Review of "The New Mathematics," by Irving Adler

Review of

The New Mathematics, by Irving Adler 

Three out of five stars

 While this book is designed to teach parents and other people interested in what the “new math” is, most people with little math background will no doubt find their intellect fogging over as they read it. The time context is the very early sixties and there is a major educational movement that is commonly referred to as the “new math.”

 In fact it is foundational in nature, so the only thing new about it is that previous generations had never experienced it in the classroom. In many ways the mathematics is superior, as it sets the stage for an increased understanding of the underlying principles of mathematics.

 There is a little of everything in this book, from the basics of arithmetic, abstract algebra, matrices, group theory, vectors in the plane, residue classes and limit points with neighborhoods. In many ways it is an overview of much of the mathematics taught to the modern math majors. As the list of topics makes clear, this is a lot to pack into less than 200 pages.