av福利社

The pentagon and its close cousin, the pentagram, have inspired individuals for the last two and half millennia, from mathematicians and philosophers to artists and naturalists. Despite the pentagon鈥檚 wide-ranging history, no single book has explored the important role of this shape in various cultures, until now. Richly illustrated, Pentagons and Pentagrams offers a sweeping view of the five-sided polygon, revealing its intriguing geometric properties and its essential influence on a variety of fields.

Traversing time, Eli Maor narrates vivid stories, both celebrated and unknown, about the pentagon and pentagram. He discusses the early Pythagoreans, who ascribed to the pentagon mythical attributes, adopted it as their emblem, and figured out its construction with a straightedge and compass. Maor looks at how a San Diego housewife uncovered four previously unknown types of pentagonal tilings, and how in 1982 a scientist鈥檚 discovery of fivefold symmetries in certain alloys caused an uproar in crystallography and led to a Nobel Prize. Maor also discusses the pentagon鈥檚 impact on many buildings, from medieval fortresses to the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. Eugen Jost鈥檚 superb illustrations provide sumptuous visual context, and the book鈥檚 puzzles and mazes offer fun challenges for readers, with solutions given in an appendix.

The challenge of popularizing mathematics

Awards and Recognition

• A Choice Outstanding Academic Title of the Year