Book details

Perfect Figures

The Lore of Numbers and How We Learned to Count

Author: Bunny Crumpacker

Perfect Figures

Perfect Figures

$11.99

e-Book

About This Book

An intoxicating trip through the history, the poetry, and the surprising secret meanings of numbers

Page Count
288
On Sale
08/07/2007

Book Details

Since the beginning of civilization, numbers have been more than just a way to keep count. Perfect Figures tells the stories of how each number came to be and what incredible associations and superstitions have been connected to them ever since. Along the way are some of the great oddities of numbers' past as:
-a time when finger-counting was a sign of intelligence (the Venerable Bede could count to a million on his hands)
-the medieval Algorists, who were burnt at the stake for their use of Arabic rather than Roman numerals
-the Bank of England, which stubbornly kept accounts on notched wooden sticks until 1826
Filled with Crumpacker's eloquent wit and broad intelligence, Perfect Figures brings the history of numbers to life just as Bill Bryson did for the English language in The Mother Tongue.

Imprint Publisher

Thomas Dunne Books

ISBN

9781429935470

In The News

“[A] sly meditation on the delicious and dirty convergences of sustenance and psyche.” —The Washington Post Book World on The Sex Life of Food

“A buffet of facts...served with saucy humor....Hilarious.” —The Wall Street Journal on The Sex Life of Food

“[A] sweeping look at how food, sex, and desire are intertwined. A” —Entertainment Weekly on The Sex Life of Food

About the Creators

Perfect Figures

Perfect Figures

$11.99

e-Book