In Case I’m Banished to a Gulag

People love… and... hate, lists… at least they’re a fun time-and-space-filler, so I've been thinking about which books I’d grab off the shelf if Donald Trump, in his wisdom (spelled “p-a-t-h-o-l-o-g-y”) decided to banish me to a remote Gulag, only letting me take along 10 of my math-related books; which ones might I grab quickly for sustenance and entertainment? In no particular order, here’s what I chose (some aren’t particularly mathy though):

a) The Colossal Book of Mathematics  — Martin Gardner (...so much fun and games and puzzlement!)

b) How Mathematicians Think — William Byers  (...a long time favorite of mine about ideas permeating and underlying mathematics)

c) The Outer Limits of Reason — Noson Yanovsky  (...my favorite volume from the last few years, weaving together so many important subjects)

d) How Not To Be Wrong — Jordan Ellenberg  (...popular best-selling treatment of mathematical thinking)

e) Things To Make and Do In the Fourth Dimension — Matt Parker  (...jaunty, wise, diverse, instructive topics)

f)  Love and Math — Ed Frenkel  (...fascinating bio and intro to the Langlands Program)

g) Math In 100 Key Breakthroughs — Richard Elwes  (...succinct overview of key math topics)

h) The Music of the Primes — Marcus du Sautoy  (...'cuz I gotta have one volume devoted to the Riemann Hypothesis)

i)  Metamagical Themas — Douglas Hofstadter  (...some of the best stuff from Hofstadter's fertile mind)

j)  Beyond the Hoax — Alan Sokal  (...not math, but rich overview of critical thinking and much more)

Oddly two of my favorite math expositors, Keith Devlin and Ian Stewart, didn’t quite make the cut, though I’ve happily read more of their books than any of the above authors. Nor does it include the single volume I still most frequently recommend to lay people: Strogatz’s “The Joy of X.”  And a lot of other wonderful picks, including some older classics, go unmentioned as well.

Admittedly, an eclectic list, framed to my interests, that wouldn’t satisfy many of the math-folks likely beside me at the Gulag. Oh well, at the very least I suspect I'd have the company of Devlin, Ed Frenkel, and John Allen Paulos along to help entertain me! ;) (...and probably many more of you as well; hey, maybe even Andy Borowitz would be there to keep us all in good humor).

Let the banishments begin… or, not.