A Concise History of Mathematics

I have just finsihed reading.

From: A Concise History of Mathematics
ISBN: 0486602559
Author: Dirk J. Struik
Edition: 4th

If one thing I can say without doubt this book is concise. It flys along at blistering pace and in just over 200 pages covers several thousand years of mathemtical history. If you are looking for a brief overvirew of the topic then this is the book.

It is also a great book to try and guage your interest in the topic. Its well written, well researched and enguaging so if you are unable rummage your way through it then I doubt one of the larger or more in depth coverages would suit you. This is of course coming from someone who has not yet read one of these but I am now looking at some of the older classics that I might try next.

One thing I have to mention is the citations. You could use this book to research topics in maths based on the amount of cited literature at the end of each chapter alone.

Personally I think the amount of work that has gone into this book is vast and in stark relation to its size. I would recommend it to any maths enthusiast or historian.