Reddit reviews Flatterland: Like Flatland, Only More So

When I was in seventh grade my math teacher lent me some books to read:

• Fantasia Mathematica, by Clifton Fadiman (and there's a sequel, The Mathematical Magpie);
  
• A History of Pi, by Petr Beckmann;
  
• and some introductory book about topology, explaining the Möbius strip, the four-color theorem, the Klein bottle, the projective plane, and maybe some other stuff, whose title I have since forgotten.
  
  I credit these books for sparking my interest in math.
  
  Other books I'd recommend include Imaginary Numbers by William Frucht, Flatland/Sphereland by Edwin A. Abbott/Dionys Burger (and Flatterland by Ian Stewart), The Penguin Dictionary of Curious and Interesting Numbers by David Wells, A Passion for Mathematics by Clifford A. Pickover, The Mathematical Tourist by Ivars Peterson, and any book by Martin Gardner or Raymond Smullyan. Also most books by Ian Stewart would be good, but he also writes higher-level math textbooks, so watch out for that.

Nope, some guy named Ian Stewart, according to Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Flatterland-Like-Flatland-Only-More/dp/073820675X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247600995&sr=8-1

It was kind of a mindfuck since I was 13 when I read it, but it helped me understand geometry, abstract math, and space-time later on.

Rasputin did give you good advice. But just so you know, there's an /r/mathbooks. It includes a textbook on set theory. Though, don't be intimidated if it's too advanced for you.

I'd recommend some of the more popular math books as well.

Flatterland is a fun, quirky adventure through some advanced geometric concepts. Very readable.

Euler's Gem is a book I've never read, but might some day. I thumbed through it, and it seemed like a good enough summary of topology for a laymen. The amazon reviews agree. Be warned: there are equations. But you're trying to discover the beauty of math, so equations are probably good!

Goedel Escher and Bach is . . . Famous. I'll leave it at that. I thought it was a good and simple, but it's too close to my primary area of interest for me to recommend in good faith.

That's about all of my experience with popular math books . . .

Euclid's elements (you can google it and find it online) is great for an introduction to mathematical proof using something highly diagramable (unlike set theory). But, I would definitely scope out my interests before putting down any money. Perhaps check out the library. And don't get intimidated if anything is over your head. When that happens to me, I tend to get a little excited in all honesty :).

This book is my standard door stop. Been meaning to read it for a while but for now it serves a purpose.

So, how about some entertaining math fiction?

Flatland, by A Square

http://flatlandthemovie.com/

Flatterland,starring Victoria Line, Granddaughter of A Square.

http://www.amazon.com/Flatterland-Like-Flatland-Only-More/dp/073820675X

As far as free school goes, nothing beats www.khanacademy.org, as long as you are just looking for knowledge, and not degrees. They've got everything.

You also might enjoy reading Flatterland: Like Flatland, Only More So

> Flatland

To which I would add Flatterland, which brings the mathematics of Flatland up to date.