Well, I did get overwhelmed as the equations got more complex, but the ideas and process were so well explained, the human side of scientists so well presented. The short pieces after each equation were very well done and made you want to forge ahead. ( )

This account of the 10 most influential equations in history is very much a mixed bag. The equations it covers (pythagorean theorem, Newton's 2nd Law of Motion, his Law of Universal Gravitation, Euler's Equation, the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics, Maxwell's Equations, E=mc2, General Relativity, Schrodinger's Equation and Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle) are biased towards physics, which is perfectly fine, but in almost every case, the explanations for the meaning of the equations themselves and their scientific impact are problematic. Sometimes the maths or science is not explained clearly, either because he doesn't really try to explain them, or he just skips over important parts. Sometimes the large import or context of the scientific discovery is vague as well. This is not really a book to learn about maths or science, and given the promised content I was very disappointed by this.

The strengths of the book lie in taking these equations and using them to reveal aspects of science generally, particularly from a sociological or philosophical point of view. The best parts of the book are when Crease talks about the nature of science, in terms of patterns, and the importance of mathematics for this aim.

But for me, a jobbing scientist myself, the comments were obvious and occasionally superficial and most scientists could say so much more about what it is like to be a scientist on a day to day basis - the emotional roller coaster and so on - than an historian of science trying to peer inside our world.

So ultimately, I was dissatisfied with this book, and didn't quite see it's point, given that it almost has too many aims - teaching maths or science, teaching the philosophy of science, its practical human life and so on - and for this reason and others, for each of these aims it doesn't really achieve what it needs and there are other more focused books that are more clear and profound. ( )

The most enjoyable book about math I have ever read. It has actually inspired an interest in finding about more about mathematics and some of the thinkers he wrote about. I highly recommend it, both for its educational value and for the way he opens up what is usually a dense and dry subject for non-mathematicians/ scientists. Excellent writer. ( )

Famed equations of Pythagoras (right triangles), Newton (motion, gravity), Euler (e to the i pi ...), the thermodynamicists (second law), Maxwell (electromagnetism), Einstein (mass-energy, curved spacetime), Schrödinger (quantum wavefunctions), and Heisenberg (uncertainty) -- their epistemological roots and ramifications cogently essayed.

'...in this enjoyable book he explores 10 rather beautiful equations...explains the significance of each of these formulas for science and, in brief “interludes” between chapters, explores the “journeys” these scientists took “from ignorance to knowledge,” and the “social lives” of their theories...'Publisher's Weekly 10/6/2008