Sunday, April 26, 2009

Fondly remembered titles in recreational math

It all started--I think--with Martin Gardner's Aha! books. They are what I would call "entry level drugs" of recreational mathematics. The titles are Aha! Gotcha: Paradoxes to Puzzle and Delight and Aha! Insight! This led to a long and continuing love affair and voyage of discovery into Gardner's many titles in recreational math.

Other recreational books we fondly remember:

Raymond Smullyan lots of titles in mathematical logic

Constance Reid From zero to infinity: what makes numbers interesting (Bruce Resnick's review here resonates well with our own family's memories of this book.)

George Gamow One Two Three Infinity
and the Mr. Tompkins books

Eli Maor e: the story of a number and To Infinity and Beyond.

Albers and Alexanderson: Mathematical People and Alberson, Alexanderson, and Reid: More Mathematical People

Douglas Hofstadter: Godel Escher Bach mathematical logic, art, and music

The Number Devil