Alfred S. Posamentier and Ingmar Lehmann are enamored with the beauty of The Fabulous Fibonacci Numbers and they hope their readers will be also when they discover how powerful and relevant they are. This book is brimming with history and examples of where and how the numbers are found. Beginning with the history and development of the numbers, the authors offer insight into many surprising interrelationships between these numbers and other aspects of mathematics (such as the Pascal Triangle). They investigate “sightings” of these numbers by subject area (such as Nature, Art, Architecture, and Music) and they “discuss the nature and glory of the golden ratio” as well as a “potpourri” of applications and recreations of the numbers. Not considering the numbers mere agents for pastime amusement, though, they also treat them seriously by examining their more inflexible properties and distributions.
The “Afterword” by Herbert A. Hauptman is a valuable resource in and of itself, definitely a delight for philomaths, for this man (who was the first mathematician to win the Nobel Prize – for Chemistry, in 1985) demonstrates how he found new patterns involving Fibonacci numbers. He challenges readers to explore until they, too, discover how and why the numbers are seemingly ubiquitous and significant.
The appendices provide a handy “List of the First 500 Fibonacci Numbers, with the First 200 Fibonacci Numbers Factored” and “Proofs of Fibonacci Relationships” previously proposed in the body of the book.
General readers (like myself) will find this book engaging because it is easy to understand; curious modern mathematicians will be enticed by the gently challenging yet illuminating discussion; and people who love math already will love this book, for it offers copious examples and proofs of why the Fibonacci numbers are extraordinary, even “fabulous.”
Beginning with an engaging anecdote, the text is liberally sprinkled with interesting stories and tidbits about people and places and related in various ways to the Fibonacci numbers; therefore, I find the book to be entertaining as well as informative. Moreover, with over 260 Figures and countless charts and diagrams accompanying the clear, concise explanations and instructions, I found this book exceptionally easy to read and understand and would venture to guess that anyone who reads this book and does not already love math may well find themselves newly infatuated.
Alfred S. Posamentier is a distinguished educator, author, and administrator who has received many prestigious awards, titles, and honors worldwide in recognition of the voluminous contributions he has made while addressing educational issues through his writings, lectures, and service to various organizations in the education industry. His long-time passion is reminiscent of Fibonacci’s, for he continually strives to present mathematics in interesting ways for the benefit of teachers, students, and the general public. His more recent books include Strategy Games to Enhance Problem-Solving Ability in Mathematics (2017) and The Circle: A Mathematical Exploration Beyond the Line (2016).
Ingmar Lehmann is a mathematician, retired university teacher, and non-fiction author. For many years, he led the Berlin Mathematics Student Society for gifted secondary school students, an organization with which he is still closely engaged today. He has authored many mathematics texts and coauthored many others with Alfred S. Posamentier, including The Secrets of Triangles, The Glorious Golden Ratio, and Magnificent Mistakes in Mathematics.
Posamentier, Alfred S. and Ingmar Lehmann. The Fabulous Fibonacci Numbers. Prometheus Books, 2007.
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Paperback: 128 pages
Author: Shelley Allen, M.A.Ed.
Publisher: Fibonacci Inc.; 1st edition (2019)
Language: English
