happenings in the history of mathematics before 1650.

Mathematics in India

A survey of over two thousand years of the history of mathematics on the Indian subcontinent.

Gauss: Titan of Science

Reprint of a classic biography of Gauss, with a new forward by Jeremy Gray.

Review of Agora

The movie Agora, about the mathematician Hypatia of Alexandria (c. 400 AD), is spectacular and intriguing but Hypatia should be portrayed as the hero she was.

To Infinity and Beyond

A cultural history of the infinite, from ancient to modern times, in which the author clarifies the conceptual underpinnings of this vast topic.

Thinking About Mathematics

An excellent book surveying the history of the philosophy of mathematics from the time of Plato to the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Math through the Ages

Where does pi come from? Why should we be interested in negative numbers, or square roots of negative numbers? How did people ever figure out the quadratic formula? A truly wonderful reference for teachers at all levels.

Unexpected Links between Egyptian and Babylonian Mathematics

This book demonstrates the relationship between the mathematics in some recently discovered Babylonian tablets and some standard problems from Egyptian mathematics.

Historic Women of Mathematics

Poster picturing five famous women, from Hypatia to Grace Hopper.