Finding Fibonacci: The Quest To Rediscover the Forgotten Mathematical Genius Who Changed the World

Devlin (cofounder, executive director, Human-Sciences & Technologies Advanced Research Inst., Stanford Univ.) follows up The Man of Numbers: Fibonacci's Arithmetic Revolution, a biography of 13th-century mathematician Leonardo of Pisa (otherwise known as Fibonacci) and examination of his enduring influence on math education, with this story of how that book was researched and written. Over the course of a decade, Devlin took research side trips to Pisa and other cities while in Italy for conferences and talks leading to the publication of Numbers. Luckily for his readers, he also wrote this engaging and entertaining account of his experiences. Even math neophytes will appreciate this title, although they may have difficulty understanding some of the concepts sprinkled throughout. The anecdotes touch upon many of the joys and frustrations of conducting historical research when there are few primary sources and everything is in another language.