A review by fiveloaves
Unknown Quantity: A Real and Imaginary History of Algebra by John Derbyshire

4.0

Interesting and comprehensible, despite the complex algebraic concepts of the book. My one issue with this book is how frequently the author uses phrases like "about whom I shall say more later" and "which I am going to describe in just a moment." The book is full of these promises, and it often feels as if the author goes on tangents and sometimes fails to circle back to the original topic. Some sections feel disorganized and incomplete. However, overall it was a pleasant read, and it does a good enough job of capturing in only 300+ pages a very large field of math.