Review of “Here’s Looking at Euclid” by Alex Bellos

Note: This review is by my husband Jim.

There are many books that popularize mathematics by retelling improbable anecdotes about famous mathematicians or by proving counter-intuitive propositions. Few are as amusing, entertaining, or downright clever as Here’s Looking at Euclid, aptly subtitled “A Surprising Excursion through the Astonishing World of Math.”

The book consists of a series of not very closely related mathematical topics, lucidly presented. As such, it lends itself to occasional sampling rather than being read straight through. I myself read it a few pages at a time over a period of a month and a half.

It contains many interesting anecdotes, such as a chapter on a remarkable chimpanzee who can count up to nine and can identify the appropriate symbol for each of the first nine digits and put them in the correct order. She has significant problems with where the number zero fits in the order, however, even though she seems to know that zero mean no objects. In addition, there are chapters on randomness, interesting sequences or progressions, the decimal expansion of pi, hyperbolic space, and infinity, all of which have surprising properties that Bellos perspicuously explicates.

Evaluation: This is a fun, breezy read that you do not need a Ph.D. in math to enjoy.

Rating: 3.5/5

Published by Simon & Schuster, 2010