Finding Fibonacci: The Quest to Rediscover the Forgotten Mathematical Genius Who Changed the World

Stanford mathematician Devlin (The Unfinished Game) leads a cheerful pursuit to rediscover the hero of 13th-century European mathematics, taking readers across centuries and through the back streets of medieval and modern Italy in this entertaining and surprising history. Devlin’s target is Leonardo of Pisa (later known as Leonardo Fibonacci), a mathematician whose book Liber abbaci played a key role in the making of the modern world. Leonardo was the son of a prosperous merchant in Pisa, a major trade hub between Europe and the Arab world, and he would have had plenty of hands-on experience with practical math and algebra in the marketplace. His book, filled with “recreational” math problems, was well known in its time, Devlin says, and it spawned an entire popular genre of abbacus books, only to be forgotten until the 1960s, some 800 years later. From the busy streets of Pisa’s Piazza dei Miracoli and Leaning Tower to the ornate buildings of the University of Siena and the mysterious chambers of the Biblioteca Riccardiana, Devlin relates Leonardo’s adventures with brio and charm. Readers will enjoy this deft and engaging mix of history, mathematics, and personal travelogue. Agent: Ted Weinstein Literary Management. (Apr.)