Taming the Infinite The Story of Mathematics

By Ian Stewart

From ancient Babylon to the last great unsolved problems, Ian Stewart brings us his definitive history of mathematics. He explains each major development - from the first number systems to chaos theory - and considers how each affected society and changed everyday life forever.

He introduces all of the outstanding mathematicians of history, from the key Babylonians, Greeks and Egyptians, via Newton and Descartes, to Fermat, Babbage and Godel, and demystifies maths' key concepts without recourse to complicated formulae.