You might think this is about textbooks,
well its not! When teachers get home from school the last thing they want to look at is the textbook. Featued below is a couple of my favorite math books to read (for fun). Some of them offer interesting backgrounds in numbers, theory, and why we do what we do. Some of these I have read, some are now on my list to read, and some look really good.
- The Number Devil, by Hans Magnus Enzensberger. The book is about a thrilling exploration. In twelve dreams, Robert, a boy who hates math. This is currently on the top of my list to read.
- Innumeracy, by John Allen Paulos. Why do well-educated people understand so little about mathematics? And what are the costs of our innumeracy? I haven't read this yet, but have seen it many times at the library.
- A History of Pi, by Petr Beckmann. I have read this book and have thoroughly been engaged by the mathematical side of pi. It is a small part of the history of mathematics and the mirror of the history of man.
- The Knot Book, by Colin C. Adams. The first book to make cutting-edge research in knot theory accessible to an audience. I have read this book and have even posed some of the questions to students in an Algebra class.
- The Mathematical Tourist, by Ivars Peterson. I just finished this book about a week ago, and offers insight on modern mathematics and its uses in todays society.
- Perfect Figures, by Bunny Crumpacker. Intoxicating trip through the history, poetry, and the suprising secret meanings of numbers. (There are plenty of books about this topic, this is the best I have ran across).
- The Lady Tasting Tea, by David Salsburg. An insightful, revealing history of the magical mathematics that transformed our world.
- The Parrot's Theorem, by Denis Guedj.
These are just a few of the books that I have found and some of the more interesting ones at that. But local college libraries have great books on mathematics and even some public libraries have books that you can't find at the college libraries.
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