Lewis Carroll in Numberland – His Fantastical Mathematical Logical Life - Hardcover

Wilson, Robin

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0393060276 ISBN 13: 9780393060270

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Co., 2009

Synopsis

Just when we thought we knew everything about Lewis Carroll, here comes a highly original biography that will appeal to Alice fans everywhere. Fascinated by the inner life of Charles Lutwidge Dodson, Robin Wilson, a Carroll scholar and a noted mathematics professor, has produced this revelatory book filled with more than one hundred striking and often playful illustrations that examines the many inspirations and sources for Carroll's fantastical writings, mathematical and otherwise. As Wilson demonstrates, Carroll who published serious, if occasionally eccentric, works in the fields of geometry, logic, and algebra made significant contributions to subjects as varied as voting patterns and the design of tennis tournaments, in the process creating imaginative recreational puzzles based on mathematical ideas. In the tradition of Sylvia Nasar's A Beautiful Mind and Andrew Hodges's Alan Turing, this is an engaging look at the incredible genius of one of mathematics' and literature's most enigmatic minds.

About this title

Review:

'A fascinating story ... Wilson could not be better qualified to write a book on [Carroll's] career in numbers' - Jonathan Bate, Sunday Telegraph 'First-rate ... Wilson conjures the spirit of a man who delighted in paradox' Nature 'A loving mathematician's biography ! revel in the unravelling of an intricate and exquisite mind' Independent 'A delightful blend of whimsy, satire, endlessly ingenious puns, brain-teasers and unexpected (but very accessible) mathematical insights' - Matthew Reisz, The Times Higher Education Supplement

Synopsis:

Explores the imaginative and lesser-known mathematical prowess of the Alice's Adventures in Wonderland creator, in a volume of playful illustrations that reveals the geometrical, logical, and algebraic inspirations for some of his fantastical writings. 13,000 first printing.

About this edition

• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Co.
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0393060276
• ISBN 13: 9780393060270
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 208