Here is the essential guide to mathematics, an authoriatitive reference book and timeline that explores the work of history's greatest mathematicians. These include the teasing genius of Pierre de Fermat, who said he knew the answers but rarely gave them up, the helpful guidance of Fibonacci, whose 13th-century compendium for bookkeepers proved to be a valuable tool for the most high-minded mathematicians, and the fractal pattern discovered by Waclaw Sierpinkski now used to plan the route a mailman takes. With a glimpse of the abstract landscapes of infinite numbers and multi-dimensional shapes that these incredible minds explore, we can begin to get beyond school-day sums and understand the true power of mathematics. Includes a removable fold-out concertina nearly housed at the back of the book, with a 12 page Timeline History of Mathematics and 12 pages of Mathematical Enigmas.