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“An assemblage of mathematical fancies and entertainments��

An interesting idea for an anthology of short stories on a single, albeit vast, topic �� mathematics.

“Teachers in many cases found it an effective tool, possibly like the sugar coating on a pill. Just as small children train themselves for ‘real�� life through play, so some of us may approach the ostensibly forbidding country of mathematics through the gateway of fun and fancy.��

And, elsewhere in the foreword, editor Fadiman provides an obvious explanation for the clever title calling his collection of tidbits “Invitational Mathematics��.

“The reader is merely asked to look at some odd, shiny, sometimes ridiculous bits and pieces the magpie has retrieved in the course of her housekeeping.��

He ended that foreword with the wish,

“I hope that its stories, cartoons, humorous sketches, parodies, lyrics, anecdotes, verses, and playful speculations will help to seduce those who think they have nonmathematical minds into entering at least the anteroom of the crowded, astonishing, and almost magical hall of mathematics.��

I would concur with the wish and review THE MATHEMATICAL MAGPIE simply by expressing my opinion that the quality of the individual items included in the anthology range from weak and uninteresting to astonishing, amusing, laugh-out-loud funny 5-star gems.

Paul Weiss