Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

An informative overview with a graphic novel spin that will interest even those who have math anxiety (like myself!)

A Quick History of Math by Clive Gifford, art by Michael Young, covers a broad history of math in only 128 pages. It is fascinating and informative, making for a largely entertaining and educational book. I think the book has a lot of merits, although it does have flaws that dampened my opinions of it.

For the sake of legibility, I'm going to break this down into the pros and cons of the text and the pros and cons of the art.

Text:

Pros: The writing here is funny and accessible, making for an easy-to-follow journey through the history of math. The lighthearted and funny writing style actually manages to make it easier for readers to sound out words that might be harder to pronounce (like the chapter titled Oi Oi Euler), which is definitely a benefit. I came into this book as more of a history geek than a math geek, but this feels like the kind of book that can ignite the two. I feel like I got a great refresher on math I learned in school while getting to enjoy the history, and I suspect that readers that are more interested in math than history will find themselves enjoying the history the way I enjoyed the math. I really liked that it covered a variety of branches of math from a variety of places in the world (while much of the early history is Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Mesopotamian, etc, it also covered Arabic, Indian, Chinese, and Mayan mathematics as well). I feel like I learned a decent bit about math and history having read this, and largely enjoyed the experience of what I read.

Cons: There aren't many cons in the text of this book in my opinion. My biggest complaint is that I wish some areas had gotten more time on the page. For example, only four women are mentioned by name outside of the timeline included. The history of math from the last century is also very western (again, especially without the timeline at the end). I know it's meant to be a quick history, but even another five to ten pages of material might have remedied these issues while still keeping it short.


Art:

Pros: The art style is cute and the kind I typically enjoy in middle-grade nonfiction books. It's easy on the eyes, adds some humour, supplements what is going on in the text, but also doesn't distract from the text. It's what I expect from this kind of book.

Cons: I feel like the art was really hurt by bias, and I found myself questioning a number of the images that appeared on the page. Some of them feel like they lean into racial stereotyping. It was hard to avoid cringeing at some of the more stereotypical images or at the potential implications of the races that were portrayed when unnamed characters were in the art. Because none of it is overtly racist, it feels like it could reinforce biases learned elsewhere. I don't think it really "hurts" the text, but it hurt my opinion of the book, and I don't think these types of biases should still be slipping through into children's literature.


Overall, I enjoyed reading about the history of math, and I felt like tying math to history gave me a fresh enjoyment of math (since I love history). That said, I feel like a bit more length to it (while still keeping it short) could have filled in some unfortunate gaps, and while stylistically the art was fine, the biases shown really hurt my opinion of it. I still feel like it could be redeemed with a subsequent edition, but it's a bit hard to recommend a children's book that might unintentionally reinforce biases. That said, as an adult reader, I enjoyed learning math and history through this book.

When you think that this nation/people invented this kind of math, know that on another place on earth, they invented the other methods. Math is one universal language on how to count. Imagine how the Egyptians built the pyramids! They knew their maths long before our imagination. Or how the Greek completed the geometry by finding pi to calculate the surface area and volume of a sphere. While Mayans discovered about astronomy and Chinese summed up what negative numbers are.

So interesting! To read this kind of book, and reminiscing my good old school days, now I understand better on how math works.

I purchased this book for my collection because there is so little like this for kids, and yet kids who like math, chess, robotics, etc etc will be super in to the subject matter as well as the graphics.

Maybe because I have found a passion for mathematics education in recent months, I found this to be a very pleasant read. I love learning about the history behind how mathematical concepts came to be, especially because it isn't the type of math or history I would have learned from school normally. A fun read for mathematicians of all ages.

A Quick History of Math is perfect for making math fun for kids. It blends education with humor in a creative way. The illustrations are amusing to top it all off. I cannot recommend this enough for classrooms and libraries all over.

Do you love maths? Are you always curious to know how the subject came to lime light? This is the perfect book for all those who are fascinating with numbers, equations and calculations. A knowledge Bank of mathematical facts and deductive reasoning. A complete and fascinating read providing quite an experience.

My Thoughts
As an engineer and a former math tutor, I had to read this book! Here are my pros and cons for A Quick History of Math:

Pros
1. This book is FUNNY! I absolutely loved how it took a subject that a lot of people struggle with and not only made it understandable, but made it funny, too!
2. Most of the math information is broken down with simple explanations and fantastic illustrations. Some of it gets a little complex, but if a reader is interested enough, the basic concepts are clearly described.
3. The illustrations, by Michael Young, range from technical and useful to ridiculous and hilarious!
4. Have I mentioned the book is funny? 😊
5. The book covers concepts from caveman math (notches on bones for counting) all the way to future math concepts and possibilities.
6. The back of the book contains a timeline of math discoveries, a short section about consequences of math mistakes, some mental math challenges (with an answer key), and a glossary! I love it when technical children’s books include a glossary!
7. This book is written for ages 8 to 12 years old, but honestly, it should just say 8 and up. This book is so well-done, that I think anyone with even a passing interest in math or history would enjoy it.

Cons
None.

