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Great maths books to read?

I'm currently In Year 11 and have a particular enthusiasm in Maths and Physics. I have strong A*'s in both subjects and I'm not finding GCSE much of a challenge. I am planning on taking Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Chemistry at A Level. Just recently have I started reading books which are related to Maths and Physics, (the music of the primes - Marcus Du Sautoy, A short history of nearly everything - Bill Bryson), and have loved them both. Could you recommend any books that you believe would be suitable for me to read at my level and might help when it comes to A Level, and that would keep my interest going?

Thanks :smile:

(edited 12 years ago)

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Reply 1

Nitebot

Try Simon Singh's books, Big Bang, a great history of astronomy & cosmology and Fermat's Last Theorem about how a 300 year old maths puzzle was solved. Also Brian Cox has his popular science book, Why e=mc2.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 2

Meteorshower

Original post by Nitebot

Seconded.

Reply 3

JMusson

*Knows nothing about physics books*
Depends whether you want popular science books or actual maths books?
I found Fermat's Last Theorem a bit of a drag, it has very little maths in it, its secretly a biography posing as a maths book (ok, tad harsh but ssh). Also in that genre if that is what you're looking for is Dr. Riemann's Zeros; this has some quite interesting maths in the appendix that you definately won't have done at GCSE.

Its very hard to find actual maths books that cater around your level but I found God Created the Integers fascinating (read bits of it in year 12), though its hard to read and don't expect to read it all, it has things like Cauchy's original lectures on calculus (he was around when they actually invented it, rather an influential chap) which covers the actual basic principles that they don't seem to think are important at A level. And proofs of the irrationality of root 2 and why there are infinitely many pythagorean triples. Or it may kill all enthusiasm by being upsettingly hard and I'll just get abuse for going way over your head. You have been warned :smile:

Reply 4

und

I've attached the Sixth Form mathematics reading list from my school in case it would be of any interest to you. Unfortunately I've had to remove the book covers from the document since it would have been too large in file size otherwise.

Sixth Form Reading.doc121.9KB

Reply 5

Bobifier

"How long is a piece of string" and "Why do buses come in threes" are 2 of my favourite books that there are. They are both about intriguing ways maths can be applied to everyday life. You could also try "Excursion into Mathematics", which is kind of a bridge between school maths and university maths, but deals with fairly entertaining subjects. Finally, "Hexaflexagons and Other Mathematical Diversions" by Martin Gardner has an excellent reputation, though I have never read it. It is a collection of approachable maths columns he wrote.

Reply 6

CharlieBoardman

Original post by Nitebot

I already had a couple of these in mind, I think I'll definitely be getting these now. Thanks!

Reply 7

CharlieBoardman

Original post by JMusson

Also in that genre if that is what you're looking for is Dr. Riemann's Zeros; this has some quite interesting maths in the appendix that you definately won't have done at GCSE.

Its very hard to find actual maths books that cater around your level but I found God Created the Integers fascinating (read bits of it in year 12), though its hard to read and don't expect to read it all, it has things like Cauchy's original lectures on calculus (he was around when they actually invented it, rather an influential chap) which covers the actual basic principles that they don't seem to think are important at A level. And proofs of the irrationality of root 2 and why there are infinitely many pythagorean triples. Or it may kill all enthusiasm by being upsettingly hard and I'll just get abuse for going way over your head. You have been warned :smile:

The book that I am reading at the moment contains information about Riemann's life and Riemann's Hypothesis and how he used imaginary numbers with the Zeta Function. The book also mentions Cauchy, but not much, just says that people thought he was rather excentric haha. I'm sure it won't kill enthusiasm at all haha, well I'm hoping not! I've also read about the Pythagorean Triples and irrationality of two, but not into much detail I don't think, but I seem to be coping with fine :smile:

I'm developed an interest in Carl Gauss, I've read about him briefly, but he is the mathematician that has stood it to me most. Would it be worth buying his book, Disquisitiones Arithmeticae?

Original post by und

Thanks a lot, that's been a great help :smile:

Would anybody reccommend 'A Mathematicians Apology' - GH Hardy?

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 8

TheMagicMan

Original post by CharlieBoardman

Would anybody reccommend 'A Mathematicians Apology' - GH Hardy?

I found it a bit dull and dated

Reply 9

CharlieBoardman

Will Carl Gauss's Disquisitiones Aritmeticae be of any use to me? Or will it be too much for me?

Reply 10

TheMagicMan

Original post by CharlieBoardman

Will Carl Gauss's Disquisitiones Aritmeticae be of any use to me? Or will it be too much for me?

Do you speak latin?

Reply 11

CharlieBoardman

Original post by TheMagicMan

Do you speak latin?

Obviously not, but there in an English Translated version.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 12

TheMagicMan

Original post by CharlieBoardman

Obviously not, but there in an English Translated version.

I was joking :wink:

. In all seriousness, I haven't read it, but I think it is quite a heavy read. If you want to read 'proper' maths, rather than the waffle you get in most books about maths, god created the integers, a concise introduction to pure maths and what is mathematics are the best places to go.

Reply 13

CharlieBoardman

Original post by TheMagicMan

I was joking :wink:

Cheers, thanks a lot, I'm sure I'll be adding these on to my Christmas List! :wink:

Reply 14

JMusson

There's a collection of works from Disquisitiones Aritmeticae in God created the Integers, though to be fair I don't find it very easy to read and I'm at uni doing maths.. though it's nothing you'll learn in A levels so it's worth looking into out of interest. It will actually require decent work to understand though.

Reply 15

Zhy

If you haven't encountered calculus, get K A Stroud's "Engineering Mathematics". If you've encountered calculus, get K A Stroud's "Advanced Engineering Mathematics". Even if you don't want to be an engineer, it tells you about some really interesting concepts.

Reply 16

Perpetuallity

This has become my trademark on here, but seriously; if your thinking of reading Road to Reality; run away. Don't look back. I got to chapter 18 and threw the damn thing across the room.

Edit: I'm serious; unless you want to spend 3 months on wikipedia trying to understand complex analysis and symmetry groups, leave it.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 17

username451352

The Pleasures of Counting by T.W. Korner. A bit expensive, but a massive, excellent read. A lot of the maths is definitely Further Maths standard, but the explanations of how maths can be used are easy to pick up for someone in Year 11. It's a lot more mathematical than the Singh books - but thus also a lot more interesting.

Reply 18

Silent--ly

Original post by und

Thanks for posting this, its a great selection of books :h:

Reply 19

Evil Monkey

Original post by CharlieBoardman

Would anybody reccommend 'A Mathematicians Apology' - GH Hardy?

Doing so was the whole reason I entered this topic.

It's not got any actual maths in it, but it's pretty interesting to hear the view of what maths really is from someone who had a position like that in maths. I quite liked to hear about the worth of learning for nothing more than the sake of knowledge rather than the usual drivel you usually get these days (though admittedly rarely for maths) of "What's that subject useful for".
It's not to everyone's taste, but if it holds with your view of the subject, it's a great read.