Listen free for 30 days
-
It All Adds Up
- The Story of People and Mathematics
- Narrated by: Oliver J. Hembrough
- Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Biographies & Memoirs, Professionals & Academics
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Listen with a free trial
Buy Now for £12.99
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
A Brief History of Mathematics
- Complete Series
- By: Marcus du Sautoy
- Narrated by: Marcus du Sautoy
- Length: 2 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This 10-part history of mathematics reveals the personalities behind the calculations: the passions and rivalries of mathematicians struggling to get their ideas heard. Professor Marcus du Sautoy shows how these masters of abstraction find a role in the real world and proves that mathematics is the driving force behind modern science.
-
-
annoying music sting
- By Jack B. on 10-08-22
-
Humble Pi
- A Comedy of Maths Errors
- By: Matt Parker
- Narrated by: Matt Parker
- Length: 9 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We would all be better off if everyone saw mathematics as a practical ally. Sadly, most of us fear maths and seek to avoid it. This is because mathematics doesn't have good 'people skills' - it never hesitates to bluntly point out when we are wrong. But it is only trying to help! Mathematics is a friend which can fill the gaps in what our brains can do naturally. Luckily, even though we don't like sharing our own mistakes, we love to listen to tales about what happens when maths errors make the everyday go horribly wrong....
-
-
Engaging math geekery
- By euthyphro. on 04-09-20
-
A Most Elegant Equation
- Euler’s Formula and the Beauty of Mathematics
- By: David Stipp
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 5 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bertrand Russell wrote that mathematics can exalt "as surely as poetry". This is especially true of one equation: ei(pi) + 1 = 0, the brainchild of Leonhard Euler, the Mozart of mathematics. More than two centuries after Euler's death, it is still regarded as a conceptual diamond of unsurpassed beauty. Called Euler's identity, or God's equation, it includes just five numbers but represents an astonishing revelation of hidden connections.
-
-
Very good.
- By Dale Linney on 12-04-20
-
The Joy of x
- A Guided Tour of Math, from One to Infinity
- By: Steven Strogatz
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
- Length: 6 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Many people take math in high school and promptly forget much of it. But math plays a part in all of our lives all of the time, whether we know it or not. In The Joy of x, Steven Strogatz expands on his hit New York Times series to explain the big ideas of math gently and clearly, with wit, and insight.
-
-
better read than listened to
- By Simon on 30-03-21
-
The Maths of Life and Death
- By: Kit Yates
- Narrated by: Kit Yates
- Length: 8 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this eye-opening and extraordinary audiobook, Yates explores the true stories of life-changing events in which the application - or misapplication - of mathematics has played a critical role: patients crippled by faulty genes and entrepreneurs bankrupted by faulty algorithms; innocent victims of miscarriages of justice and the unwitting victims of software glitches. We follow stories of investors who have lost fortunes and parents who have lost children, all because of mathematical misunderstandings.
-
-
Loved this book!
- By R. Stephens on 08-12-19
-
The World According to Physics
- By: Jim Al-Khalili
- Narrated by: Jim Al-Khalili
- Length: 6 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Shining a light on the most profound insights revealed by modern physics, Jim Al-Khalili invites us all to understand what this crucially important science tells us about the universe and the nature of reality itself. Al-Khalili begins by introducing the fundamental concepts of space, time, energy, and matter, and then describes the three pillars of modern physics - quantum theory, relativity, and thermodynamics - showing how all three must come together if we are ever to have a full understanding of reality.
-
-
no fluff, good solid physics update
- By A. Gardiner on 06-06-20
-
A Brief History of Mathematics
- Complete Series
- By: Marcus du Sautoy
- Narrated by: Marcus du Sautoy
- Length: 2 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This 10-part history of mathematics reveals the personalities behind the calculations: the passions and rivalries of mathematicians struggling to get their ideas heard. Professor Marcus du Sautoy shows how these masters of abstraction find a role in the real world and proves that mathematics is the driving force behind modern science.
-
-
annoying music sting
- By Jack B. on 10-08-22
-
Humble Pi
- A Comedy of Maths Errors
- By: Matt Parker
- Narrated by: Matt Parker
- Length: 9 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We would all be better off if everyone saw mathematics as a practical ally. Sadly, most of us fear maths and seek to avoid it. This is because mathematics doesn't have good 'people skills' - it never hesitates to bluntly point out when we are wrong. But it is only trying to help! Mathematics is a friend which can fill the gaps in what our brains can do naturally. Luckily, even though we don't like sharing our own mistakes, we love to listen to tales about what happens when maths errors make the everyday go horribly wrong....
