Math Hysteria

Ian Stewart is Professor of Mathematics at Warwick University. An active research mathematician, he is also a well-known popularizer of mathematics and related areas of science. In 1995 he was awarded the Royal Society's Michael Faraday award for furthering the public understanding of science; his book Nature's Numbers was shortlisted for the 1996 Rhone-Poulenc Prize for Science Books; and he delivered the 1997 Royal Institution Christmas Lectures, televised by the BBC. His many books include From Here to Infinity: a guide to today's mathematics, The Science of Discworld and The Science of Discworld II, What Shape is a Snowflake? and Flatterland.

In Math Hysteria, Professor Stewart presents us with a wealth of intriguing, challenging, and fun puzzles, each one spun around an amazing tale.

• Preface ; 1. I know that you know that ... ; 2. Domino theories ; 3. Turning the tables ; 4. The anthropomurphic principle ; 5. Counting the cattle of the sun ; 6. The great drain robbery ; 7. Two-way jigsaw puzzles ; 8. Tales of a neglected number ; 9. Is Monopoly fair? ; 10. Monopoly revisited ; 11. A guide to computer dating ; 12. Dividing the spoils ; 13. Squaring the square ; 14. The bellows conjecture ; 15. Purposefully piling pyramids ; 16. Be a dots-and-boxes grandmaster ; 17. Choosily chomping chocolate ; 18. Shedding a little darkness ; 19. Preposterous piratical predicaments ; 20. Million-dollar minesweeper ; Further reading