Universal History Of Numbers 1

Numbers are one of two creations (the other being the alphabet) of the human spirit which have given us today’s world. The three volumes of The Universal History of Numbers are probably the first comprehensive history of numbers and of counting from Prehistory to the modern age. They are also the story of how the human race has learnt to think logically.

In Volume 1, Georges Ifrah leads the reader through the whole art and science of numeration as it has developed all over the world, from the court sages of Mesopotamia and Egypt to the priests and astronomers who perfected the Mayan calendar. We meet those who count to four—anything more is “lots”; we discover the first use of fingers and toes for counting; we follow the sequence of trial and error that chose a number of bases for counting until base 10, the metric system, was put in place. In the Far East they perfected many centuries ago a method of counting with the abacus that remains astonishing in its speed and sophistication. Yet it still begs the intriguing question: how did they manage for all those hundreds of years without the zero?

Amazing, captivating and enriching, The Universal History of Numbers is a must read not only for specialists and academics, but also for the average reader who is interested in the development of civilization.

‘‘ ‘… a masterwork…’—Time Out Mumbai‘ … remarkable in scope and clarity’—Dawn