The Book of Numbers: The Secret of Numbers and How They Changed the World - Softcover

Beautifully illustrated...a fascinating read.... Would serve as a good reference for mathematics students as well as preservice and in-service educators.--Cathleen M. Zucco-Teveloff, Rowan University"Mathematics Teacher, Vol. 102, No. 7" (03/01/2009)

Bentley brings the kind of enthusiasm and excitement to numbers that would well serve any high school math teacher.--Bill Bean"Waterloo Region Record" (06/21/2008)

The Book of Numbers is quite an interesting read.... fairly out of the ordinary and informative.--Heather Steacy"The Lethbridge Herald" (11/15/2008)

A beautifully put together book... It could bring to students that necessary curiosity that enables them to enjoy mathematics.--David Stahnke"Annotopia" (11/23/2010)

Book of Numbers proves that numbers are neither dull nor boring. The text is accompanied by great photos, illustrations, and explanatory sidebars. Worth the read.

No. 5, New and Notable Books about Numbers, Scientific American. "Numbers rule our lives," says Bentley, who then tells how and why this is so.

Beautifully illustrated with art reproductions, photographs and other images, this book is a fascinating read.... A thorough understanding of all kinds of number concepts--zero, rational numbers, irrational numbers, binary numbers, and imaginary numbers--should be part of every mathematics and student's and educator's general knowledge. This book, intended for a general audience, would serve as a good reference for mathematics students as well as preservice and in-service educators.--Cathleen M. Zucco-Teveloff, Rowan University"Mathematics Teacher, Vol. 102, No. 7" (03/01/2009)

BBC contributor and professor of pop science Peter J. Bentley brings the kind of enthusiasm and excitement to numbers that would well serve any high school math teacher This whimsically organized book (with chapters -1, 0 and 12a, for those afraid of 13) is a quirky and refereshing review of the science of numbers.... You might emerg from this book still baffled by sines, cosines and tangents, but [Bentley's] affection for understanding numbers is infectious.--Bill Bean"Waterloo Region Record" (06/21/2008)

Mathematics, perhaps surprisingly, can be far more entertaining than the average high-school textbook lets on.... Bentley's account doubtless does not lay bare all of the mathematical secrets of the universe. But with illustrations, graphics and sidebar digressions, the presentation is a colourful and variegated companion to the most ubiquitous and deceptive components of knowledge.--Evan Wexler"The Globe and Maill" (07/05/2008)

[starred review] Peter J. Bentley's The Book of Numbers is quite an interesting read.... While this is a fairly out of the ordinary and informative book, it is written somewhat like a textbook which makes it a bit of a difficult read for longer periods of time. Though this may be the case, the layout is quite entertaining for the reader, with all kinds of unusual computer imagery, historical paintings and drawings, along with portraits of mathematicians scattered throughout.... I would, however, recommend it to anyone with even a remote interest in how numbers have completely changed the course of the world and how they are a giant part of how everything works.--Heather Steacy"The Lethbridge Herald" (11/15/2008)