"Prime Obsession" taught us not to be afraid to put the math in a math book. "Unknown Quantity" heeds the lesson well. So grab your graphing calculators, slip out the slide rules, and buckle up John Derbyshire is introducing us to algebra through the ages -- and it promises to be just what his die-[...]

Gives form to the beauty and mystery of algebra, the most abstract of mathematical disciplines, in a reference that presents a cast of extraordinary historical characters who, through the centuries and across the world, played a role in the genesis of algebra. Reprint.[...]