A review by sloreader
Here's Looking at Euclid: A Surprising Excursion Through the Astonishing World of Math by Alex Bellos

4.0

Written as much for the closet math fan as the person who imagines he doesn't 'get' numbers, Here's Looking at Euclid exalts and explains its subject in equal measure. Not that much explanation is ever necessary, as this tour goes exclusively to mathematics' most scenic areas and stays away from the rough parts entirely. The author Alex Bellos is a amateur math enthusiast but a full-time journalist, and he includes as many visits to colorful people and exotic locations as he does to the blackboard. Bellos has a real enthusiasm for math that comes through the page (exemplified by one line, "The delights of the harmonic series are profuse, so let's have some more fun with it.") Besides, the characters he interviews, including puzzle-makers, a slide rule collector and a Hindu spiritual leader who espouses Vedic math, are almost as big stars as the equations and transcendental numbers themselves. And there are some indispensable sections too, in particular the 1-2 punch of probability and statistics, two often ill-understood, but inescapable, subjects.