Category Archives: review

Book review: Tales of Impossibility

Posted on January 1, 2020 by Brent

[Disclosure of Material Connection: Princeton Press kindly provided me with a free review copy of this book. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own.] Tales of Impossibility: The 2000-Year Quest to Solve … Continue reading →

Posted in books, review | Tagged algebra, antiquity, circle, constructible, construction, cube, geometry, impossibility, polygon, problems, square, tales, trisect | 4 Comments

Book review: Opt Art

Posted on November 16, 2019 by Brent

[Disclosure of Material Connection: Princeton Press kindly provided me with a free review copy of this book. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own.] Opt Art: From Mathematical Optimization to Visual Design … Continue reading →

Posted in books, review | Tagged art, linear, opt, optimization | Comments Off

Book review: The Mathematics of Various Entertaining Subjects, Volume 3

Posted on October 31, 2019 by Brent

I have a bunch of books in the queue to review—I hope to begin writing these more regularly again! [Disclosure of Material Connection: Princeton Press kindly provided me with a free review copy of this book. I was not required … Continue reading →

Posted in books, review | Tagged book, entertaining, magic, mathematics, MOVES | Comments Off

Book review: An Illustrated Theory of Numbers

Posted on March 11, 2018 by Brent

[Disclosure of Material Connection: The AMS kindly provided me with a free review copy of this book. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own.] An Illustrated Theory of Numbers Martin H. Weissman … Continue reading →

Posted in books, review | Tagged book, diagrams, illustrated, number, textbook, theory | 1 Comment

Book reviews: The Joy of SET and Elements of Mathematics

Posted on March 14, 2017 by Brent

I have a couple of book reviews for you today! I finished both of these books recently and really enjoyed them. Though they are quite different, both gave me new ways to think about some topics I already knew, and … Continue reading →

Posted in books, review | Tagged book, elementary, game, Gordon, McMahon, review, SET, Stillwell | 1 Comment

Book review: Genius at Play

Posted on May 13, 2016 by Brent

Back in January I mentioned that I had been enjoying Siobhan Roberts’s new biography, Genius at Play: The Curious Mind of John Horton Conway. I finally finished it, and can now officially say that I really enjoyed it. This is … Continue reading →

Posted in books, people, review | Tagged biography, book, Conway, review | Comments Off

Book review: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

Posted on December 5, 2015 by Brent

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland: 150th Anniversary Edition Lewis Carroll Illustrated by Salvador Dalí Edited by Mark Burstein Princeton University Press, 2015 Recently Princeton University Press kindly sent me a review copy of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, recently republished in a … Continue reading →

Posted in books, review | Tagged Alice, Lewis, wonderland | 2 Comments

Book review: Guesstimation 2.0

Posted on March 30, 2013 by Brent

Guesstimation 2.0: Solving Today’s Problems on the Back of a NapkinLawrence Weinstein I got a review copy of this book, and initially decided I wasn’t going to review it—I hate those sorts of consulting-company-interview estimation problems, you know, like “what … Continue reading →

Posted in books, computation, review | Tagged book, estimation, guessing, review | Comments Off

Book review: Lauren Ipsum

Posted on February 9, 2013 by Brent

Lauren Ipsumstory by Carlos Bueno; illustrations by Ytaelena López I don’t quite remember how I first stumbled across the website for this little gem of a book, billing itself as “a story about computer science and other improbable things”. But … Continue reading →

Posted in books, computation, review, teaching | Tagged Alice in Wonderland, computer science, fun, ideas, Ipsum, Lauren | 1 Comment