In one of those coincidences that mathematicians themselves would say probability theory was designed to fathom, October will see the publication of two new books dealing with the history of mathematics. McLeish (Mathematics/Victoria Univ., B.C.) chooses the straightforward historical approach, from preliterate to ancient to contemporary societies, providing plenty of examples of exactly how the Maya or the Mesopotamians calculated, or how modern computers do today. John D. Barrow (reviewed above) also covers the tally sticks and finger-counting of early days, but his focus is more on the foundations of mathematics, the paradoxes and conceptual conundrums that have given rise to 20th-century angst. Both McLeish and Barrow decry the baleful influence of Greek and later Christian antiscientific attitudes that plunged the West into the Dark Ages while Indian and Arab mathematics flourished. McLeish adds interesting examples of Hebrew probabilistic thinking and logic in the Talmudic tradition. He then proceeds to the development of modern mathematics through the work of Newton, Napier, Babbage, and Boole down to the computer age. His and Barrow's books complement and supplement each other, with McLeish more concerned with the how, Barrow with the why. Neither McLeish nor Barrow seems terribly taken with computers. Somehow, both would agree, mathematics is larger than that—as evidenced in this informative book.
Pub Date: Oct. 21, 1992
ISBN: 0-449-90693-0
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1992
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
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