Protest!

February 27, 2017
Stanford mathematician Devlin (The Unfinished Game) leads a cheerful pursuit to rediscover the hero of 13th-century European mathematics, taking readers across centuries and through the back streets of medieval and modern Italy in this entertaining and surprising history. Devlin’s target is Leonardo of Pisa (later known as Leonardo Fibonacci), a mathematician whose book Liber abbaci played a key role in the making of the modern world. Leonardo was the son of a prosperous merchant in Pisa, a major trade hub between Europe and the Arab world, and he would have had plenty of hands-on experience with practical math and algebra in the marketplace. His book, filled with “recreational” math problems, was well known in its time, Devlin says, and it spawned an entire popular genre of abbacus books, only to be forgotten until the 1960s, some 800 years later. From the busy streets of Pisa’s Piazza dei Miracoli and Leaning Tower to the ornate buildings of the University of Siena and the mysterious chambers of the Biblioteca Riccardiana, Devlin relates Leonardo’s adventures with brio and charm. Readers will enjoy this deft and engaging mix of history, mathematics, and personal travelogue. Agent: Ted Weinstein Literary Management.

April 1, 2017

Devlin (cofounder, executive director, Human-Sciences & Technologies Advanced Research Inst., Stanford Univ.) follows up The Man of Numbers: Fibonacci's Arithmetic Revolution, a biography of 13th-century mathematician Leonardo of Pisa (otherwise known as Fibonacci) and examination of his enduring influence on math education, with this story of how that book was researched and written. Over the course of a decade, Devlin took research side trips to Pisa and other cities while in Italy for conferences and talks leading to the publication of Numbers. Luckily for his readers, he also wrote this engaging and entertaining account of his experiences. Even math neophytes will appreciate this title, although they may have difficulty understanding some of the concepts sprinkled throughout. The anecdotes touch upon many of the joys and frustrations of conducting historical research when there are few primary sources and everything is in another language. VERDICT An excellent read for those who enjoyed the author's previous volume, are interested in the history of math, and/or would like to learn more about the sticky research process.--Holly Boyer, Reston, VA

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