The most recommended math books

The Four Color Problem was one of the most baffling questions in mathematics for over 120 years. First posed in 1852, it asks whether every map can be colored with four colors, or fewer, so that regions adjacent along a boundary have different colors. The answer (yes) was finally obtained in 1976, with massive computer assistance. This method was initially controversial, but the result is now firmly established. This highly readable account, with full-color illustrations, opens up the history and the personalities who tackled this topological enigma, as well as making the mathematics comprehensible. The path to the final solution is littered with blunders and mistakes, but also illustrates how mathematicians can join forces across the generations to chip away at a problem until it cracks wide open. 

A lightly technical introduction to a comprehensive framework defining and evaluating the quality of information generated by statistical analysis. It expands the role of analytics by including dimensions that affect information quality such as data resolution, data integration, operationalization, and generalizability of findings. This wide-angle perspective provides a practical checklist that has been found useful in applications. Multiple case studies enable the reader to connect to his favorite topic, but also learn from other areas.

First published in 1937, this lovely book is a true classic. In two volumes Bell brings to life 30 or so mathematicians, from Archimedes to Cantor. When first reading the book many years ago I had remembered some of the names from school and college, but only as labels to theorems or equations, and I felt taken into a delightful new realm of knowledge – I could now think of Fermat, Lagrange, Gauss, and Riemann as people. And I began to want to know more about the scientists whose names I had heard in school and college. Bell’s book had sparked a lifelong interest.

I was hooked after the first sentence. The story starts with Colin, the main character, having just been dumped for the 19th time by a girl named Katherine, because he only dates girls with that name. To me, the premise is so funny, and so are Colin’s explanations of each relationship. As Colin embarks on a road trip with his best friend, he hilariously recounts his time with each Katherine, referring to them by their numbers such as Katherine V, Katherine X, and the most current, Katherine XIX, who he hopes will be different. But come on Colin, haven’t the first 18 Katherines taught you anything? I love that Colin is such an oddly adorable insecure teen. I loved following him through this story as he learns a little more about life and a lot more about love.

This book is one of the best-selling poker books of the modern era despite the author not being a household name. It is a brilliant and dense primer on poker math with the amateur in mind. Other poker math books have arguably been written with a more expert tone, but this one is ideal for a beginner.

An enthralling, fictional description of a young scientist (Einstein) and his dreams/thoughts about space, time, relativity, and the nature of reality. The book fictionalizes Einstein’s dreams in 1905, his “Annus Mirabilis” (“Miracle Year”), in which he wrote four fundamental papers, including one on his theory of Special Relativity. While this is a work of fiction, the physics concepts are beautifully explained.

I was given this book when I was about 15, and devoured it. It is an eclectic collection of mathematical paradoxes, fallacies, and curiosities so strange that they seem impossible. Mathematical magic tricks, a proof that all numbers are equal, a proof that all triangles are isosceles, a curve whose length is infinite but whose area is finite, a curve that crosses itself at every point, a curve that fills the interior of a square. Infinities that are bigger than other infinities. The Saint Petersburg Paradox in probability, a calculation that you should pay the bank an infinite amount of money to play one fair coin-tossing game. The smallest number that cannot be named in fewer than thirteen words (which I’ve just named in twelve words).

This book is that rare combination of poetry and nonfiction, art and science. Elegant and informative, the book features gorgeous realistic paintings that depict all kinds of seeds and the plants that grow from them. It’s the kind of book that you could sweep through in a bedtime reading session, and then later, find the child poring over the illustrations and asking questions. Such an important and eye-opening area of science to share with young children! 

This fine book is about learning the relationships between what is seen in an image, and what is known about the world. It’s a counterpart to our book on feature extraction and it shows you what can be achieved with the features. It’s not for those who shy from maths, as is the case for all of the books here. So that you can build the techniques, Simon’s book also includes a wide variety of algorithms to help you on your way.

For decades, the most famous opening chord in rock and roll was an unsolved problem, since no one could reproduce it. But in 2004, Jason Brown, a professor at Dalhousie University, used mathematics to recreate the opening chord of the Beatles hit song, “A Hard Day’s Night”. I remember when newspapers around the world reported on Jason’s findings, as I was at Dalhousie at the time, as one of Jason’s Ph.D. students.

Jason’s Beatles story serves as the final chapter in this wonderful book, a collection of short vignettes about how mathematics relates to every aspect of our lives, including garbage pickup routes, grocery shopping, political polling, and social networks. The book’s thesis is that as we understand mathematics better, our lives become more meaningful. I couldn’t agree more.