30 Books like Infinite Powers

Men of Mathematics

by Eric Temple Bell • 1937

From Descartes to Cantor, the story of mathematics is one of obsession and early graves.

4.10

2k+

📐 History Of Mathematics 📖 Mathematical Biography 🧮 Popular Mathematics 🧠 Scientific Genius 🎭 Drama Of Discovery

Men of Mathematics 95%

From Descartes to Cantor, the story of mathematics is one of obsession and early graves.

by Eric Temple Bell 1937

4.10

2k+ ratings

📐 History Of Mathematics 📖 Mathematical Biography 🧮 Popular Mathematics 🧠 Scientific Genius 🎭 Drama Of Discovery

The Grapes of Math

by Alex Bellos • 2014

Seashells, cities, and stock crashes obey the same hidden math. A guided tour of the patterns.

4.09

984

The Grapes of Math 95%

Seashells, cities, and stock crashes obey the same hidden math. A guided tour of the patterns.

by Alex Bellos 2014

4.09

984 ratings

The Joy of X

by Steven H. Strogatz • 2012

Numbers, shapes, and change: the tour of math that makes the universe legible.

4.05

9k+

The Joy of X 94%

Numbers, shapes, and change: the tour of math that makes the universe legible.

by Steven H. Strogatz 2012

4.05

9k+ ratings

Are Numbers Real?

by Brian Clegg • 2016

Invented to count goats, numbers now predict black holes. A history of math's grip on reality.

3.57

288

📜 History Of Mathematics 📐 Popular Mathematics 🔢 History Of Numbers 🔍 Mathematical Discovery 🌐 Mathematical Reality

Are Numbers Real? 94%

Invented to count goats, numbers now predict black holes. A history of math's grip on reality.

by Brian Clegg 2016

3.57

288 ratings

📜 History Of Mathematics 📐 Popular Mathematics 🔢 History Of Numbers 🔍 Mathematical Discovery 🌐 Mathematical Reality

Pluses and Minuses

by Stefan Buijsman • 2018

Three mathematical discoveries run your digital life; understanding them is simpler than you think.

3.41

290

🧮 Applied Mathematics 📜 History Of Mathematics 🔢 Mathematical Literacy 🖥️ Mathematical Modeling 🕸️ Network Theory

Pluses and Minuses 94%

Three mathematical discoveries run your digital life; understanding them is simpler than you think.

by Stefan Buijsman 2018

3.41

290 ratings

🧮 Applied Mathematics 📜 History Of Mathematics 🔢 Mathematical Literacy 🖥️ Mathematical Modeling 🕸️ Network Theory

Buddhism

by Damien Keown • 1996

Buddhism has no god, no bible, no pope. What holds its many traditions together?

3.74

3k+

📖 Introductory Buddhism ☸️ Buddhist Philosophy 🛕 Theravada Buddhism 🪷 Mahayana Buddhism 🧘 Meditation Practice

Buddhism 94%

Buddhism has no god, no bible, no pope. What holds its many traditions together?

by Damien Keown 1996

3.74

3k+ ratings

📖 Introductory Buddhism ☸️ Buddhist Philosophy 🛕 Theravada Buddhism 🪷 Mahayana Buddhism 🧘 Meditation Practice

Arithmetic

by Paul Lockhart • 2017

Arithmetic is a craft, not a grind. The elegant patterns hiding in every counting system.

3.92

236

🧠 Mathematical Thinking 📜 History Of Math 🔢 Number Representation 🧮 Calculating Devices ✨ Patterns In Numbers

Arithmetic 94%

Arithmetic is a craft, not a grind. The elegant patterns hiding in every counting system.

by Paul Lockhart 2017

3.92

236 ratings

🧠 Mathematical Thinking 📜 History Of Math 🔢 Number Representation 🧮 Calculating Devices ✨ Patterns In Numbers

To Explain the World

by Steven Weinberg • 2015

What took two millennia: how humanity learned to test nature instead of just arguing about it.

3.79

2k+

🔬 History Of Science 🔍 Scientific Method 🧪 Experimental Science 🌌 Cosmology 🤔 Philosophy Of Science

To Explain the World 93%

What took two millennia: how humanity learned to test nature instead of just arguing about it.

by Steven Weinberg 2015

3.79

2k+ ratings

🔬 History Of Science 🔍 Scientific Method 🧪 Experimental Science 🌌 Cosmology 🤔 Philosophy Of Science

The Hunt for Vulcan

by Thomas Levenson • 2015

The planet Vulcan was astronomy's biggest mistake. Correcting it required rewriting gravity.

