Pentagons and Pentagrams - by Eli Maor & Eugen Jost

About the Book

"This book tells the story of the pentagon and its cousin, the pentagram, delving into the shapes' history, mathematical features, cultural significance, and their role in nature, science, and art. While the pentagon may seem to be a quotidian shape, it has a fascinating history. It was a favorite symbol of the Pythagoreans, a cult who reportedly used the shape to identify themselves to other members. Over the years, it became a source of fascination for mathematicians, and efforts to study this shape ultimately led to the discovery of the golden ratio. In the late 1900s, a materials scientist discovered a material whose crystal structure displayed fivefold symmetry-breaking a core tenet of chemical symmetry. Despite its rich history, the pentagon has not yet received a book-length treatment. This book provides the first such treatment, offering a sweeping view of the five-sided polygon and its role in mathematics, history, nature, and art. The book discusses Fibonnacci numbers, stained-glass design, and pentagonal medieval fortifications, among other topics. Striking illustrations by artist Eugen Jost provide a visual representation of this object's history."--

Book Synopsis

A fascinating exploration of the pentagon and its role in various cultures

The pentagon and its close cousin, the pentagram, have inspired individuals for the last two and half millennia, from mathematicians and philosophers to artists and naturalists. Despite the pentagon's wide-ranging history, no single book has explored the important role of this shape in various cultures, until now. Richly illustrated, Pentagons and Pentagrams offers a sweeping view of the five-sided polygon, revealing its intriguing geometric properties and its essential influence on a variety of fields.

Traversing time, Eli Maor narrates vivid stories, both celebrated and unknown, about the pentagon and pentagram. He discusses the early Pythagoreans, who ascribed to the pentagon mythical attributes, adopted it as their emblem, and figured out its construction with a straightedge and compass. Maor looks at how a San Diego housewife uncovered four previously unknown types of pentagonal tilings, and how in 1982 a scientist's discovery of fivefold symmetries in certain alloys caused an uproar in crystallography and led to a Nobel Prize. Maor also discusses the pentagon's impact on many buildings, from medieval fortresses to the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. Eugen Jost's superb illustrations provide sumptuous visual context, and the book's puzzles and mazes offer fun challenges for readers, with solutions given in an appendix.

Review Quotes

"A Choice Outstanding Academic Title of the Year"

About the Author

Eli Maor is a former professor of the history of mathematics at Loyola University Chicago. His books include the internationally acclaimed To Infinity and Beyond, e: The Story of a Number, The Pythagorean Theorem: A 4,000-Year History, Music by the Numbers, and with Eugen Jost, Beautiful Geometry (all Princeton). Eugen Jost is a well-known Swiss artist whose work is strongly influenced by mathematics.