One Million

by Hendrik Hertzberg

Originally published in 1970, One Million has been out of print for some time, and its author, the highly esteemed New Yorker editor and columnist Hendrik Hertzberg, has been prompted by fans to create a new edition. Originally, the project was inspired by the author's journalistic impulse to try to make the newsworthy, large, and rather abstract number more concrete for people. To that end, he has created a book in which each of the 200 pages features five thousand dots, but on each page, a few of the dots are called out from their place in numerical order with a little piece of statistical information that add up to really bring the concept home. Fully updated and revised, Hertzberg’s book is a fascinating compendium of random statistics, but the author’s trademark intelligence and wit are on display through his choices and juxtaposition.

Genres: Nonfiction, Mathematics

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1970

Reviews

[Kest Schwartzman · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is a really nifty idea. Some of the numbers are a bit dated (counting days forward from some set date, instead of backwards from publication date, woulda helped a bit with that) but even so, I'm finding it utterly fascinating, and a really interesting way to look at numbers so big our brains really can't comprehend them.

[Fritz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely the best and most entertaining conceptualization of the sheer size of one million that I have ever seen.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great visualization!

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! I read it over and over as a teen and young adult. One million dots in a book!

[Arlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book with 1,000,000 dots!! I got this book when it was first published in 1970. I have used it in my math classes. I love it.