A Quick History of Math

Ages 8 to 12, Grades 3 to 7

A Quick History of Math is 43,000 years of mathematical discoveries packed into one book, plus lots of jokes.

Maths + history + jokes - boring bits = A Quick History of Maths. This book begins around 43,000 years ago with a notched baboon leg, the Lebombo bone (the very first mathematical object in the world) and rushes us past Hindu numerals and the invention of zero, via Pythagoras, Pascal and probability, right up to the present day, with big data and the maths that rules our digital lives. Geometri-cool!

You will discover:How to count on your fingers (there are more ways than you might think!)Why we have 60 seconds in a minute (hint: it’s to do with the ancient Babylonians)How to count like an Egyptian (using hieroglyphs)Why it’s hip to be square using square numbersA Pythagorean party trickThe naked truth of Archimedes’ bath time mathematicsHow to do matha-magic with magic squares…and much more.

In chronological order from pre-history to present day, this is the story of maths itself. It’s 43,000 years of human mathematical endeavor squeezed into one book for your reading pleasure. Illustrated with funny cartoons and packed with fascinating facts, you’ll be laughing and learning how to be a better mathematician.

About the Author

Clive Gifford has traveled to more than 70 countries, climbed rocket launch towers, ridden on robots, and flown gliders. He's had more than 200 books published and has received nominations for or won Royal Society, School Library Association, Smithsonian, and TES awards. He won the Blue Peter Book Award for Best Book with Facts 2019 for his title The Colors of History (QEB). Clive lives in Manchester, UK.