-
-
Engaging math geekery
- By euthyphro. on 04-09-20
-
A Most Elegant Equation
- Euler’s Formula and the Beauty of Mathematics
- By: David Stipp
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 5 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bertrand Russell wrote that mathematics can exalt "as surely as poetry". This is especially true of one equation: ei(pi) + 1 = 0, the brainchild of Leonhard Euler, the Mozart of mathematics. More than two centuries after Euler's death, it is still regarded as a conceptual diamond of unsurpassed beauty. Called Euler's identity, or God's equation, it includes just five numbers but represents an astonishing revelation of hidden connections.
-
-
Very good.
- By Dale Linney on 12-04-20
-
The Joy of x
- A Guided Tour of Math, from One to Infinity
- By: Steven Strogatz
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
- Length: 6 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Many people take math in high school and promptly forget much of it. But math plays a part in all of our lives all of the time, whether we know it or not. In The Joy of x, Steven Strogatz expands on his hit New York Times series to explain the big ideas of math gently and clearly, with wit, and insight.
-
-
better read than listened to
- By Simon on 30-03-21
-
The Maths of Life and Death
- By: Kit Yates
- Narrated by: Kit Yates
- Length: 8 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this eye-opening and extraordinary audiobook, Yates explores the true stories of life-changing events in which the application - or misapplication - of mathematics has played a critical role: patients crippled by faulty genes and entrepreneurs bankrupted by faulty algorithms; innocent victims of miscarriages of justice and the unwitting victims of software glitches. We follow stories of investors who have lost fortunes and parents who have lost children, all because of mathematical misunderstandings.
-
-
Loved this book!
- By R. Stephens on 08-12-19
-
The World According to Physics
- By: Jim Al-Khalili
- Narrated by: Jim Al-Khalili
- Length: 6 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Shining a light on the most profound insights revealed by modern physics, Jim Al-Khalili invites us all to understand what this crucially important science tells us about the universe and the nature of reality itself. Al-Khalili begins by introducing the fundamental concepts of space, time, energy, and matter, and then describes the three pillars of modern physics - quantum theory, relativity, and thermodynamics - showing how all three must come together if we are ever to have a full understanding of reality.
-
-
no fluff, good solid physics update
- By A. Gardiner on 06-06-20
-
Is God a Mathematician?
- By: Mario Livio
- Narrated by: Tom Parks
- Length: 9 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nobel Laureate Eugene Wigner once wondered about "the unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics" in the formulation of the laws of nature. Is God a Mathematician? investigates why mathematics is as powerful as it is. From ancient times to the present, scientists and philosophers have marveled at how such a seemingly abstract discipline could so perfectly explain the natural world. More than that - mathematics has often made predictions, for example, about subatomic particles or cosmic phenomena that were unknown at the time, but later were proven to be true.
-
Alex's Adventures in Numberland
- Dispatches from the Wonderful World of Mathematics
- By: Alex Bellos
- Narrated by: Alex Bellos
- Length: 12 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The world of maths can seem mind-boggling, irrelevant and, let's face it, boring. This groundbreaking book reclaims maths from the geeks. Mathematical ideas underpin just about everything in our lives: from the surprising geometry of the 50p piece to how probability can help you win in any casino. In search of weird and wonderful mathematical phenomena, Alex Bellos travels across the globe and meets the world's fastest mental calculators in Germany and a startlingly numerate chimpanzee in Japan.
-
-
Maths as an audiobook - does it work ?
- By Trevor on 16-04-12
-
Quantum
- A Guide for the Perplexed
- By: Jim Al-Khalili
- Narrated by: Hugh Kermode
- Length: 7 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From Schrodinger's cat to Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, this book untangles the weirdness of the quantum world. Quantum mechanics underpins modern science and provides us with a blueprint for reality itself. And yet it has been said that if you're not shocked by it, you don't understand it. But is quantum physics really so unknowable? Is reality really so strange? And just how can cats be half alive and half dead at the same time?
-
-
A little less perplexed.
