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| Author: Ian Stewart
Publisher: Basic Books
Category: Book
List Price: $15.95
Buy New: $4.81
You Save: $11.14 (70%)
New (27) Used (29) from $3.94
Avg. Customer Rating:  34 reviews
Sales Rank: 60567
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 8.2 x 5.4 x 1
ISBN: 073820675X
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.914
EAN: 9780738206752
ASIN: 073820675X
Publication Date: April 2002
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: HARDCOVER with Original Dust Jacket in Excellent Condition
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| Customer Reviews:
 A sequel just as good as the original June 22, 2006
12 out of 13 found this review helpful
If imitation is the sincerest form of flatterly, that expertly executed imitation must certainly be the most...flattering.
In this way, excellent flattery is what this book both promises and delivers in a big way.
After having read the Edwin Abbott Abbott book Flatland in 1962, ideas germinated in Ian Stewart's head for three decades before he took pen in hand and created, Flatterland...a sequel just as good as the original.
For those who don't know, Flatland is the 1884 story of square living in a flat society, Flatland, who comes to learn about higher dimensions, with his friend the sphere.
Set one hundred years later, Flatterland picks up the story with Victoria the line segment, Mr. Square's grand daughter, who re-visits high dimensions given modern understanding of what those higher dimensions are.
And even though some discussions contain pretty academic mathematical theory, on the whole, the book manages that unique accessibility and magic that comes when true understanding is combined with a great ability to communicate.
If all Stewart managed was to create a modern tour of physics and math touching on such diverse topics as how the universe came to be, whether we really do live in a "uni"verse,contemporary M brane theory, string theory and how other dimensions relate to all these issues, the book would merit five stars.
However, and to Stewart's credit, the book actually also touches on higher dimensions as a metaphor for overturning two dimensional ways of looking at things...just like the original. If Abbott was around to read this book one can't help but think that he and Mr. Square would be very pleased indeed.
 Tries too hard- February 24, 2006
6 out of 11 found this review helpful
A lame attempt at hyper-cuteness. One of the strengths of the original Flatland was its timelessness, and universality, even with its topical satire. This sequel is dumbed down to the point of being nearly unreadable. Maybe this will seem quaint in a hundred years- I can wait. If it's ever made into a film, Moon Zappa would be ideal- "like, fer shure."
Good teaching tool June 21, 2004
22 out of 22 found this review helpful
I've used Flatland and Sphereland in my High School Pre-Calculus class. They're both entertaining books, but also ones that are a bit elementary for the class. I would say they are written for entertainment first, enlightenment second. Flatterland is NOT the same type of book. I have never been an Ian Stewart fan, but I do like this book. While the first two books are easy enough for a 7th grade student to understand, the topics in this book will require most high school students to be walked through the material. It's not an easy read. I will use this book with some of my students in the future, but only those that enjoy a challenge. It's true that the book tries to cover too much, but I think you should view it as a survey of modern mathematics. In my opinion, this is some of the best writing I've seen from Stewart, but definitely not up to the literary level set by Flatland and Sphereland.
No Words to Describe It! January 13, 2004
22 out of 22 found this review helpful
As a high school student, I was tortured into reading this book for Math Analysis. Having previously read Flatland, I was not keen on the idea of reading the sequel. My grade-conscious self got the better of me and I started to read the book. From the first chapter I was enthralled! Ian Stewart knew how to write and keep my attention. My parents had to threaten me so I would put it down so I could eat. (Imagine: a high schooler entranced in a MATH book!) I so totally recommend this book because I would have NEVER understood Mandelblot (er... Mandelbrot) nor would I have read on to discover a plethora of new dimensions (one and a quarter). I would recommend any person, avid mathematician or high schooler, to read this. It was easily understood and Ian Stewart is a fantastic writer! Too bad they didn't have ten stars!
An enjoyable sequel September 4, 2003
21 out of 25 found this review helpful
This book is a sequel to Edwin Abbott's "Flatland" and makes its heroine a granddaughter of the hero of Abbott's book. Some people may find his playing with words excessive (his heroine is named "Victoria Line," combining the fact that she is literally a geometric "line" with the name of a subway line in London) but the book manages to cover a lot of territory in an amusing manner. I can't say I _learned_ a lot from the book, because I already knew most of its subject matter, but I'd certainly encourage someone who wanted to learn about curved spaces and higher dimensions to read it. The ultimate accolade: _After_ I had read it from cover to cover, I bought a copy, just so I'd have it in my own library.
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