This introductory treatment provides insightful expositions of specific applications as well as elements of mathematical history and culture. The in-depth coverage of key mathematical topics is presented in clear terms and at an informal level that relates classic concepts to readers' everyday lives. Some knowledge of high school algebra would be useful for a full appreciation of the book, which is suitable for advanced high school students and college undergraduates in all fields as well as readers with an interest in mathematics and its history.
The first five chapters, as published in the book's first edition, deal somewhat unconventionally with probability, statistics, voting systems, game theory, and linear programming. This new edition adds chapters on geometry in two and three dimensions, Egyptian arithmetic, the evolution of the normal distribution, and other subjects. Readers are certain to acquire a heightened awareness of many aspects of contemporary mathematics and its subject matter, relevant applications, and history.