- By Mr. J. A. Ball on 05-11-16
-
Infinite Powers
- How Calculus Reveals the Secrets of the Universe
- By: Steven Strogatz
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 10 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Infinite Powers recounts how calculus tantalized and thrilled its inventors, starting with its first glimmers in ancient Greece and bringing us right up to the discovery of gravitational waves. Strogatz reveals how this form of math rose to the challenges of each age: how to determine the area of a circle with only sand and a stick; how to explain why Mars goes "backwards" sometimes; how to turn the tide in the fight against AIDS.
-
-
Incomplete audiobook
- By Erich Graf on 25-10-21
-
The Universe Speaks in Numbers
- How Modern Maths Reveals Nature's Deepest Secrets
- By: Graham Farmelo
- Narrated by: Hugh Kermode
- Length: 8 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of the great mysteries of science is that its fundamental laws are written in the language of mathematics. Graham Farmelo's thrilling new book shows how modern maths has helped physicists to rethink gravity, space, and time. The Universe Speaks in Numbers takes us on an adventure from the Enlightenment to the present with a vibrant cast of characters, illuminating the most exciting and controversial developments in contemporary thought.
-
-
Quite a dry history of mathematics in physics.
- By Heisenberg on 06-05-19
-
Fundamental
- How Quantum and Particle Physics Explain Absolutely Everything (Except Gravity)
- By: Tim James
- Narrated by: Tim James
- Length: 5 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fundamental is a comprehensive beginner's guide to quantum mechanics, explaining not only the weirdness of the subject but the experiments that proved it to be true. Using a humorous and light-hearted approach, Fundamental tells the story of how the most brilliant minds in science grappled with seemingly impossible ideas and gave us everything from microchips to particle accelerators.
-
-
Succinct, full of physics, utterly brilliant
- By D B. on 22-08-20
-
A Classical Education
- The Stuff You Wish You'd been Taught at School
- By: Caroline Taggart
- Narrated by: Bill Wallis
- Length: 4 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Is the Greek alphabet all Greek to you? Is geometry your Achilles heel and does your knowledge of Homer have more to do with The Simpsons than the Sirens? From engineering and architecture to drama and democracy, the world around us is founded on the principles and discoveries of the Ancient World, yet our understanding of it is episodic at best. But it's never too late to learn.
-
-
Surprisingly good!
- By Amazon Customer on 22-12-16
-
Just Six Numbers
- The Deep Forces That Shape the Universe
- By: Martin J. Rees
- Narrated by: John Curless
- Length: 6 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There are deep connections between stars and atoms, between the cosmos and the microworld. Just six numbers, imprinted in the "Big Bang", determine the essential features of our entire physical world. Moreover, cosmic evolution is astonishingly sensitive to the values of these numbers. If any one of them were "untuned", there could be no stars and no life. This realization offers a radically new perspective on our universe, our place in it, and the nature of physical laws.
-
-
Worth it
- By slipperychimp on 15-12-18
-
What Is Real?
- The Unfinished Quest for the Meaning of Quantum Physics
- By: Adam Becker
- Narrated by: Greg Tremblay
- Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The untold story of the heretical thinkers who challenged the establishment to rethink quantum physics and the nature of reality. Every physicist agrees quantum mechanics is among humanity's finest scientific achievements. But ask what it means, and the result will be a brawl. For a century, most physicists have followed Niels Bohr's Copenhagen interpretation and dismissed questions about the reality underlying quantum physics as meaningless.
-
-
Best Quantum Physics Audio book out of 20 i have
- By Simon on 13-08-18
-
A Brief History of Infinity: The Quest to Think the Unthinkable
- Brief Histories
- By: Brian Clegg
- Narrated by: Gordon Griffin
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Space is big. Really big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the street to the chemist, but that's just peanuts to space.' Douglas Adams, Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy.We human beings have trouble with infinity - yet infinity is a surprisingly human subject. Philosophers and mathematicians have gone mad contemplating its nature and complexity - yet it is a concept routinely used by schoolchildren. Exploring the infinite is a
-
-
Good, but maths is not suited to the audio format
- By Stuart on 09-10-14
-
Transformer
- The Deep Chemistry of Life and Death
- By: Nick Lane
- Narrated by: Richard Trinder
- Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For decades, biology has been dominated by information—the power of genes. Yet in terms of information there is no difference between a living cell and one that died a moment ago. What really animates cells and sets them apart from non-living matter? This question goes back to the flawed geniuses and heroic origins of modern biology. The answer could turn our picture of life on Earth upside down.
