Books

The Prince of Mathematics

“The Prince of Mathematics,” by M.B.W. Tent, is a very reader-friendly book about the famous German mathematician, Carl Friedrich Gauss. My friend and colleague, Bill Meyers, brought this book to my attention. He also wrote the review of Walter Isaacson’s wonderful book on Einstein for the MathMirror™.

M.B.W. Tent has written a book that both an adult and an 8th grader can read with equally interested delight. Gauss’ story is about a brilliant young man born in 1777 to a poor family. He was discovered by his teachers to be a mathematical wunderkind and was then sponsored by a Duke through all his studies and finally into his days as an astronomer. Gauss published four proofs of The Fundamental Theorem of Algebra and was awarded many honors. The story of his life is about his friends, his family and his dedication to mathematics.

“The Prince of Mathematics” is a perfect book for a student, family or eighth grade class to start an exploration of the history of Math and Algebra. M.B.W. Tent, the author, is both a committed math teacher in Birmingham, Alabama, and also someone who obviously loves her subject and has travelled extensively to research the interesting details of the book. It’s a great read.

On a separate but related note, the Math inquiries Project recently became aware of a wonderful website set up by Live Oak School in San Francisco. It is called MATH HISTORY and can be accessed at http://classes.liveoaksf.org/mathhistory/. The website is a confirmation of middle school students’ interest and enthusiasm for learning about mathematicians and their places in history, what they were like as people, and how they lived and studied in past centuries.

Author M.B.W. Tent