Author:Matt Parker
**The First Ever Maths Book to be a No.1 Bestseller**
'Wonderful ... superb' Daily Mail
What makes a bridge wobble when it's not meant to? Billions of dollars mysteriously vanish into thin air? A building rock when its resonant frequency matches a gym class leaping to Snap's 1990 hit I've Got The Power? The answer is maths. Or, to be precise, what happens when maths goes wrong in the real world.
As Matt Parker shows us, our modern lives are built on maths: computer programmes, finance, engineering. And most of the time this maths works quietly behind the scenes, until ... it doesn't. Exploring and explaining a litany of glitches, near-misses and mishaps involving the internet, big data, elections, street signs, lotteries, the Roman empire and a hapless Olympic shooting team, Matt Parker shows us the bizarre ways maths trips us up, and what this reveals about its essential place in our world.
Mathematics doesn't have good 'people skills', but we would all be better off, he argues, if we saw it as a practical ally. This book shows how, by making maths our friend, we can learn from its pitfalls. It also contains puzzles, challenges, geometric socks, jokes about binary code and three deliberate mistakes. Getting it wrong has never been more fun.
Matt Parker has pulled off something wonderful . . . his stories are superb.
—— Marcus Berkmann , The Daily MailParker is consistently very funny . . . highly entertaining.
—— The GuardianNumbers to die for. Four stars.
—— Simon Griffith , Mail on SundayBought it yesterday, enjoying it enormously, well done!
—— Dara Ó Briain , TwitterI just finished the new book by irrepressible maths enthusiast @standupmaths, and it's GREAT!
—— Adam Savage, ex-host of 'Mythbusters' , TwitterAn entertaining and often alarming journey through the numerical blunders made over the years.
—— The Big IssueVery funny. . . a compendium of stories about mathematical failures; some are amusing, others alarming, as in the case of the passenger aircraft that ran out of fuel because it had been measured in the wrong units
—— Telegraph Books of the YearThe surprise bestseller that makes maths fun
—— Sunday Times MagazineFun, informative, and relentlessly entertaining, Humble Pi is a charming and very readable guide to some of humanity's all-time greatest miscalculations - that also gives you permission to feel a little better about some of your own mistakes
—— Ryan North, author of How to Invent EverythingIn the past two-and-a-half years Molly - the UK's only canine pet detective - has helped reunite 86 missing cats with their desperate owners
—— Daily ExpressThe story of a cocker spaniel who thanks to the love and devotion of her owner, finds a new life, a new purpose and a forever friend
—— Sunday ExpressA wonderful insight into some of their most dramatic rescues . . . Colin writes with an easy style that will have you hooked from page one
—— Cat WorldPet detective Molly the cocker spaniel is a feline's best friend and always ready to help . . . now [owner] Colin has written a book about their adventures
—— Waitrose WeekendWill take readers along some of the most dramatic pet rescues Colin and Molly have performed
—— Watford ObserverFull of fascinating insights and advice on the art of listening... a deeply researched and thought-provoking read… [that] feels timely and necessary
—— Eastern Daily Press, *Book of the Week*A thoroughly researched piece of long-form journalism… An interesting read.
—— Natalie Bowen , UK Press SyndicationMurphy offers a timely reminder of how we could enrich out lives and relationships if we redouble our efforts to listen to opposing views.
—— Lucy Popescu , TabletIn an age when technology has made it easier than ever before to talk with each other, we've paradoxically become worse at listening. Fortunately, we have Kate Murphy to teach us how to reclaim this crucial skill. This book changed the way I think about communicating with the people who matter to me.
—— Cal Newport , New York Times bestselling author of Deep Work and Digital MinimalismA timely intervention
—— Niki Seth-Smith , New HumanistWarn, earnest, gently beseeching... Carefully read, Murphy's book might help us all pay more great compliments to the ones we love
—— M. M. Owen , Times Literary SupplementJaw-dropping… This book is a snapshot of the dangers of a world designed to fit a minority
—— Barbara Speed , iPlain, detailed and almost overwhelming prose… There is no anger in Criado Perez's pages – she is too busy with evidence for that
—— Tanya Gold , UnHerdBook that did most to change the way I thought? Caroline Criado Perez's Invisible Women... Perez has delivered a much needed correction: full of persuasive examples and analysis of areas from public policy, medicine, economics and elsewhere in which data have been gathered in such a way as to obscure or omit matters of most concern to women. I learned a lot
—— Tim HarfordInvisible Women… is a book that changes the way you see the world
—— Allan Massie , Sunday TimesThe book’s force doesn’t derive from the power of its rhetoric – instead it’s the steady, unrelenting accumulation of evidence, the sheer weight of her argument’
—— Sophie McBain , New StatesmanCaroline Criado Perez brilliantly exposes the appalling gender bias that underpins the collection of data and how it’s used. From medical treatments that fail to take female biology into account, to car safety features that are designed for the male body, women are the invisible 51%. This deeply researched and passionate book is the most important contribution to gender equality in years.
