A History of Pi (original 1971; edition 1976)

This book is exactly what it says: a history of pi from ropes in wet sand to computers. It is a little dated at almost fourty years old, but considering the thousands of years of mathematical history, it covers the developments of the calculation of pi very well. The author is opinionated, but that does not affect his thoroughness. There are numerous geometric proofs and formulous throughout, but they support the text without being the focus. The writing is straight forward and factual. I thought this was an excellent presentation of the subject. ( )

a bit of a rant, with (to my mind) needless disparagement of aristotle (among others). a somewhat irritating and inconsistent bias toward the practical ("There is no practical or scientific value in knowing more than the 17 decimal places...", p.101). digs up many interesting facts (i hope they are facts) about the discovery and calculation of π. some sections (eg computer capabilities, c.1970) dated by now. ( )

Beckmann’s approach to this much-written history is novel at best. He starts from a social and historical vantage point and recreates the math from scratch. Although at times, highly mathematical (as any history of pi must be), it entertains nonetheless. He ends with a tangent on the computer age (note: this book was originally written in 1971) and its potential pitfalls. A good quick read. ( )

This is one of the worst science history books I have ever read. This book covers the breadth of human history and achievement, involving some of the most accomplished and interesting characters in human history, and yet manages to read like a W-2 Form Instruction Sheet.

I think my main problem with the book is that I was looking for an interesting narrative that explores the impact of pi from a cultural and personal point of view. What I got was a mathematical primer on pi, heavy on formulas, charts and graphs, peppered with bland historical facts easily obtained from general knowledge history books and encyclopedias. ( )