Completely fascinating." TIMES EDUCATIONAL SUPLEMENT Journeying through time, THE STORY OF NUMBERS explores the history of mathematics to trace the rise of various number sysems in cultures from Mesopotamia to the modern Computer Era. John McLeish reveals how these number systems in turn have shaped the cultures that devised them. From the secrets and the beauty of the Mayan calendar, to Arabaian algebra, the Chinese counting board, from Pythagoras to Newton to Boole, McLeish uncovers the human side of numbers, who used them and how they have shaped our world.