—— Amanda ForemanIn Invisible Women…Caroline Criado Perez expounds the far-reaching consequences of the “default male” mode… She urges a realignment of priorities… [a] call to action
—— Mia Levitin , Times Literary SupplementEnding the biases she [Perez] exposes wouldn’t just reduce inequality; it would, in some cases, save actual lives
—— The Week, *Book of the Week*Invisible Women is an essential handbook in the fight to build a more equal world. It’s based on enough data to satisfy even the fussiest scientist and will make you look at the world in a new light. However, the style is light enough that it doesn’t feel like hard work. Read it for yourself, then lend it to all your friends, of any gender
—— Chemistry WorldPerez’s analysis is wide-ranging and compelling… one of the most powerful takeaways from Perez’s book is the extent to which so much of this [gendered] bias is unconscious, such that we are all infected by it. Feminism is the process of unlearning this, but it’s an ongoing process, for all of us
—— ConversationAn impeccably researched, determined and passionate demand for change
—— Sian Norris , ProspectThe depth and scope of this book will shock you… Invisible Women is an essential handbook in the fight to build a more equal world… Read it for yourself, then lend it to all your friends, of any gender
—— Philippa Matthews , Chemistry WorldAn extraordinary book
—— Anthony Reuben , Big IssueOne of the most compelling books I’ve read in years
—— Josie Cox , Independent[An] astounding book
—— Dominic Browne , HighwaysA strong case for change
—— Sarah Shaffi , StylistInvisible Women makes excellent points about how biased data are hidden and have pervasive negative impacts on the lives of women and girls
—— Margaret McCartney , LancetCriado Perez’s devastating indictment is a worthy bestseller
—— Guardain, *Summer Reads of 2019*This book is a wake-up call for us all
—— Church Times, *Summer Reads of 2019*Overwhelmingly powerful
—— Kistina Rapacki , DisegnoFew books this year are as important as activist Criado-Perez’s data crunch into the inequalities between men and women. She finds something to engage and enrage on every page
—— Sarah Hughes , i, *Best books of 2019*A fascinating look at the gender biases affecting our everyday lives
—— Women's RunningThis book is comprehensive, well researched and thoroughly referenced with copious endnotes… [it] made me…shift my perspective
—— Toni Sekinah , DataIQThought-provoking, eye-opening
—— Iona Grey , HeatNot only a gripping but an important book… It’s funny when it’s not horrifying, deeply researched and done with real verve
—— Sam Leith , Spectator, *Books of the Year*Few books really change the way you look at the world. Invisible Women is one of those rarities
—— Robbie Millen , The Times, *Books of the Year*What makes Invisible Women so compelling is the mountain of data she draws on… a brilliant exposé
—— Ian Sample , Guardian, *Books of the Year*Every man should read this book… [Invisible Women] chats, in page after steely, meticulous page, precisely how the world…is designed around men, and how this puts women at an impossible disadvantage
—— James McConnachie , Sunday Times, *Books of the Year*Funny, exasperating and anger-inducing, there is something for everyone
—— Eleanor Parsons , New ScientistThe essential book of the year, mayhap the decade
—— Marina Vaizey , Tablet, *Books of the Year*A staggering expose of design prejudice and an impassioned call to action
—— ListPerez takes the truism that ours is a world designed for men and backs it with evidence. Impressively collating vast amounts of research
—— Prospect, *Books of the Year*A must-read for men and women alike
—— Hannah Beckerman , Sunday ExpressThis calm, dispassionate, hilarious, entertaining, maddening, infuriating narrative is a highly readable manifesto for real change
—— Marina Vaizey , The Arts Desk, *Books of the Year*This well-researched book turns everything we accept as normal on its head…[Invisible Women] succeeds in making a powerful case for change in a non-preachy, educative style… It is not entertainment; it is a thesis – and a powerful one at that
—— Alison Herbert and Dr Phyl Hughes , Law Society GazetteThis incredibly well-researched and engaging book highlights how the lack of gender-focused data results in the needs of more than half of the population being ignored. The numerous examples cited by Criado-Perez – ranging from infrastructure to healthcare – are shocking and sobering… Invisible Women offers valuable insight into the transformative power of diversity and equality to drive better economic outcomes
—— Christie Guimond , BriefingSuch an insightful book and a good read for everyone
—— Julie Stewart , Business TimesIncredibly topical and relevant in a rapidly changing world, Criado Perez’s multi-award-winning exposé on data bias has seen her become an authority on modern day inequalities
—— CapacityInvisible Women...is already a classic, but I can't recommend it enough
—— Sarah Pedersen , Times Higher EducationA powerful, insightful book
—— Tim Harford , WeekCompelling... revelatory... Criado Perez provides bountiful evidence of her thesis
—— Mariel McKone Leonard , London School of EconomicsA huge eye-opener
—— Jojo de Noronha , GrocerA witty, furious page-turner
—— Emma Donoghue , WeekInvisible Women is highly recommended to both men and women as an incredibly readable piece of journalism... Many of you will also find you cannot put down this passionate and informative book until you've finished it... illuminating and engaging
—— Platinum Business MagazineCompelling
—— Dr Mariel McKone Leonard , London School of EconomicsFilled with hair raising facts and figures, [Invisible Women] investigates the jarring matter of discrepancy and representation in our modern world... make no mistake, once you begin reading, it's hard to stop
—— Reilly Dufresne , Glasgow Guardian, *Christmas Gift Guide 2020*A deeply important and useful book... Fast, funny, angry and vital... A proper game-changer.
—— Caitlin Moran , Foyles, *Author Picks for Christmas*Criado Perez keeps the gobsmacking revelations flowing in a conversational manner, making the reader feel like she’s having lunch with a funny, knowledgeable and passionate friend
—— Science News