The Mending of Broken Bones
A Modern Guide to Classical Algebra
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Harvard University Press
Published:30th May '25
Should be back in stock very soon
A joyful and intimate celebration of the beauty and creativity of algebra from one of the foremost math educators of our time.
For many of us, algebra conjures up memories of dull classes spent wondering when we’d ever have to solve a system of equations or factor a polynomial. Indeed, most of the time, if we need to plan a budget or figure out how early to leave the house for work, common sense or a quick, seat-of-the-pants approximation is good enough.
But as mathematician Paul Lockhart argues in The Mending of Broken Bones, once we stop thinking of algebra in terms of its practical applications, we can appreciate it for the beautiful and gratifying subject that it is. In his hands, algebra is the delicate craft of untangling numerical puzzles to reveal the hidden patterns and often surprising behaviors of the numbers themselves. As Lockhart traverses numerical systems, slips into and out of higher-dimensional space, and delights in the intimate connections between algebra and geometry, we come to see the discipline from his viewpoint: not as the mundane exercises of our school years, but instead as an art form whose beauty lies in its elegant simplicity.
Written in Lockhart’s charming and conversational prose, The Mending of Broken Bones is an impassioned and deeply personal celebration of algebra that helps us experience the profound joys of mathematical discovery.
As machines do more and more of the grunt work in our age of artificial intelligence, a deeper appreciation of mathematics’ intellectual artistry, and the opportunity to try it out, might be all we have left. Lockhart offers us a road to that end. Let the mending begin. -- Dan Rockmore * New York Review of Books *
Suitable for teachers of algebra at any level, and for anyone who wants to understand the algebraic art from scratch. It is itself an artwork, produced by a masterly teacher. -- Snezana Lawrence * Times Literary Supplement *
A most enjoyable and enlightening book. -- Owen Toller * Mathematical Gazette *
In this masterful exploration of algebra, Paul Lockhart leads us from the puzzle of solving for x to the dramatic climax of Galois theory, with fields, groups, and the unsolvability of the quintic appearing along the way. It’s a celebration of algebra’s mysteries, served up in Lockhart's signature style: fun, precise, and irresistibly satisfying. -- Steven Strogatz, author of Infinite Powers
Paul Lockhart’s books have inspired a generation of math educators to seek better ways to teach the subject—to focus on its beauty and present it in a way that appeals to our natural curiosity. The Mending of Broken Bones does this on an even grander scale, asking what it means to do mathematics and what we stand to gain from its pursuit. Lockhart’s remarkable skill is his ability to provide a compelling answer to these questions on every page. Along the way, you’ll learn a lot of math, and you'll learn even more about math. -- Keith Devlin, author of The Millennium Problems
A splendid book. A marvelous introduction to the magic of algebra. -- Barry Mazur, author of Imagining Numbers
ISBN: 9780674296329
Dimensions: 235mm x 156mm x 29mm
Weight: 783g
400 pages