Nonplussed!

Havil through some engaging and often surprising mathematical and statistical oddities is more demanding than the usual 'popular math book' it is billed...All topics are covered by an always carefully crafted mathematical exposition, not leaving out necessary preliminaries and providing rigorous proofs. -- J. Mayer, Choice Even many high school students without a calculus background will benefit from the problems contained in the book... The book contains a little algebra, some geometry, and a great deal of probability. It could serve as recreational reading for teachers as well as for student use in a probability course or courses following algebra 2. Mathematics clubs and teams would also find Nonplussed! useful. -- Paul Kelley, Mathematics Teacher This is a fun book containing many diverse problems that I had not seen before but it also stimulates some genuinely interesting mathematical thought. Above all, this book highlights the 'frailty of the intuition we routinely use to guide us through our everyday lives' and that, in my mind, is no bad thing. -- Nathan Green, Mathematics Today I recommend the book to everyone interested in entertaining mathematics. -- Christina Birkenhake, Mathematical Intelligencer This book discusses such problems in a generally accessible way, but it does not shy away from using rigorous mathematical arguments to explain them... Some of these topics are quite familiar, but even so I found the discussions clear and often learned some new and quite surprising tidbits. -- Stan Wagon, Mathematical Reviews Those that spend their working lives avoiding mathematics by approaching their problems in all sorts of different ways will benefit from looking at this text, even if it involves following through but one single problem and its mathematical solution. -- C.J.H. Mann, Kybernetes The book is perfect for independent or group study for students in advanced high school mathematics classes or university-level undergraduate mathematics classes. Selected chapters are suitable for discussion during professional development sessions aimed at engaging mathematics teachers in rigorous mathematics investigations and discussions. -- Anne Papakonstantinou, Mathematics Teacher This lovely book will attract the attention of readers who are interested in recreational mathematics like mathematical puzzles and paradoxes. -- Yuri V. Rogovchenko, Zentralblatt MATH Havil has an excellent mix of an interesting history of each topic and clear and lucid solutions to the problems... Havil's strength is the historical background he gives to each topic and his style of writing which is so easy to read... An interesting and challenging book well worth reading. -- John Sykes, Mathematics in School