Book Resources

• Amusements in Mathematics, by Henry E. Dudeney
  Dudeney was one of the two founding fathers of today's puzzledom, the other being Sam Loyd. This book provides endlessly entertaining and instructive puzzles from a true master. Virtually every sort of mathematical or logical puzzle is included in this collection, and it is a treasure that can be used for every classroom teacher. This excellent collection of teasers has inferential problems in arithmetic and algebra, and includes geometry, mazes, magic squares and a lot of chessboard tours. The answers are often gems in themselves.
• A Beginner's Guide to Constructing the Universe: The Mathematical Archetypes of Nature, Art, and Science, by Michael S. Schneider
  Schneider leads us on a philosophical journey along the numbers one through ten to explore the mathematical principles made visible in flowers, shells, crystals, plants, and the human body, expressed in the symbolic language of folk sayings and fairy tales, myth and religion, art and architecture. This is a comprehensive guide to the patterns that recur through the universe and underlie human affairs. You will find a complete introduction the geometric code of nature, written by a master of his geometric craft.
• Fear of Math: How to Get Over It and Get On with Your Life,
  by Claudia Zaslavsky
  The author shows you how the school math you dreaded is a far cry from the math you really need in life (and probably know better than you ever suspected)!  She gives a host of reassuring methods, drawn from many cultures, for tackling real-world math problems.  She also explodes the myth that women and minorities are not good at math.
• Fermat's Enigma: The Epic Quest to Solve the World's Greatest Mathematical Problem, by Simon Singh
  This is an excellent account of the 300+ year struggle by the world's foremost mathematicians to prove Fermat's Last Theorem. It is an engaging book containing not only the complete history of attempts to solve this easily stated problem, but fascinating accounts of the personalities involved. It has been a national bestseller, and gives the public an excellent introduction to many of history's famous mathematicians and mathematical thought. This book gives a great insight into many mathematical concepts as well as the mathematical process of proof in a non-technical fashion.
• Fostering Algebraic Thinking: A Guide for Teachers Grades 6 - 10, by Mark Driscoll
  The author outlines key "habits of thinking" that characterize the successful learning and use of algebra. Driscoll offers strategies and questions that cultivate these habits and guidelines for assessing students' development. He assists teachers in helping students build number and operations sense, generalization, and symbolic representation through selected problems and teacher dialogue.
• How to Lie with Statistics, by Darrell Huff
  This is a little book giving a quick and easy introduction to ways other people abuse statistics by their use of charts, graphs, tables, and other data.  It was written in the 1950's, but the real-life examples used are just as relevant today as they were when originally written.  Huff gives clear explanations of common statistical errors, while maintaining a writing style that is accessible to a reader with no special mathematics or statistics background.  If the knowledge in this book were more widely known, we can only hope that advertisers, politicians, and careless journalists would not be able to get away with sloppy thinking.
• How to Solve It, by George Polya
  This is a timeless classic which introduces the reader to heuristic - the study of the methods and rules of discovery and invention. It is an outstanding contribution to the study of problem solving. Polya's principal aim is to teach a method which can be applied to the solution of other problems. He shows the reader how to strip away the irrelevancies which clutter our thinking, and guides us toward a clear and productive habit of mind. Included in the book is the "Short Dictionary of Heuristic" which supplies the history, techniques, and terminology of heuristic with brilliant precision.
• In Code: A Mathematical Journey, by Sarah Flannery with David Flannery
  In Code tells how Sarah Flannery moved from math puzzles in her country kitchen to number theory, a passion for cryptography, and a life involved in creating theories and tackling scientific challenges. The puzzle-solving approach to math cultivated by her father (and co-author) encouraged exploration, an adventurous attitude, attention to concepts more than calculations, and the utter pleasure of taking on a challenge. Sarah's explanations of the mathematics of cryptography are well written and understandable, and her enthusiasm for her subject is infectious. This a heartwarming mathematical adventure story that will capture the interest of young student scientists and adults as well.
• The Joy of Mathematics, by Theoni Pappas
  This book is designed to help the reader appreciate mathematics by showing how its many facets relate to the world around us. Each subject is treated in a few pages, and the book is useful to teachers looking for enrichment topics. It includes many tie-ins to art, science, history, and human endeavors. The book contains mathematics having breadth, beauty, and insight for curious students and teachers. Topics are selected that stimulate the reader's imagination and sense of wonder.
