In a book for those who dislike mathematics, an alien explains the many areas in which math is used, including baking, music, navigation, and measurements.

Presents a selection from the archives of the New York newspaper of its writings on mathematics from 1892 to 2010, covering such topics as chaos theory, statistics, cryptography, and computers.

Offers targeted practice on solving word problems. Questions are divided into six chapters to focus on algebra, geometry, fractions, percents, decimals, and miscellaneous math that range from easy to advanced problem solving.

Approaches mathematics using an assortment of puzzles and problems and the metaphorical structure of a maze.

"In 2010, award-winning professor Steven Strogatz wrote a series for the New York Times online called "The Elements of Math." It was hugely popular: Each piece climbed the most emailed list and elicited hundreds of comments. Readers begged for more, and Strogatz has now delivered. In this fun, fast-paced book, he offers us all a second chance at math. Each short chapter of The Joy of X provides an "Aha!" moment, starting with why numbers are helpful,...