-
-
Incredibly poor narration
- By Redd on 26-05-22
-
What We Cannot Know
- By: Marcus du Sautoy
- Narrated by: Marcus du Sautoy
- Length: 15 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Britain's most famous mathematician takes us to the edge of knowledge to show us what we cannot know. Science is king. Every week headlines announce new breakthroughs in our understanding of the universe, new technologies that will transform our environment, new medical advances that will extend our lives. Science is giving us unprecedented insight into some of the big questions that have challenged humanity ever since we've been able to formulate those questions.
-
-
Embrace the future of of uncertainty!
- By Adisha on 19-05-16
Summary
From Aristotle to Ada Lovelace: a brief history of the mathematical ideas that have forever changed the world and the everyday people and pioneers behind them. The story of our best invention yet.
From our ability to calculate the passing of time to the algorithms that control computers and much else in our lives, numbers are everywhere. They are so indispensable that we forget how fundamental they are to our way of life.
In this international bestseller, Mickaël Launay mixes history and anecdotes from around the world to reveal how mathematics became pivotal to the story of humankind. It is a journey into numbers with Launay as a guide. In museums, monuments or train stations, he uses the objects around us to explain what art can reveal about geometry, how Babylonian scholars developed one of the first complex written languages, and how ‘Arabic’ numbers were adopted from India. It All Adds Up also tells the story of how mapping the trajectory of an eclipse has helped to trace the precise day of one of the oldest battles in history, how the course of the modern-day Greenwich Meridian was established, and why negative numbers were accepted just last century.
This book is a vital compendium of the great men and women of mathematics from Aristotle to Ada Lovelace, which demonstrates how mathematics shaped the written word and the world. With clarity, passion and wisdom, the author unveils the unexpected and at times serendipitous ways in which big mathematical ideas were created. Supporting the belief that – just like music or literature – maths should be accessible to everyone, Launay will inspire a new fondness for the numbers that surround us and the rich stories they contain.
Critic reviews
"I found Mickaël Launay’s fascinating book so enlightening that suddenly maths doesn't seem nearly as fearsome as it once did. Maybe It All Adds Up should, for me at least, have been re-titled 'It All Makes Sense. At Last.'" (Simon Winchester)
"An enjoyable and timely tour around the mathematics of everyday life, past and present. Mickaël Launay ably demonstrates his thesis that 'you only have to change how you look at the world' to find numbers and patterns in the most unlikely places. And he extends a welcoming and sympathetic hand to those who would like to like mathematics but don't know how." (Benjamin Wardhaugh, author of How to Read Historical Mathematics and Gunpowder and Geometry)
"It's difficult to carry on saying you do not like mathematics, [Mickael Launay] is so good at making this subject - which is so nightmarish for many students - captivating... The teacher you always dreamt of having." (Le Monde)
More from the same
What listeners say about It All Adds Up
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Steven Orpwood
- 11-01-19
Marvellous on all levels
Fabulous tour of mathematical history. Clear explanations and excellent linking narrative. Thoroughly recommended and no prior mathematical knowledge required.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Rachel H
- 16-08-22
Fascinating and well told
Really interesting and clear explanation of the history of mathematics. I actually forgot the narrator wasn't the author, he seemed so passionate about the topics covered. I will definitely need to listen again (and again) to get my head round some of the concepts but I thoroughly enjoyed this.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 10-11-20
History + Maths
What more could you ask for? A well read book about the history or Mathematics! Lots of interesting bits and well explained maths.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Lars Hvidtfeldt
- 27-02-22
You have to like the subject, but if you do its worth the listen
A nice book, it's a bit long in getting started, but if you like to take the historic look at a subject, that's fine. Oliver J. Hembrough reads with enthusiasm, although the words are a bit high swung at times, he does a good job. Only complaint from me is the pronunciation of the French names, but that's likely just me being obstinate.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Lucas James Roberts
- 30-01-22
Lovely book
A thoughtful and engaging journey through the history of mathematics. Not simply a history where the other reports a catalog of achievements and important dates, but a journey through the process by which developments came about — the problems that they addressed, the thinking that led to them, Etc.