Unfortunately I was unable to read this in the suggested time frame.

Star rating is my falling having read this since the book left netgalley.

Many thanks for the opportunity to read this book.

This book is a fun non fiction read which focusses on maths and how our modern day lives are built on it. It is not a serious maths book written only for people with a degree in maths to enjoy, but it’s a fun anecdotal look at the art of numbers and the errors which happen because of them!

Some parts for me were a bit long winded and there was too much explanation for something which could have been said in a couple of lines. But nestled in amongst all that were some great examples of things that have gone wrong coupled with lots of facts and figures. Some of the stories told are really interesting but do make you wonder what on earth any of it has to do with maths and numbers. It all does though and it’s amazing how much we do rely on maths, even as far as to calculate whether a bridge is safe! Unfortunately, as some of these stories prove, even maths goes wrong sometimes and there are some funny examples of when they do and then some more tragic ones. For me, it’s definitely the little pieces of information you’re given which are the most interesting and these will definitely make you a hit at small talk, great at quizzes or just bore people with endless mindless facts!

All in all, though, this book is quite in depth, and there are lots of numbers in it which do make you go cross eyed if you read it for any length of time! It is however, perfect for dipping in and out of, giving time to digest what you’ve just read before you pick it back up again for another round of numbers!

A bright and compelling read, Humble Pi is a collection of modern mathematics mischief; finely balanced between humorous and horrifying.

"Humble Pi" is a fun non-fiction book on big and small math errors. Some were really interesting and gave some insight into every-day maths problems, while others were so unbelievable that, while talking about them to others, people looked at me weirdly and basically called me gullible.

I definitely enjoyed this and would have loved to read about even more maths errors that lead the unbelievable consequences.

I thought Humble Pi was simply brilliant. It is fascinating and very funny in places.

Matt Parker is both a mathematician and a comedian, both of which show strongly here. He gives us a book crammed with extremely interesting examples of the importance of maths in our world and of what can go wrong when the maths isn’t done right. These extend from bridge disasters and medical tragedies to glitches in computer games, financial fiddles and so on.

It sounds like the sort of book where I’d normally expect to read a couple of chapters, take a break and come back to it, but it is so interesting and so entertaining that I read the whole thing from start to finish with great pleasure. Parker writes with flair and real wit, with the odd laugh-out-loud one-liner, too. I found it an absolute joy and even if you’re not very interested in maths, I can recommend this very warmly indeed.

(My thanks to Penguin Books for an ARC via NetGalley.)

Humble Pi is an entertaining book of anecdotes about people making mathematical and engineering mistakes. There were quite a few stories I’d heard already, but also a good number which were new to me, The style was chatty and informal, but not dumbed down.

An excellent, fun book for your favourite engineer.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing a review copy in exchange for honest feedback.