Algebra Can Be Fun

The first edition of Algebra can be Fun came out in the nineteen twenties and was destined to a wonderful future of bringing hundreds of thousands of youngsters into the fold of mathematics and its wonders. It is written in the form of lively sketches that discuss the multifarious (and exciting!) applications of algebra to the world around us. Here we encounter equations, logarithms, roots, progressions, the ancient and famous Diophantine analysis and much more. The examples are pictorial, vivid, often witty and bring out the essence of the matter at hand. There are numerous excursions into history and the history of algebra too. Quite naturally, a number of things sound a bit old-fashioned - times have changed! - but the efforts of show more Lenin Prize Winner V. G. Boltyansky, who edited the latest edition and added a good deal of fresh material from the world of computers, have given extra polish to this gem of entertainment. No one who has read this book will ever regard mathematics again in a dull light. Reviewers regard it as one of the finest examples of popular science writing. show less

Yakov Perelman fue uno de los matemáticos soviéticos más célebres del pasado siglo y es autor de numerosos trabajos de divulgación científica que han llegado hasta millones de lectores de todo el mundo. En Álgebra recreativa, uno de sus libros más difundidos, despliega todo su talento a la hora de despertar en el lector el interés por el álgebra mediente un tratamiento y un enfoque didácticos muy amenos y de una gran originalidad.