• Life by the Numbers, by Keith Devlin
  Mathematics is a vital and creative way of thinking and seeing, and it is the most powerful means we have of exploring our world and how it works. This book does a masterful job in showing how many applications there are for mathematics, with many that appeal to young people. An appreciation for the value of mathematics is the first step towards a desire to study it, and this book will no doubt spark this appreciation. The book demonstrates that math is anywhere and everywhere; it is richly illustrated, jargon-free, and clearly written. It is the companion book to the PBS series by the same name.
• The Man Who Loved Only Numbers: The Story of Paul Erdos and the Search for Mathematical Truth, by Paul Hoffman
  My Brain Is Open: The Mathematical Journeys of Paul Erdos, by Bruce Schechter
  During his career, Erdos published more papers than any other mathematician in history, and most of the papers were written in collaboration with others. Erdos loved number theory more than any area of mathematics, and he traveled the world with few possessions for most of his life, seeking other mathematicians to work with, and encouraging young people to get involved in his passion.
• Mathematical Sorcery: Revealing the Secrets of Numbers, by Calvin C. Clawson
  Mathematics, like art and music, has the potential to add great depth and meaning to our lives, and to enrich each of our days, long into our twilight years. In truth, a world without mathematics would be a dull place. This book shows the explosion of mathematics from its simple origins to the concepts needed in the modern complex world. Clawson takes us on a splendid intellectual journey to the great ideas of mathematics, their powerful magic, and their intricate, mysterious beauty.
• My Best Mathematical and Logic Puzzles, by Martin Gardner
  A marvelous book by the man who authored the Mathematical Games column for Scientific American for 25 years. This book has more to do with problem solving and the process of mathematical thinking rather than mathematics itself, but a good mathematical background only enhances the pleasure to be found within its pages. If you want to challenge yourself and find new and unfamiliar puzzles, the book serves up a rich selection of 66 of the best of these brainteasers for you and your students.
• Problem Solving Through Recreational Mathematics, by Bonnie Averbach and Orin Chein
  Historically, many of the most important mathematical concepts arose from problems that were recreational in origin. This book is a masterful collection of hundreds of problems in recreational mathematics, containing a large number of very detailed examples, demonstrations, and hints in many areas. You can be sure to find problems in here that you can use to illustrate a topic or to use as a test question. Also consider it as a textbook for your course in problem solving.
• The Unexpected Hanging and Other Mathematical Diversions, by Martin Gardner
  If you have a desire to learn mathematics and mathematical thinking, then Martin Gardner is an excellent place to begin or continue your exploration. Gardner seasons this treasure trove of puzzles, anecdotes, and games with history and philosophy of science. Even though this classic collection of puzzles and games from the Scientific American magazine were written in the early sixties, the topics are timeless and will continue to intrigue new generations of the mathematically inclined.
• What Counts: How Every Brain Is Hardwired for Math, by Brian Butterworth
  Butterworth combines his expertise in cognitive neuroscience with his broad knowledge of mathematics to offer an original picture of how our brains do math. He has discovered that we all possess a fundamental number sense, which he calls "numerosity." Butterworth argues that the existence of a biological "numerical center" means that nearly everyone has the capacity to become highly proficient at mathematics and mathematical thinking. He writes cogently and compellingly, citing powerful evidence for his findings from provocative new research.
• Wheels, Life and Other Mathematical Amusements, by Martin Gardner
  The best mathematicians and the best teachers of mathematics obviously are those who both understand the rules of the game, and who relish the excitement of playing it. Puzzles and games provide a rich playground of example problems useful for illustrating and testing problem-solving methods both for teachers and their students. Gardner's book covers a wide range of intriguing topics, from simple word puzzles to complex mathematical ideas in a fascinating, enjoyable manner.
• Why Do Buses Come in Threes? The Hidden Mathematics of Everyday Life, by Rob Eastaway and Jeremy Wyndham
  The laws of probability are constantly at work in our lives, and the authors supply a nice sampler of mathematical explanations for the curiosities of everyday life. The book gives these interesting answers to the pervasiveness of hidden mathematics in nature with humor and logic. Mathematics provides new insights into everyday events, and stimulates curiosity into the practical aspects of probability theory. You will find that a knowledge of mathematics can help you enjoy, understand, and predict the future.
• The Zen of Magic Squares, Circles, and Stars: An Exhibition of Surprising Structures across Dimensions, by Clifford A. Pickover
  This may be one of the best recreational mathematics books published in recent years. A magic square is a square grid of numbers where the row and column sums are the same. Pickover shares magic squares by Benjamin Franklin, and describes different methods used to create magic squares of many different sizes. There are magic squares to suit everyone's fancy, including an exhibit of magnificent forms discovered through the centuries.