The Math Book: From Pythagoras to the 57th Dimension, 250 Milestones in the History of Mathematics, by Clifford Pickover (HC, 2009, $6, which is 1/3 the internet price)
"Journey with Pickover as he traces 250 achievements like ancient ant "odometers," the first abacus, the discovery of computer-generated fractals, and the quest for new dimensions. Here also are remarkable thinkers from Pythagoras and Euclid to modern-day math icon Martin Gardner and cosmologist Max Tegmark. Chronologically organized, each entry is short enough to digest in a few minutes and is presented along with a striking full-color image."
"For me," writes Pickover, "mathematics cultivates a perpetual state of wonder about the nature of mind, the limits of thoughts, and our place in this vast cosmos."
Even though I don't understand much of those last two paragraphs, I can still swear to this being the most amazing math book I have ever seen. Those 250 "striking full-color images" are like nothing I have ever seen, even in art books. (f you want this book you had better get here quick- before I buy it for myself just so I look at the art!)
Look for it on the new non-fiction table.