Summary
Are you going to become a skilled mathematician after reading this book? No. Are you going to learn something about math or math history and laugh while you are learning? Absolutely YES!

I love that books like this exist for kids today and I honestly believe every teacher should have this in their classroom!

Thank you NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group – Wide Eyed Editions for a free eARC of this book, which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

Excellent children’s nonfiction. One of the biggest strengths I saw in this book was the modern design/illustrations. They’re colorful but not too “busy” or distracting. They come alongside facts about mathematical history, which makes math interesting to me 😂 oops... yes, I’m not a mathematical person, but I did enjoy reading about the history and figureheads who were. I really liked the designs and illustrations, they give a crisp feel that make this worth the money for a classroom or library.

Most people never really think about the why's and the history behind mathematical concepts and ideas... which is such a pity, because this book shows how fascinating maths is!

I love how it breaks down the history of math- from geometrical concepts, counting, numbers, and different operations- into manageable pieces for kids to grasp. The illustrations (and bits of comic) is so fun, too. I would definitely recommend this book to my students.

Received the ARC from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

A colorful and interesting peek into the world and history of mathematics.
It has numbers, shapes, theorems and scientists who created them.
A wonderful artwork accompanies bubbly captions.
It is quick read and has clear art and captions.
A very good book.
I learnt a lot of series and interesting numbers.
A really good book for kids who are studying maths in their school.

My little one is absolutely obsessed with numberblocks at the moment. He wakes up and falls asleep dreaming of mathematics. This is why whenever I see a book dedicated to children who enjoy this noble subject and want to know as much as possible about it, I am happy as a parent and an educator.
The book gives an overview of how the humanity discovered the basic concepts we use every day. From counting systems ( I've always been fascinated by the ancient Inca quipus) and the importance of zero to geometry, Pi and irrational numbers, this entertaining history of mathematics explores different time periods and different civilizations.
I really appreciated the clear layout and fun illustrations. Sometimes children's non-fiction books appear too busy and sadly lose their young readers by cramming too many facts in one page.
The book would make a fantastic addtion to an elementary (or even middle grade) school library or any home with an inquisitive child who loves a good joke.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary review copy provided in exchange for an honest opinion.

What a rad book! A Quick History of Math is a deep-dive into the history of numbers and some of the many uses for them. It’s a fascinating read—even for students like myself who never did well in math class, but who are interested in where numbers come from and what we can do with them. (Did I mention the book is hilarious? IT IS! It’s packed with puns and colorful illustrations.) Get ready to time-travel around the world and learn how numbers really add up!

If you are looking forward to an interesting read on the history of Maths this book is it.
This is book gives an extremally informational look at the history of mathematics basics such as numbers and mathematical techniques. Throughout the duration of my reading of this book I began to use the facts told in the book within my Maths lessons. One such fact was that the number 0 was not invented until 628 CE.
I would have enjoyed more jokes amongst the cartoons which would appeal to younger audiences ie 7-9 year old, a target audience which would benefit hugely from context in the Maths lessons and reading.
If you are a fan of the horrible Histories series then this cartoonised timeline of the history of Maths is brilliant. I love forward to reading future books by Clive Gifford.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

This was really fascinating! As someone who loves math and numbers, but isn’t a history buff, this contained a lot of information that I didn’t already know and some I did (and probably some I knew at one point). Very cool way to get kids who like history interested in math or vice versa.

Welcome to the world of Maths Can Be Fun! See counting through early ages using fingers, runes, the abacus, and the Greeks who really moved things along using square roots and all. Which gave rise to Geometry, Algebra, Trig, and into the mysteries of Calculus. There are even things to learn from the Maya, Arabs, Chinese, India, Fibonacci sequence (the Golden Code of all nature), and the workings of computers thanks to people like Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage in the 19th century!
With humor, terrific illustrations, and practical demonstrations of mysterious things, this is a great book for middle grades to retired great-grandmas.
Love it!
Great gift for the local library or even your school!
I requested and received a free temporary ebook from Quarto Publishing Group – Wide Eyed Editions via NetGalley. Thank you!

I like the process approach to math used in this book. While describing some of the major concepts in mathematics discovered in many times and cultures, the book emphasizes the math discoverers and their personal motivations through clever cartoons. Humorous and informative, this is not meant to be a stand alone math text but to offer a new perspective in the intriguing history of ideas. Fun stuff.

This book was great, so interesting and informative. The pictures were funny and engaging. I really enjoy Wide Eyed books and would love to buy this for my kids when they are older!

A Quick History of Math by Clive Gifford provides a simplified overview of the discovery/invention of math and its advancement and evolution throughout human history. This book is incredibly informative, but easy to understand. It starts with first discovery/invention of basic concepts from 43,000 BCE to present day to the possible future of math. It covers many different concepts and cultures all over the world, interesting anecdotes, and a timeline of discoveries/inventions. Each page features vibrant, fun illustrations and would be best for children in later elementary school and middle school. Even adults will find this incredibly informative!

Thank you Quarto Publishing Group – Wide Eyed Editions and NetGalley for providing this ARC.