The Joy of Pi

by David Blatner Narrated by Oliver Wyman, Hank Jacobs, Laura Dean

Overview

No number has captured the attention and imagination of people throughout the ages as much as the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter. Pi-or ? as it is symbolically known-is infinite and, in The Joy of pi, it proves to be infinitely intriguing. With incisive historical insight and a refreshing sense of humor, David Blatner explores the many facets of pi and humankind's fascination with it-from the ancient Egyptians and Archimedes to Leonardo da Vinci and the modern-day Chudnovsky brothers, who have calculated pi to eight billion digits with a homemade supercomputer.

The Joy of Pi is a book of many parts. Breezy narratives recount the history of pi and the quirky stories of those obsessed with it. Sidebars document fascinating pi trivia (including a segment from the 0. J. Simpson trial). Dozens of snippets and factoids reveal pi's remarkable impact over the centuries. Mnemonic devices teach how to memorize pi to many hundreds of digits (or more, if you're so inclined). Pi-inspired cartoons, poems, limericks, and jokes offer delightfully "square" pi humor. And, to satisfy even the most exacting of number jocks, the first one million digits of pi appear throughout the book.

A tribute to all things pi, The Joy of pi is sure to foster a newfound affection and respect for the big number with the funny little symbol.

Editorial Reviews

DEC 02/JAN 03 - AudioFile

The number 3.14--the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter--has fascinated and challenged mathematicians for thousands of years. This multivoiced reading of David Blatner’s book sheds some light on the fascination. Listening to books about mathematics has an inherent drawback: Formulas and equations don’t translate well without the benefit of being able to view them in a book or on a chalkboard. But this entertaining work, replete with pi-based trivia, music, history, and plenty of humor, brings genuine joy to geometry. Oliver Wyman is the primary narrator, telling the long history of pi and mathematicians’ race to calculate it to more and more decimal points. Wyman slips easily from his straight narrative style to various foreign accents, as called for in the text, while Laura Dean and Hank Jacobs serve up “Pi on the Side” pieces of trivia with warmth and wry wit. Squaring circles will never be the same again. S.E.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2003 Audie Award Finalist © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940172018527
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	07/16/2002
Edition description:	Unabridged

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