Critics Corner

Reviews of books, websites, poster sets, movies, and other resources for learning and teaching the history of mathematics.

Mathematics in India

A survey of over two thousand years of the history of mathematics on the Indian subcontinent.

Gauss: Titan of Science

Reprint of a classic biography of Gauss, with a new forward by Jeremy Gray.

Review of Agora

The movie Agora, about the mathematician Hypatia of Alexandria (c. 400 AD), is spectacular and intriguing but Hypatia should be portrayed as the hero she was.

To Infinity and Beyond

A cultural history of the infinite, from ancient to modern times, in which the author clarifies the conceptual underpinnings of this vast topic.

Mathematics and The Historian's Craft

A collection of the Kenneth May lectures in the history of mathematics given at meetings of the Canadian Society for the History and Philosophy of Mathematics.

Historical Connections in Mathematics

Brief biographies of mathematicians with mathematical activities based on their work.

Unexpected Links between Egyptian and Babylonian Mathematics

This book demonstrates the relationship between the mathematics in some recently discovered Babylonian tablets and some standard problems from Egyptian mathematics.

Historic Women of Mathematics

Poster picturing five famous women, from Hypatia to Grace Hopper.

Numbers at Work: A Cultural Perspective

Essays on how number has been critical to the work of scientists through the ages.

Cogwheels of the Mind: The Story of Venn Diagrams

An introduction to the work of Venn as well as the work of the author in extending some of Venn's results.