4.06

2k+

🔭 History Of Science 🌠 Astronomy History 🍎 Newtonian Mechanics 🌌 General Relativity ⏳ Space-Time

The Hunt for Vulcan 93%

The planet Vulcan was astronomy's biggest mistake. Correcting it required rewriting gravity.

by Thomas Levenson 2015

4.06

2k+ ratings

🔭 History Of Science 🌠 Astronomy History 🍎 Newtonian Mechanics 🌌 General Relativity ⏳ Space-Time

What's the Use?

by Ian Stewart • 2021

Kidney matches, secure websites, movie animation: the invisible math that built the modern world.

3.54

175

📐 Applied Mathematics 📊 Mathematical Modeling 🔍 Hidden Mathematics 🔢 Number Theory 🔗 Topology

What's the Use? 93%

Kidney matches, secure websites, movie animation: the invisible math that built the modern world.

by Ian Stewart 2021

3.54

175 ratings

📐 Applied Mathematics 📊 Mathematical Modeling 🔍 Hidden Mathematics 🔢 Number Theory 🔗 Topology

The Man Who Loved Only Numbers

by Paul Hoffman • 1998

He worked 19 hours a day on amphetamines, crossed four continents, and published 1,475 math papers.

4.06

10k+

📐 Mathematical Biography 🔢 Number Theory ♾️ Infinity 📜 History Of Mathematics ✨ Mathematical Beauty

The Man Who Loved Only Numbers 93%

He worked 19 hours a day on amphetamines, crossed four continents, and published 1,475 math papers.

by Paul Hoffman 1998

4.06

10k+ ratings

📐 Mathematical Biography 🔢 Number Theory ♾️ Infinity 📜 History Of Mathematics ✨ Mathematical Beauty

Alex's Adventures in Numberland

by Alex Bellos • 2010

How counting became civilization's greatest invention, and the puzzling patterns it revealed.

4.12

6k+

Alex's Adventures in Numberland 93%

How counting became civilization's greatest invention, and the puzzling patterns it revealed.

by Alex Bellos 2010

4.12

6k+ ratings

Letters to a Young Mathematician

by Ian Stewart • 2006

Proof is story, pure and applied one: a mathematician's letters on the creative life of numbers.

3.86

2k+

🧩 Mathematical Proof 🎓 Math Education 💡 Mathematical Creativity 🔬 Pure And Applied Math 🧑‍🔬 Math Careers

Letters to a Young Mathematician Summary

Letters to a Young Mathematician 93%

Proof is story, pure and applied one: a mathematician's letters on the creative life of numbers.

by Ian Stewart 2006

3.86

2k+ ratings

🧩 Mathematical Proof 🎓 Math Education 💡 Mathematical Creativity 🔬 Pure And Applied Math 🧑‍🔬 Math Careers

The Joy of Abstraction

by Eugenia Cheng • 2022

What if math’s deepest lesson is that context always beats content? A category theorist explains.

3.84

190

🔢 Category Theory 🧠 Mathematical Thinking 📚 Popular Mathematics 🧩 Mental Models 🔍 Abstract Reasoning

The Joy of Abstraction 93%

What if math’s deepest lesson is that context always beats content? A category theorist explains.

by Eugenia Cheng 2022

3.84

190 ratings

🔢 Category Theory 🧠 Mathematical Thinking 📚 Popular Mathematics 🧩 Mental Models 🔍 Abstract Reasoning

The Perfectionists

by Simon Winchester • 2018

From cylinders to microchips: the hidden pursuit of perfect smoothness that built the modern world.

4.15

7k+

🔧 History Of Technology 🏭 Industrial Revolution 🔍 Microhistory 🏗️ Mass Production 💥 Scientific Failures

The Perfectionists 93%

From cylinders to microchips: the hidden pursuit of perfect smoothness that built the modern world.

by Simon Winchester 2018

4.15

7k+ ratings

🔧 History Of Technology 🏭 Industrial Revolution 🔍 Microhistory 🏗️ Mass Production 💥 Scientific Failures

Love and Math

by Edward Frenkel • 2013

Prime numbers and quantum fields share a hidden architecture. Most people never learn it exists.

3.70

4k+

Love and Math 92%

Prime numbers and quantum fields share a hidden architecture. Most people never learn it exists.

by Edward Frenkel 2013

3.70

4k+ ratings

The Universe and the Teacup

by K.C. Cole • 1998

Your gut is wrong about fairness, risk, and scale. Mathematics proves it, elegantly.

