Me, a bespectacled, furry-faced man of 42, holding a book titled "The Mathematicians Library, The Books That Unlocked The Power of Numbers". My finger is pointing at the author's name, which is "Thomas K. Briggs". My face holds a look of shock and surprise.

The Mathematicians’ Library

About the book

The Mathematicians’ Library is a book of books; an exploration of works throughout human history that have contributed to the development of mathematics as a subject. The word ‘books’ is loosely defined: as well as printed, bound and published works, there are also papyri, clay tablets, and at least one leg bone from an ancient relative of the baboon.

It is a relaxed wander through the history of human achievement, picking out a small but well-curated selection from the enormous range of works available, and whilst some are pure maths books, others intersect with such diverse fields of interest as astronomy, literature, and crochet.

Where to buy

Note: The Mathematicians’ Library is currently only available for pre-order as it is due to be released on 09/11/2025

In order of preference:

  1. Head to your local independent high-street bookshop and ask them if they can order you a copy. They need your support!
  2. If you buy from Amazon, please use my referral link: amzn.to/3Zi40k0

Otherwise, it’s available online from Waterstones, Bookshop.org, Hive.co.uk, and many others.

On the high street, most good bookshops will be happy for you to place an order with them!

Dedication

I didn’t get a dedication page in the book, but if I did it would have read…

To my dad, Peter Briggs, who worked it out with a pencil.

My dad died while I was in the latter stages of writing The Mathematicians’ Library. I know he’d be immensley proud to have seen the finished book.

Acknowledgements

I didn’t get an acknowledgements page either, but there are people who deserve a mention. As well as the general support and encouragement provided by friends and family, and the wet shoulders and bent ears of the nearest and dearest members of those two groups, there are a handful of people whose words, deeds, and counsel had very specific effects on the very existence of the book, and shaped its final form in some way.

These people include:

  • Colin Beveridge
  • Peter Rowlett
  • Brigitte Stenhouse

and I am eternally grateful for the help that they offered.

Q&A

These are some questions I’ve been asked about The Mathematicians’ Library and its content, along with my answers. If you have a question that’s not answered here, get in touch!

I’m not a mathematician: will I get anything out of reading The Mathematicians’ Library?

Yes! I wrote it with you in mind: someone who doesn’t necessarily think of themselves as a mathematician, but wants to find out more about how mathematics has developed over time, and to explore the effect that it has had on the development of humanity. It’s not just a book about maths: it’s a book about history; a book about people; and a book about books!

And, by the way, if you’re engaging with mathematics on any level and for any reason, as far as I’m concerned you are a mathematician.

Why didn’t you include [book title]?

There are many, many titles that can be argued to have some influence on the development of mathematics throughout human history, and a big reason why any given example might be missing is that there just isn’t enough space in any sensibly-sized book to fit them all in. An extension of this idea is that there are too many books to fit inside one human brain, so I may have forgotten about some; and may not even have encountered others. If your favourite book is missing and you feel that it needs to be spoken about, please do let me know about it. I’m happy to consider hosting a well-written Blog post about it if you’d like to go that far!

Will you sign my copy of The Mathematicians’ Library?

Yes! If we’re in the same place at the same time I’m happy to do so, and totally stoked that you asked. Can I borrow a pen?

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