The Number Devil: A Mathematical Adventure

ISBN 10: 1435266129 ISBN 13: 9781435266124

Synopsis

The international best-seller that makes mathematics a thrilling exploration.

In twelve dreams, Robert, a boy who hates math, meets a Number Devil, who leads him to discover the amazing world of numbers: infinite numbers, prime numbers, Fibonacci numbers, numbers that magically appear in triangles, and numbers that expand without. As we dream with him, we are taken further and further into mathematical theory, where ideas eventually take flight, until everyone - from those who fumble over fractions to those who solve complex equations in their heads - winds up marveling at what numbers can do.

Hans Magnus Enzensberger is a true polymath, the kind of superb intellectual who loves thinking and marshals all of his charm and wit to share his passions with the world. In The Number Devil, he brings together the surreal logic of Alice in Wonderland and the existential geometry of Flatland with the kind of math everyone would love, if only they had a number devil to teach it to them.

About this title

Review

Young Robert's dreams have taken a decided turn for the weird. Instead of falling down holes and such, he's visiting a bizarre magical land of number tricks with the number devil as his host. Starting at one and adding zero and all the rest of the numbers, Robert and the number devil use giant furry calculators, piles of coconuts, and endlessly scrolling paper to introduce basic concepts of numeracy, from interesting number sequences to exponents to matrices. Author Hans Magnus Enzensberger's dry humour and sense of wonder will keep you and your kids entranced while you learn (shhh!) mathematical principles. Who could resist the little red guy who calls prime numbers "prima donnas," irrational numbers "unreasonable," and roots "rutabagas"? Not that the number devil is without his devilish qualities. He loses his temper when Robert looks for the easy way out of a number puzzle or dismisses maths as boring and useless. "What do you expect?" he asks. "I'm the number devil, not Santa Claus." (Ages 10 to adult) --Therese Littleton, Amazon.com

Review

"Rare and glorious." --Michael Pakenham," Baltimore Sun"
"Adults who know a little about math will find this book as enlightening as younger readers will." --Martin Gardner, "Los Angeles Times"
"Rare and glorious." --Michael Pakenham, " Baltimore Sun"
"Adults who know a little about math will find this book as enlightening as younger readers will." --Martin Gardner, "Los Angeles Times"

Rare and glorious. "Michael Pakenham, Baltimore Sun"

Adults who know a little about math will find this book as enlightening as younger readers will. "Martin Gardner, Los Angeles Times""

Rare and glorious. Michael Pakenham, Baltimore Sun

Adults who know a little about math will find this book as enlightening as younger readers will. Martin Gardner, Los Angeles Times

"

"Rare and glorious." --Michael Pakenham, Baltimore Sun

"Adults who know a little about math will find this book as enlightening as younger readers will." --Martin Gardner, Los Angeles Times

Edition details

• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1435266129
• ISBN 13: 9781435266124
• Binding: Library Binding