I was never one for math. My dad was quite good at it, so it has always escaped me why math escaped me.
My dad was the only person I knew personally who could do math, until I met my dad-in-law. My wife's father - Jerry P. King - is not only a professor of advanced mathematics at Lehigh University (now retired, actually), but he also writes BOOKS about the subject.
As I said, I'm no expert, but I reckon you have to know a sh*tload about math to write an entire book about it. Two books??? Forget about it!!!
Jerry's first book, The Art of Mathematics, came out a few years ago. It's a good read. His second book - Mathematics in 10 Lessons: The Grand Tour - is now available for pre-order on Amazon. I can not say how good it is because when my wife and I visited over the holidays, she was permitted to look at the galleys, but I think Jerry was afraid that I would spill corn pudding on it, so I was kept away.
You should buy this book because:
1.) Like me, you probably haven't done long division in 35 years and could honestly use a refresher;
2.) The stock market meltdown has decimated my retirement plans and I am counting on Jerry tossing a few tokens from book sales in my direction;
3.) He's a sub-3 hour marathoner WHO'S ALSO REALLY GOOD AT MATH! C'mon - that HAS to be enough of a reason right there;
4.) From what I understand, the book cover is one of those deals where if you stare at it long enough, a 3-D image of a dolphin or Pamela Anderson appears;
5.) Big sales = movie rights. I'm hoping that Ashton Kutcher plays me.
So place your orders now and let's totally mess with the New York Times and get it on the best seller list.