The Maths That Made Us by Michael Brooks

The Maths That Made Us by Michael Brooks – how numbers created civilisation – was one of the books I received as a Christmas gift. I spotted the book somewhere and added it to my wishlist and completely forgot about it. My husband bought it and surprised me with it, as I completely forgot about this book. I like maths and this is a wonderful book, explaining why maths is important and also telling lots of stories about mathematicians.

Without any doubt, this is a 5 stars book. There are 8 chapters in the book, each covering a branch of mathematics, such as geometry or calculus. It is written in an easy to follow way which makes it a good read even for those who are not mathematically inclined. I loved the stories about mathematicians so much and I searched for a biography of Daniel Bernoulli. The family dynamic was so interesting.

I usually don’t include the blurb of the book, but I will this time:
Quadratic equations, Pythagoras’ theorem, imaginary numbers, and pi — you may remember studying these at school, but did anyone ever explain why? Never fear — bestselling science writer, and your new favourite maths teacher, Michael Brooks, is here to help. In The Maths That Made Us , Brooks reminds us of the wonders of how they enabled explorers to travel far across the seas and astronomers to map the heavens; how they won wars and halted the HIV epidemic; how they are responsible for the design of your home and almost everything in it, down to the smartphone in your pocket. His clear explanations of the maths that built our world, along with stories about where it came from and how it shaped human history, will engage and delight. From ancient Egyptian priests to the Apollo astronauts, and Babylonian tax collectors to juggling robots, join Brooks and his extraordinarily eccentric cast of characters in discovering how maths made us who we are today.

I recommend the book to both those who liked maths in school and to those who didn’t but read non-fiction. I think everyone would get something out of reading it.