Customer Reviews
Marvellous, but just a little caution advised. - By: A. I. McCulloch, 20 Nov 2008 
I'm an adult literacy & numeracy tutor & always looking for interesting ways of making information accessible to my students. This is an absolutely marvellous book, but I won't be recommending it to too many of them. The reason is that whilst being very well written, it does require a higher level of literacy skills than many books that are written for adult learners. I loved reading all the interesting facts & the way that Lawrence made mathematics come alive for me, but I know that many of my students don't want that. They have dyslexia & they want a book that is easy to read & tells them what they need to know.
For all that, I can't give this book any less than five. How, oh how, I wish I had read this as a student thirty-five years ago. So, if you are highly literate & highly innumerate, GET THIS - it's fantastic.
If you want to understand mathematicsin a plain, no frills format get Chambers' Adult Learners Guide To Numeracy which does the job nicely.
Great backdrop to a beautiful subject! - By: mountainpiglet, 28 Apr 2008 I think this is a fantastic book. I teach mathematics at secondary school & found this book to be a great source of material for improving the clarity of explanations I give on basic mathematics... As a teacher I couldn't recommend it highly enough to other teachers; the book also provides a bank of neat little puzzles, some more challenging than others, & all amusing to read. EXCELLENT STUFF!!
Mathematics Minus Fear - By: Josephine Lee, 04 Feb 2008 For someone who has had a fear of mathmatics for many years, this book is fantastic, & actually very funny. Lawrence Potter walks you through how to add, divide, multiply, how to work out percentagesin a non patronising way. Recommended.
Essential Open University Preparation - By: B. B. McGarry, 25 Oct 2006 If you arein your 40s about to challenge your fear of Maths & claim back the night with an Open University Maths Degree this book is a great primer.
Essential therapy, like easing yourself into a cool pool on a baking hot day.
Fantastic - I am now a countdown genuis!! - By: Rebecca Clay, 07 May 2006 I LOVE this book! I have been hopeless at maths since secondary school & when I came across itin a local bookstore read a few pages & thought it had to be worth a try - couquering my maths demons & all that!
It's written really well & he explains the history behind how & why we are taught maths the way we arein schools and, if you like, the evolution of the maths we use everyday!
I decided it was worth every penny when I could answer a question about binaryin a local pub quiz! The question was how is the number 19 representedin binary? - the answer isin the book - needless to say my friends were very impressed!!
