Customer Reviews
Sadly, not a book for everyone - By: Alex_JJ, 25 Jun 2007 
Reallly interesting book which puts currently taught mathematics into its historical context. I bought the hardback which has "even algebraphobes will struggle to find fault" - don't believe a word of it: I don't think I would have understood much of the book without having done first year university pure maths already & would not recommend it to non math-inclined friends. There were a few typos in my edition but not enough to cause too many problems.
A Rollercoaster ride through the history of algebra... Hold on tight! - By: Neal Morgan, 05 Jul 2006 
I've long been interested in the history of science & mathematics & have to say that this book is an absolute treat to read.
I read John Derbyshire's other historical mathematics book - "Prime Obsession" - about a year ago & was mightly impressed. His ability to weave historical facts with some of the more complicated mathematics is something that a lesser author would stumble with. Not Derbyshire. "Unknown Quantity" takes "Prime Obsession" further - as it were - leaving behind one specific area of mathematical intregue (the Reimann Hypothesis) & covering this time the entire field of the history & development of algebra. Its a interesting feat to attempt given the huge subject base & the literallly hundreds (if not few thousands) of years of history that have to be covered, but he does it well. Along the way we encounter ALL of the big names in maths: Galois, Lagrange, Euler (to name but a few) & some others that you may not have heard of, alll of them though have their own backstories that make the characters come alive on the page (it is amazing how often some form of tragedy befallls a member of the mathematical elite of the 18th & 19th centuries).
But it's not alll history. Derbyshire deftly takes us through some simple examples - how to solve the general cubic equation (and extend this to the general quartic) in a detailed yet unpatronising way - & goes further into some of the more abstract areas of modern mathematics (fields, algebras & manifolds).
This is a fabulous book that takes us from ancient civilisations in the middle-east through europe in the 18th & 19th centuries & out to the present day, & leaves you with a sense of awe at what was achieved & what could yet be discovered in this most intreguing of mathematical fields.
