Ian Stewart Books

A collection of Ian Stewart's recreational columns from Pour la Science, which demonstrate his ability to bring modern maths to life.

The teaching and learning of mathematics has degenerated into the realm of rote memorization, the outcome of which leads to satisfactory formal ability but not real understanding or greater intellectual independence. The new edition of this classic work seeks to address this problem. Its goal is to put the meaning back into mathematics. "Lucid . . . easily understandable".--Albert Einstein. 301 linecuts.

The year is 1835, and two strangers on the murky banks of the Union Canal make boatmaster James Ross a proposition. They will give him a pound in return for an alibi. Should anyone ask, they have been aboard his vessel all night. Ross glimpses their mud-spattered shoes. What have they been doing?A century later, Dalmuir couple Edith and Charles Hunter set off on a wintry evening walk along the Forth and Clyde. Minutes later cries of distress are heard from the banks, but the Hunters have gone. A police search soon becomes a sensational murder case.Scotland’s major canals, from the Highlands to the Lowlands, all feature in the annals of crime. In this fascinating new history T.A. Stewart reveals how assailants and thieves, and even kidnappers and terrorists, have been drawn to the waterways to practise their black arts.

Exploring the changing face of love, from the 16th century to the present, through masterpieces of portraiture Drawing on recent scholarship, Love Stories explores changing ideas of love, and gives readers the opportunity to discover love stories both tragic and transcendent.The stories cover a variety of the muse, scandal, tragedy, literature, the shared studio and life lived in front of the camera. These themes are illustrated through the stories of such well-known names as the Bloomsbury Group, Oscar Wilde, John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes, Lee Miller and Man Ray, and many more.Love Stories is brought to life through the perspective of various authors, using material from the sitters’ own letters, diaries and poetry, while highlighting their connection to and influence on some of the greatest masterpieces of art.

One of the world's great mathematicians explores the origins, history and future of the universe.

In this charming volume, a noted English mathematician uses humor and anecdote to illuminate the concepts of groups, sets, subsets, topology, Boolean algebra, and other mathematical subjects. 200 illustrations.

The first half of this book is a witty primer, a guided tour of the Islands of Truth that maps out everything you need to know about science from Newton to the present. The second half dives into the Oceans of Ignorance that surround what is known. Filled with anecdotes, diagrams, and colorful everyday examples, it is certain to make people look at the world in a new way.

The seventeen equations that form the basis for life as we know it Most people are familiar with history's great equations: Newton's Law of Gravity, for instance, or Einstein's theory of relativity. But the way these mathematical breakthroughs have contributed to human progress is seldom appreciated. In In Pursuit of the Unknown, celebrated mathematician Ian Stewart untangles the roots of our most important mathematical statements to show that equations have long been a driving force behind nearly every aspect of our lives. Using seventeen of our most crucial equations--including the Wave Equation that allowed engineers to measure a building's response to earthquakes, saving countless lives, and the Black-Scholes model, used by bankers to track the price of financial derivatives over time--Stewart illustrates that many of the advances we now take for granted were made possible by mathematical discoveries. An approachable, lively, and informative guide to the mathematical building blocks of modern life, In Pursuit of the Unknown is a penetrating exploration of how we have also used equations to make sense of, and in turn influence, our world.

How to Read Bridges is a practical introduction to looking at the structure and purpose of bridges. It is a guide to reading the structural clues embedded in every bridge that allows their variety and ingenuity to be better appreciated. Small enough to carry in your pocket and serious enough to provide real answers, this comprehensive guide: - analyses and explores all types of bridges from around the world from the first millennium to the present day. - explores fundamental concepts of bridge design, key materials and engineering techniques. - provides an accessible visual guide with intelligent text, using detailed illustrations and cross-sections of technical features.