Math Through the Ages: A Gentle History for Teachers and Others (Dover Books on Mathematics)

"This is a beautiful, important book, a pleasure to read, in which the history recounted truly illuminates the mathematical ideas, and the ideas themselves are superbly explained; a wonderful accomplishment." — Barry Mazur, Harvard University

Designed for students just beginning their study of the discipline, this concise introductory history of mathematics is supplemented by brief but in-depth sketches of the more important individual topics. Covering such subjects as algebra symbols, negative numbers, the metric system, quadratic equations, and much more, this widely adopted work invites and encourages further study of mathematics.

"Math Through the Ages is a treasure, one of the best history of math books at its level ever written. Somehow, it manages to stay true to a surprisingly sophisticated story, while respecting the needs of its audience. Its overview of the subject captures most of what one needs to know, and the 30 sketches are small gems of exposition that stimulate further exploration." — Glen Van Brummelen, Quest University