The Pythagorean Theorem: A 4,000-Year History

Maor, an author and Loyola University math history instructor, has crafted a charming tour through math history, introducing the many ways that the Pythagorean Theorem (in a right triangle, the sum of the squares of the two shorter sides are equal to the square of the hypotenuse) has been proven, interpreted, described and used over four millennia. Despite its name, there's no solid evidence that Pythagoras, born in 570 BCE, formulated the theorem; tablet fragments from 1700 BC show that the ancient Babylonians knew it so well they had devised algebraic tables of Pythagorean triples, and Hindu writings from the sixth and seventh centuries BC show the theorem at use on the Indian subcontinent. Modern understanding of the theorem comes from Euclid, whose Elements were translated and studied by Muslims and Christians alike, and helped formed the foundation for the European Renaissance. Throughout, Maor leads readers through progressively more complicated proofs, some of them real brain-teasers, and though his text is welcoming, it's likely a few steps beyond the purview of casual readers. The numerically-minded will appreciate Maor's look at mathematics as part of the unstoppable human drive to suss out the patterns of nature and understand them, though math junkies may find themselves setting the book aside to take a crack at its tricky proofs.