Is Mathematics fun? (A "Cabinet of Mathematical Curiosities" Review)

                Mathematics is the language of the universe. It's also the language of fun. Is it?

                There once was a boy who loved mathematics. When he was fourteen, he found that boring school stuff couldn't satisfy that love anymore, so he started collecting all the mathsy fun he came across in his independent reading, filling notebook after notebook with games, puzzles, and anecdotes. Eventually, his math collection grew to fill an entire filing cabinet, “Cabinet of Mathematical Curiosities”, and the boy grew up to become a professor. Stewart presents a wide-range of math-related goodness: puzzles, jokes, anecdotes, theorems, biographies, and even straight magic tricks.

                This book isn’t what you would think of when I say “book”, it is more of a collection of problems and curiosities from all areas of Mathematics. The entries in this book are rarely more than two pages long so one can be quickly looked at whenever you have a free time; however some of the problems in the book are deceptively simple and can leave you thinking about them for days. 

                I also loved the way humor was delivered, making the book a less of an entertainment if you took breaks at the jokes to rest your mind. Other places to let the mind 'rest' is where the author has thrown in a chuck of historical background; learn and play, all in the one book.

                Overall, it is a fun book, though quite heavy in places. It won't be to everyone's taste, but for those who enjoy the challenge, and find Mathematics and logic to be just their kind of thing, then this book is a fun way to spend your free time.