Math: A Crash Course: Become An Instant Expert

by Brian Clegg, Peet Morris

It’s a sad truth that maths has the reputation of being “difficult.” Part of the problem is that many of us simply don’t speak the language. To a mathematician, an equation is a compact, efficient way to put across a relationship that would be far less comprehensible in words. But to many of us, the merest sign of an x, y, or symbol is an impenetrable mess that our eyes bounce off. This book provides an engaging overview of what maths is and what it can do, without having to solve simultaneous equations or prove geometric theorems, far more of us might get the point of it. It is divided into four chapters, each covering a major developmental route in the topic, from Arithmetic & Numbers to Geometry and from Algebra & Calculus to Applied Mathematics.  

160 pages, Hardcover

Published July 30, 2019

About the author

Brian's latest books, Ten Billion Tomorrows and How Many Moons does the Earth Have are now available to pre-order. He has written a range of other science titles, including the bestselling Inflight Science, The God Effect, Before the Big Bang, A Brief History of Infinity, Build Your Own Time Machine and Dice World.

Along with appearances at the Royal Institution in London he has spoken at venues from Oxford and Cambridge Universities to Cheltenham Festival of Science, has contributed to radio and TV programmes, and is a popular speaker at schools. Brian is also editor of the successful www.popularscience.co.uk book review site and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Brian has Masters degrees from Cambridge University in Natural Sciences and from Lancaster University in Operational Research, a discipline originally developed during the Second World War to apply the power of mathematics to warfare. It has since been widely applied to problem solving and decision making in business.

Brian has also written regular columns, features and reviews for numerous publications, including Nature, The Guardian, PC Week, Computer Weekly, Personal Computer World, The Observer, Innovative Leader, Professional Manager, BBC History, Good Housekeeping and House Beautiful. His books have been translated into many languages, including German, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese, Polish, Turkish, Norwegian, Thai and even Indonesian.