What is a good book about math history?

715 Views Asked by Bumbble Comm At 09 Apr 2026 - 7:17

Which is a good book on math History?

I want to give it as a gift to a mathematician.

There are 5 best solutions below

Bumbble Comm On 02 Jan 2012 - 10:01

"Mathematics and its History", by John Stillwell.

"Men of mathematics", by Eric Temple bell- awesome set of biographies of mathematicians from Archimedes to Poincare.

Leonard Dickson's "History of number theory".

"A beautiful mind" by Sylvia Nasar, a biography of John Nash, but gives VERY good glimpses of Math and its History esp. during 20th century.

user20266 On 02 Jan 2012 - 11:03

I enjoyed reading the biographies of Hilbert and Courant by Constance Reid very much.

Bumbble Comm On 02 Jan 2012 - 11:26

Though not strictly a history book, The Princeton Companion to Mathematics is a book I'd like to get as a gift but probably wouldn't buy.

Bumbble Comm On 17 Feb 2012 - 7:18

I read Journey Through Genius a while ago and I absolutely loved it. Highly recommended.

Bumbble Comm On 17 Feb 2012 - 7:22