Short Synopsis
In Significant Figures, acclaimed mathematician Ian Stewart introduces the visionaries of mathematics throughout history.

Full Synopsis
In Significant Figures, acclaimed mathematician Ian Stewart introduces the visionaries of mathematics throughout history. Delving into the lives of twenty-five great mathematicians, Stewart examines the roles they played in creating, inventing, and discovering the mathematics we use today. Through these short biographies, we get acquainted with the history of mathematics from Archimedes to Benoit Mandelbrot, and learn about those too often left out of the cannon, such as Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi (c. 780–850), the creator of algebra, and Augusta Ada King (1815–1852), Countess of Lovelace, the world's first computer programmer.

Tracing the evolution of mathematics over the course of two millennia, Significant Figures will educate and delight aspiring mathematicians and experts alike.

"By showing how even mathematical geniuses face all-too-human challenges, Stewart offers a riveting chronicle of one of humankind's loftiest endeavors." ---Paul Halpern, author The Quantum Labyrinth

"Stewart succeeds, demonstrating the interconnectedness of mathematics: most chapters make reference to at least one other character in the book, plus a host of others deemed insufficiently impressive to warrant their own treatment." ---Library Journal

"Stewart’s brief but colorful sketches of the life and times of the innovators keep the pages turning." ---Kirkus