Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Paul Erdös For the Holidays?


"The Boy Who Loved Math: The Improbable Life of Paul Erdös," is a children's picture book that has been out for a couple of years... oddly enough, about the life of Paul Erdös ;-) ...no really, it is a bit odd that someone (Deborah Heiligman and LeUyen Pham) thought to make a children's book based on the eccentric life of a great mathematician.
Anyway, James Propp has a fabulous new and extended review of the volume (great job covering the book and some of the key ideas Erdös worked on as well):

https://mathenchant.wordpress.com/2015/11/11/erdos-for-epsilons-the-boy-who-loved-math/

Not too early to be thinking of stocking stuffers for any math-inclined younguns on your Holiday list. And even if you don't have children or an interest in children's books, the above piece from Propp is a VERY worthwhile read for the included mathematics.

Perhaps worth noting also that there are two wonderful, older bios of Erdös for the adults on your shopping list as well (no one would believe Erdös' life if someone wrote him up as a character in a work of fiction... YET he was REAL!):

Paul Hoffman's "The Man Who Loved Only Numbers"
Bruce Schecter's "My Brain Is Open"



p.s. ...don't spend all your money at once; I'll be posting my choices for best popular math books of the year before the end of the month.


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