Math 629: History of Mathematics
Frank Sottile

Books Students plan to review this semester.

• Shellie Lynch, "Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics" by Liping Ma.
• Ezekiel McReynolds, "A Beautiful Mind"
• Cheryl Robinson, "Hidden Figures"
• Jacquelynn Worley, "A Mathematician's Apology" by GH Hardy.
• Xiaoyi Zhou, "Infinite Powers", by Steven Strogatz

Books Reviewed by Frank's Students in Past Terms

• "The History of Mathematics: Algebra, Sets, Symbols & The Language of Thought" by John Tabak
• "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
• "To infinity and Beyond: A Cultural History of the Infinite" by Eli Maor
• "Fermat’s Enigma" by Simon Singh
• "Taming the infinite", by Ian Stewart
• "The Ascent of Mary Somerville in 19th Century Society" By Elisabetta Strickland
• "Emmy Noether: The Mother of Modern Algebra" by M. B. W. Tent
• "Euclid's Window" by Leonard Mlodinow
• "An Imaginary Tale" by Paul J. Nahin
• "Alan Turing: The Enigma" by Andrew Hodges
• "How Mathematics Happened: The First 50,000 Years" by Peter S. Rudman
• "The Cult of Pythagoras: Math and Myths" by Alberto A. Martínez
• "Love and Math: The Heart of Hidden Reality" by Edward Frenkel
• "Everything and More: A Compact History of Infinity" by David Foster Wallace.
• "Infinitesimal; how a dangerous Mathematical Theory shaped the modern world" by Amir Alexander.
• "A Mathematician's Apology" by GH Hardy.
• "Flatland", by Edwin Abbott Abbott.
• "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shutterly.
• "A History of Chinese Mathematics," by Jean-Claude Nartzloff, ISBN10: 3-540-33782-2.
• "The Number Sense: How the Mind Creates Mathematics" by Stanislas Dehaene.
• "Riemann Hypothesis" by Karl Sabbagh.
• "A Beautiful Mind" by Sylvia Nassar.
• "The Man Who Loved Only Numbers" by Paul Hoffman.
• "e The Story of a Number" By Eli Maor.

Some additional Suggestions.

• Beautiful Geometry, by Eli Maor and Eugen Jost
• * Cakes, Custard and Category Theory, by Eugenia Cheng
• Capitalism and Arithmetic: The New Math of the 15th Century, by Frank Swetz
• Count Like an Egyptian: A Hands-On Introduction to Ancient Mathematics, by David Reimer
• The Cult of Pythagoras: Math and Myths, by Alberto A. Martínez
• Finding Zero: A Mathematician’s Odyssey to Uncover the Origins of Numbers, by Amir D. Aczel
• * How Not to Be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking, by Jordan Ellenberg
• * How To Bake Pi: An Edible Exploration of the Mathematics of Mathematics, by Eugenia Cheng
• The Man Who Knew Infinity: A Life of the Genius Ramanujan, by Robert Kanigel
• My Search for Ramanujan, by Ken Ono and Amir D. Aczel
• Prime Mystery: The Life and Mathematics of Sophie Germain, by Dora E. Musielak
• The Simpsons and Their Mathematical Secrets, by Simon Singh
• The Joy of X, by Steven Strogatz
• Infinite Powers, by Steven Strogatz