About the Book

In this book, Maor rejects the usual arid descriptions of the sine and cosine functions and their trigonometric relatives. He brings the subject to life in a compelling blend of mathematics, history, and biography. From the ‘proto-trigonometry’ of the Egyptian pyramid builders to Renaissance Europe’s quest for more accurate artillery, from the earliest known trigonometric table, carved on a clay tablet by an unknown Babylonian scholar, to Fourier’s famous theorem, which finally explained the source of musical harmony, here is a rich tapestry of almost four thousand years of trigonometric history. Trigonometric Delights will change forever our view of a once-dreaded subject.