How to Bake PI

Tavia Gilbert narrates with a liveliness and lightness that one might not expect in a book about the world of mathematics. Various recipes are used to highlight points about math, revealing that math, like cooking recipes, is made up of ingredients and method. Gilbert persuasively presents this edible exploration into mathematical concepts, making them seem as familiar and unintimidating as cooking. Gilbert's fluid voice conveys the themes of beauty and power in both the concrete and abstract aspects of math. While it's uncertain whether or not everyone will come away with a complete understanding of the concepts, Gilbert's lyrical narration, together with her deliberate speed as she delivers the formulas, brings clarity and a down-to-earth approach to this often intimidating subject matter. M.F. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine

Starred review from March 2, 2015
Cheng, a lecturer in mathematics at both the University of Sheffield and the University of Chicago, sets an ambitious agenda for herself: to explain to non-mathematicians how mathematicians think and to educate readers about the tools mathematicians employ when seeking solutions to complex problems. She begins each chapter with recipes (mostly desserts) that she then employs to illustrate the thought processes that underlie mathematical reasoning—a surprisingly stimulating and successful conceit. Having grabbed the reader’s attention, Cheng playfully walks through numerous math problems of varying difficulty, taking care to provide understandable and illuminating solutions. She often departs from mathematical theory to highlight the pragmatic values of logic and rationality as employed by mathematicians in everyday life, and she possesses a lighter side that recognizes mathematical reasoning is not life’s holy grail, underlining her point with an entertaining, and wise, six-point indictment of pure logic as a tool with which to approach “all that life throws at us.” Cheng is exceptional at translating the abstract concepts of mathematics into ordinary language, a strength aided by a writing style that showcases the workings of her curious, sometimes whimsical mind. This combination allows her to demystify how mathematicians think and work, and makes her love for mathematics contagious. Agent: George Lucas, Inkwell Management.