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The Universal History of Numbers: from Prehistory to the Invention of the Computer (Hardcover)

by Georges Ifrah (Author) "There must have been a time when nobody knew how to count ..." (more)

3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

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Product details

Hardcover: 656 pages
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons (11 Jan 2000)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0471375683
ISBN-13: 978-0471375685
Product Dimensions: 24.9 x 23.7 x 5 cm

Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 1,613,817 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

For those of you who have read Georges Ifrah's first book, The Universal History of Numbers: From Prehistory to the Invention of the Computer, this is the third of a two-volume set! Just to clarify this, the first volume is being split into two and, together with this new third volume, republished as a trilogy. For those of you who have not read the first book, volume III begins with what could have been a very useful "Chronological Summary" and a "Recapitulation" of the ideas expressed in the first book. Unfortunately, without a preface or introduction, the unwary reader is immediately confronted with a very condensed version of the first book. Indeed, Ifrah's detailed study of number systems, when reduced to a series of illustrated plates, gives the impression that the history of numbers is little more than a history of typography. Yet another "Chronological Summary" from Calculation to Calculus follows, thereby reinforcing the feeling that the book is a collection of notes waiting to be crafted into a strong narrative. The translator, the unsung hero in many publications, has done sterling work in adding copious notes and helpful cross-references. The initial feeling remains, however, that this is a collection of jewels without a crown.

Having said that, the scope of the book is enormous, tracing the history of calculators and computers, from mechanical to electronic devices through both analogue and digital incarnations. There are some familiar faces, such as Pascal, Babbage, von Neumann and Turing, as well as many others who have so far escaped the spotlight. As a reference work it has a good index and an extensive bibliography. The author acknowledges regret at the lack of illustrations but gives references to such sources. In the search for universality and completeness it has, however, forsaken a strong guiding theme. The most engaging sections are where the mathematics, history and technology come together, bound by personal ambitions, whether intellectual or financial. In such sections Ifrah pauses from being a cataloguer to indulge in some story telling. It is here that the nuts and bolts of technology come to life. For teachers, students and researchers, this will prove to be a very useful starting point into a fascinating area of human innovation. But one would venture that this is a work destined for the library shelves rather than the bedside table. --Richard Mankiewicz --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Amazon.co.uk Review

This is an extraordinary book by an extraordinary author. Mathematics teacher Georges Ifrah spent a decade travelling around the world researching the origins of numbers, supporting himself by working as a waiter, taxi-driver and night clerk. The result is The Universal History of Numbers, an impressively detailed account of pretty much every aspect of the emergence and evolution of counting from the Cro-Magnons of 25,000 BC through Babylonian, Greek and Roman times to the metric system and beyond.

Ifrah never misses a chance to include intriguing insights that any reader can appreciate, from how to form cuneiform numbers on wet clay to performing calculations on your fingers--or how to use a Chinese abacus (with details of a 1945 competition between an abacus expert and someone using a calculator; the abacus-user won easily).

Much of this detail may well prove wearisome, however. I for one would have appreciated much less on long-dead number systems, and much more on modern developments in numbers. There is very little coverage of such key issues as irrational and transcendental numbers and nothing at all on the advent of complex, hyperreal or surreal numbers. This is clearly a labour of love, where the blindness of the inamorato is sadly all too apparent. --Robert Matthews --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Customer Reviews

4 Reviews

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3 star:		(1)
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3.5 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent and Comprehensive History of Counting, 27 Jul 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Universal History of Numbers (Paperback)

The Universal History of Numbers is the most comprehensive book I have come across on the subject by quite some way, and I have probably read over 100.

The style of writing makes the book easy to read, and it assumes almost no prior knowledge. Having said that the book is not exactly light bed time reading, there are nearly 650 large pages of quite small writing. It would take a *very* dedicated or interested reader to tackle the book from cover to cover. In my opinion it is best to read the introduction and first one or two chapters, and then to dip into the bits of the book you are particularly interested in. Because of this the book would not be the first I would recomend as an introduction to the subject, try Graham Flegg - Numbers: Their history and meaning, although I would not discourage anyone from buying the book either.

As a resource for Teachers of mathematics the book is excellent. It covers the number system of almost every concievable culture and any teacher with the slightest imagination could use the information in an interesting way in the classroom.

The book covers a lot of information which is not dealt with by the standard english language history of mathematics books, and as such is an invaluable resource for anyone with an interest in the subject.

One thing I particularly liked about the book was that it gave various different theories for each question, for instance 'What is the origin of 'our' numerals?', and the reasons for and against each. This was very interesting, as well as helping to explain why historians belive what they believe.

The only criticism of this book I have is to do with its physical contruction. The pages are thin, and so is the cover, so it is very bendy, I would have prefered a hardback edition. However if it keeps the price down.

To sum up this is an excellent book, and an invaluable addition to the collection of anyone with an interest in mathematics, it's history or it's teaching.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Linguistics, Anthropology, Cryptanalysis of old systems, etc, 24 Jun 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Universal History of Numbers (Paperback)

People who like algorithms but hate equations will find this book a useful accessory to creative research in a variety of fields. It was a relief that the author accomplished an informative book that isn't boring or steeped in eurocentrism or political correctness.

This book is on par with "Godel, Escher, Bach" in terms of richness and it's more holistic approach, although not nearly as funny. (No fables about exploding record players amongst talking animals!) Math teachers of all levels wishing to convey to their students the CULTURAL ties to math will be rewarded by acquiring this book. As a student who hated math until my last year of college, I intend to give this book to my college Trigonometry teacher as a thank-you for her introducing me to the richness of applied mathematics. I especially like the full index in this book and also the glossary of Indian terms.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Huge and detailed, 26 Mar 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Universal History of Numbers (Paperback)

This book tells you more than any sane person would ever want to know about the origins of numerical notation. The range and depth of scholarship is extremely impressive but it is not exactly and easy read and at times it seems to go on for ever, for example when explaining how and why the Sumerians did mathematics in base 60. In the middle there is a huge encyclopaedia of Indian numerical terms which is unreadable and would be better as an appendix. There is also much of interest,including the opening sections describing the universality of counting on parts of the body, but I was surprised that it did not explain more recent and complex mathematical concepts such as imaginary and transcendental numbers which I would like to have known more about.

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1.0 out of 5 stars haphazard collection of unrelated notes unindexed. Useless.
Typical French scholarship; a mountain of rocks, but no cathedral. Inconsistent, no guiding theme, no story, no index. Read more

Published on 2 Jun 2000 by markballantyne@yahoo.com

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