Something of an oddity: Tahan, a Brazilian mathematician, casts a series of mathematical puzzles into the form of a continuous narrative describing the adventures of a 13th-century Persian mathematician, Beremiz Samir, secretary to a vizier in Baghdad. There are puzzles here about how to apportion an odd number of camels among three sons so that one receives half, the second a third, and the last a ninth; how to divide 21 casks of wine (seven full, seven half full, and seven empty) so that three friends get an equal number of casks and the same amount of wine—and there are variations on the theme involving pearls, apples, what have you. Tahan also includes asides on the lore of numbers—``perfect'' numbers (equal to the sum of their divisors, excluding the numbers themselves), numerical ``friends,'' magic squares, the weird properties of the number 142,857, and so on. What is curious is the extent to which elements of Islam are woven into the ``plot''—with quotes from the Koran, epigrams, and idealistic statements—as well as brief takes on the history of mathematics. It's also apparent that, for Tahan, mathematics is to be appreciated as a pursuit of pure reason without regard to practical applications. The final test of Beremiz's power consists of seven trials, including a typical truth-teller-vs.-liar puzzle. Our hero triumphs, of course, and asks as his reward the fair Telassim, with whom he lives happily ever after (avoiding the Mongol conquest of Baghdad by moving to Constantinople). A good bet for puzzlers and budding math students. (Thirty- four drawings.)
Pub Date: Jan. 25, 1993
ISBN: 0-393-03430-5
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Norton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 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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