A Little History of Mathematics
Yale University Press, April 2025
(click on cover to pre-order)
A Little History of Mathematics is a book from the Little History Yale UP Series, an “inspiring guide for curious minds”.
Mathematics is fundamental to our daily lives. Science, computing, economics – all aspects of modern life rely on some kind of maths. But how did our ancestors think about numbers? How did they use mathematics to explain and understand the world around them? Where do numbers even come from? In this Little History, Lawrence traces the fascinating history of mathematics, from the Egyptians and Babylonians to Renaissance masters and enigma codebreakers. Like literature, music, or philosophy, mathematics has a rich history of breakthroughs, creativity and experimentation. And its story is a global one. We see Chinese Mathematical Art from 200 BCE, the invention of algebra in the Baghdad’s House of Wisdom, and sangaku geometrical theorems at Japanese shrines. Lawrence goes beyond the familiar names of Newton and Pascal, exploring the prominent role women have played in the history of mathematics, including Emmy Noether and Maryam Mirzakhani.
Mathematical Meditations
A K Peters, London & New York, February 2025
(now in shops! click on cover to order from publisher)
Mathematical Meditations identifies, explores, and celebrates those aspects of mathematics that are good for you and your overall wellbeing. It is necessary for everyone to have a little time to think every so often: to contemplate, meditate, and try to understand where you are and what is going on around you. Mathematics can help you with all of that.
The Meditations in this book are the product of thousands of years of mathematical discourse. As you read through the book and work through the various exercises, you will discover new mechanisms that allow you to contemplate and understand some complex mathematical principles. However, the focus will always be wider than a mere dry comprehension of theory, as you will be encouraged to meditate upon the deeper intrinsic beauty of mathematics and what it can reveal to us about the world around us. Available to preorder for Feb 2025.
A New Year’s Present from a Mathematician
A K Peters, London & New York, 2019
This is an exciting book dedicated to two questions: What is it that mathematicians do? And who gets to be called a ‘mathematician’ and why?
This book seeks to answer these questions through a series of stories ranging from the beginning of modern mathematics through to the 20th century, but not in a usual, chronological manner. The author weaves her story around major questions concerning nature of mathematics, and links mathematicians by the substance of their ideas and the historical and personal context in which they were developed.
Ideal as a gift for anyone with an interest in mathematics, this book gives a powerful insight into mathematical concepts in an easy-to-read-and-digest manner, without trivializing their nature. The attention given to engaging examples, framed within a poetic narrative structure, means that this book can be enjoyed by almost anyone, regardless of their level of mathematical education.
Selected reviews:
New Books Network (with the interview), by Cory Brunson
Mathematicians and their Gods
Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2015
Snezana Lawrence & Mark McCartney, Editors
To open a newspaper or turn on the television it would appear that science and religion are polar opposites – mutually exclusive bedfellows competing for hearts and minds. There is little indication of the rich interaction between religion and science throughout history, much of which continues today. From ancient to modern times, mathematicians have played a key role in this interaction.
This is a book on the relationship between mathematics and religious beliefs. It aims to show that, throughout scientific history, mathematics has been used to make sense of the ‘big’ questions of life, and that religious beliefs sometimes drove mathematicians to mathematics to help them make sense of the world.
Containing contributions from a wide array of scholars in the fields of philosophy, history of science and history of mathematics, this book shows that the intersection between mathematics and theism is rich in both culture and character. Chapters cover a fascinating range of topics including the Sect of the Pythagoreans, Newton’s views on the apocalypse, Charles Dodgson’s Anglican faith and Gödel’s proof of the existence of God.
Selected reviews:
Compilation on book’s OUP site