Lion Hunting and Other Mathematical Pursuits: A Collection of Mathematics, Verse, and Stories by the Late Ralph P. Boas, Jr (Dolciani Mathematical Expositions)

In the famous paper of 1938, 'A Contribution to the Mathematical Theory of Big Game Hunting', written by Ralph Boas along with Frank Smithies, using the pseudonym H. W. O. Pétard, Boas describes sixteen methods for hunting a lion. This marvelous collection of Boas memorabilia contains not only the original article, but also several additional articles, as late as 1985, giving many further methods. But once you are through with lion hunting, you can hunt through the remainder of the book to find numerous gems by and about this remarkable mathematician. Not only will you find his biography of Bourbaki along with a description of his feud with the French mathematician, but also you will find a lucid discussion of the mean value theorem. There are anecdotes Boas told about many famous mathematicians, along with a large collection of his mathematical verses. You will find mathematical articles like a proof of the fundamental theorem of algebra and pedagogical articles giving Boas' views on making mathematics intelligible.

This is a marvelous collection of Boas articles, gems and memorabilia, including his famous paper of
1938.

The Mathematics Teacher

If you are one who believes that all mathematicians are off in a world by themselves and not regular people-read this book.
If you enjoy reading light, humorous vignettes about famous people-read this book.
If you like the short, humorous poetry of Ogden Nash or the snappy observations of Dorothy Parker-read this book.
If you just plain like mathematics- read this book!
This tribute to Ralph Philip Boas, a fine mathematician, also shares with the reader a much broader profile of a man who contributed to the mathematics community as editor, teacher, administrator, and insightful humorist. Included are many of his lighter mathematical papers, along with verse, stories, anecdotes, and recollections of his interactions with the most prominent mathematicians of 1930 to 1985. Perhaps the most important feature of this books is how it subtly makes the reader aware of the nature of mathematics... I highly recommend Lion Hunting and Other Mathematical Pursuits to high school mathematics clubs, mathematics teachers of all levels, and anyone interested in mathematics. The reader will want to red the book to find out what lion hunting has to do with mathematics!

In the famous paper of 1938, 'A Contribution to the Mathematical Theory of Big Game Hunting', written by Ralph Boas along with Frank Smithies, using the pseudonym H.W.O. Pe;tard, Boas describes sixteen methods for hunting a lion. This marvelous collection of Boas memorabilia contains not only the original article, but also several additional articles, as late as 1985, giving many further methods. But once you are through with lion hunting, you can hunt through the remainder of the book to find numerous gems by and about this remarkable mathematician. Not only will you find his biography of Bourbaki along with a description of his feud with the French mathematician, but also you will find a lucid discussion of the mean value theorem. There are anecdotes Boas told about many famous mathematicians, along with a large collection of his mathematical verses. You will find mathematical articles like a proof of the fundamental theorem of algebra and pedagogical articles giving Boas' views on making mathematics intelligible This little known mathematical discipline has not, of recent years, received in the literature the attention which, in our opinion, it deserves.