My Favourite Maths Books
A Mathematician's Apology 🔗
by G. H. Hardy
A haunting look at a retiring mathematician who knows he is past his prime. For those who have never experienced advanced maths this is a wonderful short book that hints at the poetry and beauty involved.
Fermat's Last Theorum 🔗
by Simon Singh
This is what rockstar maths looks like - being lonely and scared for 10 years followed by depression and then immortality. The story of how one of the most famous problems ever was solved by a single genius. Fascinating reading. Made me cry.
Gödel, Escher, Bach 🔗
by Douglas R. Hofstadter
This book is sort of about Godel's incompleteness theorem. It also changed my life. I'm not kidding! Technically challenging for most non-maths people I think but still accessible with work. Did I mention it changed my life?
Logicomix 🔗
by Apostolos Doxiadis
If there was ever a maths superhero, Bertrand Russell might be right up there. This comic is funny, moving, emotional and accessible. Everyone should read this, regardless of how much you like maths.
Uncle Petros and Goldbach's Conjecture 🔗
by Apostolos Doxiadis
A novel by the same guy behind Logicomix. This is a bit more mathsy but also a cracking story. More about sense of purpose, redemption and the quest for knowledge than it is about maths.
Flatland 🔗
by Edwin A Abbott
A delightful little story about a two dimensional object wrestling with the concept of three dimensions. Poetic.