Customer Reviews
Great but the proof reader needs sacking - By: Charles, 28 Dec 2008 
This book is enormous fun & highly intelligent & presents maths the way teachers should doin schools: that way the children would be much more engaged & enthused by the subject.
BUT it is littered with very bad proof reading mistakes. Several times the text will say something like 'see the table on page xx'. And you'll go to page xx, & there'll be no table! Very sloppy, very annoying. There are also some bizarre howlers when the equations are written out wrongly, or a 0 is missed off. Not a good thing when the whole idea is to make complex ideas as simple as possible. (I wanted to cite a specific example but can't find one now!)
But despite this carelessness, it's a stimulating read.
The authors are badly let down by the publishers - By: scandalxk, 16 Dec 2008 
It's an interesting book which I am enjoying reading. My criticism is that it is absolutely riddled with typos. It appears to have been typeset by an inefficient text recognition software, so there are literally dozens (no - probably hundreds) of incredibly irritating mistakes that should have been picked up. A few examples from the chapter on taxi meters: 372 minutes instead of 3 1/2 minutes; 5'A miles per hour instead of 5 1/3 miles per hour; "30 cents per 90 seconds ($1.2 per hour)" (really?!); etc. etc. etc. ad nauseam. Some of the illustrations arein the wrong places, & some of them don't match the words (they've got into a right mess illustrating the prize values on Who Wants to be a Millionaire). It's really dreadful. As for page references: EVERY SINGLE PAGE REFERENCE IN THE BOOK IS WRONG - including the index!! They seem to have taken an earlier edition, reset it into a different number of pages, but kept the same page references. For example on page 43 you are referred to an illustration on page 32...except that it is actually on page 39. Look up "Quidditch"in the index & it directs you to page 180...but you won't find it there. I got bored looking, so I have no idea which page it is actually on.
My edition is by Portico, which is said to be an imprint of Anova Books Company Ltd. The red cover is identical to that shown at the time of writing on the Amazon advert. If you, gentle reader, work for Portico, you should be ashamed of yourself. If you are Rob Eastaway or Jeremy Wyndham, you should sack your publisher.
A Book For All Occasions - By: Ed the Ted, 10 Oct 2006 This book was an enjoyable read. It was a nice, light paperback that could be picked up to fillin a few minutes at the end of a period of study or used to wind down after a hard days work. It showed the underlying mathsin everyday problems & although it had some slow parts, the chapters were short enough to have a nice taste of the mathematical side of life without getting too deepin formulae & theories. I especially enjoyed the chapters on game show decisions & also about conmen & what they dream up. Allin all, if you are looking for something light & non-taxing but something that broadens your understandings of practical maths, then this book is for you. However, for something challenging & highly mathematical based, another read would be fitting.
Entertaining for all - By: Steve B, 01 May 2006 I AM a mathematician & had come across a few of the thingsin far more detailin other books before - which I'd also liked. Seeing these & other nuggetsin this lighter book was great - I'm now re-reading bits, & am buying a copy for my dear old mum (who claims to be not at all mathematical but liked the look of it when she visited).
Thoroughly entertaining book - By: Richard Harris, 09 May 2003 
I thought this was an excllent book - full of interesting real-life situations & the maths that you never knew underpinned them. I particularly liked the chapter on karaoke singers & the maths behind 'in-tune' or 'out of tune' music.
