‘enjoyably clever …with vividly illustrated chapters about the real-world applications of algebra, geometry, probability theory…It’s Du Sautoy, in the end, who provides the wisest commentary’ Steven Poole, Guardian

‘If you thought Maths was all about long stuff, like long division and long multiplication and taking a long, long time to figure things out, Marcus du Sautoy shows that it's just the opposite. Full of humour, stories and the lightest of touches, this is a sight-seeing tour of some of the world's greatest neat dodges, unexpected turns and useful cut-throughs. Prepare to be caught short’ Michael Rosen

‘This book will change the way you look at the world. It's chock full of stories, ideas and clever tricks – I loved it. Marcus is a maestro at making big ideas come alive – he deserves his place alongside Richard Dawkins, E. O. Wilson and Carlo Rovelli in the pantheon of great modern science writers’ Rohan Silva, CEO and founder of Second Home

‘If mathematics has proved anything, it is that shortcuts can change the world. Marcus du Sautoy has come up with a smart, well written and entertaining guide to the connecting tunnels, underpasses and other tricks to traverse the trials of everyday life’ Roger Highfield, author, broadcaster and Science Director at the Science Museum

‘The joy of du Sautoy’s book isn’t really the art of the real-world shortcut at all. It is the romp through mathematical ideas, from place value to non Euclidean geometry to probability theory…There are vivid historical examples of scientists and others using mathematical ideas to solve problems’ Tim Harford, Financial Times