bowman 's review for:

The Joy of x: A Guided Tour of Math, from One to Infinity by Steven Strogatz

3.0

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I'm familiar with many mathematical subjects, so I'm sure my opinion on this book differs from someone whose math education ends in high school, but I found the first (roughly) half of the book a little... unsatisfying. Strogatz starts off strong in every chapter, but then sort of half-explains everything (I guess that might be the only way to make it digestible?). There are a few paragraphs where he sort of teases that he'll explain something in detail, then cuts himself off and moves on to a (usually good and understandable) metaphor or comparison or anecdote. However, the back of the book is chock full to the brim with discussions, links and citations that if one is willing to do a little digging, are really interesting and informative (I did spend a good hour going down the Gibbs phenomenon rabbithole thanks to Strogatz's tips). My opinion is skewed in favor of the Fourier stuff, infinity, topology, etc, just because those are the last subjects I learned before graduating and dropping out of the math world, so I enjoyed the last chapter the most. I'd love to read a similar book focused on topics I found more complex and interesting, like... "Strogatz's Abstract Algebra for Dummies" or something like that.