3.78

594

The Universe and the Teacup 92%

Your gut is wrong about fairness, risk, and scale. Mathematics proves it, elegantly.

by K.C. Cole 1998

3.78

594 ratings

Shape

by Jordan Ellenberg • 2021

Geometry is not about triangles. It is the hidden structure of pandemics, search, and democracy.

3.73

2k+

Shape 92%

Geometry is not about triangles. It is the hidden structure of pandemics, search, and democracy.

by Jordan Ellenberg 2021

3.73

2k+ ratings

Is Maths Real? How Simple Questions Lead Us to Mathematics’ Deepest Truths

by Eugenia Cheng • 2023

Math is not about right answers but about asking why. A manifesto for the curious.

3.52

731

📐 Philosophy Of Math 🧮 Mathematical Thinking 📚 Math Pedagogy 🔍 Logical Reasoning 🪞 Mathematical Abstraction

Is Maths Real? How Simple Questions Lead Us to Mathematics’ Deepest Truths Summary

Is Maths Real? How Simple Questions Lead Us to Mathematics’ Deepest Truths 92%

Math is not about right answers but about asking why. A manifesto for the curious.

by Eugenia Cheng 2023

3.52

731 ratings

📐 Philosophy Of Math 🧮 Mathematical Thinking 📚 Math Pedagogy 🔍 Logical Reasoning 🪞 Mathematical Abstraction

Symmetry

by Marcus du Sautoy • 2007

Symmetry is not just pretty. It solves equations, builds viruses, and corrects your text messages.

3.82

857

Symmetry 92%

Symmetry is not just pretty. It solves equations, builds viruses, and corrects your text messages.

by Marcus du Sautoy 2007

3.82

857 ratings

Fermat's Enigma

by Simon Singh • 1998

150 years, countless geniuses, one unproven hunch about primes, and a million dollars waiting.

4.3

34k+

🔢 Prime Numbers 📜 History Of Mathematics ❓ Unsolved Problems 🏔️ Mathematical Quests 🔐 Cryptography

Fermat's Enigma 92%

150 years, countless geniuses, one unproven hunch about primes, and a million dollars waiting.

by Simon Singh 1998

4.3

34k+ ratings

🔢 Prime Numbers 📜 History Of Mathematics ❓ Unsolved Problems 🏔️ Mathematical Quests 🔐 Cryptography

The Math of Life and Death

by Kit Yates • 2019

Key mathematical ideas govern medicine, law, and media, and your intuition gets each one wrong.

3.90

2k+

The Math of Life and Death 92%

Key mathematical ideas govern medicine, law, and media, and your intuition gets each one wrong.

by Kit Yates 2019

3.90

2k+ ratings

Thinking In Numbers

by Daniel Tammet • 2013

Numbers live in a family of nine, an Icelandic counting word, snowflakes, and how decades shrink.

3.53

2k+

🧮 Everyday Mathematics 🌍 Cultural Mathematics ✨ Mathematical Imagination 🌈 Synesthesia 🕳️ Zero And Infinity

Thinking In Numbers 92%

Numbers live in a family of nine, an Icelandic counting word, snowflakes, and how decades shrink.

by Daniel Tammet 2013

3.53

2k+ ratings

🧮 Everyday Mathematics 🌍 Cultural Mathematics ✨ Mathematical Imagination 🌈 Synesthesia 🕳️ Zero And Infinity

How to Bake Pi

by Eugenia Cheng • 2015

Math is logical structure, not calculation. Category theory reveals it; baking makes it stick.

3.64

2k+

How to Bake Pi 92%

Math is logical structure, not calculation. Category theory reveals it; baking makes it stick.

by Eugenia Cheng 2015

3.64

2k+ ratings

The Equation That Couldn't Be Solved

by Mario Livio • 2005

A doomed French genius proved an equation unsolvable: his method became physics' hidden language.

3.89

2k+

🧮 Group Theory 📜 History Of Mathematics ⚛️ Modern Physics 🦋 Symmetry In Nature 🧠 Evolutionary Psychology

The Equation That Couldn't Be Solved Summary

The Equation That Couldn't Be Solved 92%

A doomed French genius proved an equation unsolvable: his method became physics' hidden language.

by Mario Livio 2005

3.89

2k+ ratings

🧮 Group Theory 📜 History Of Mathematics ⚛️ Modern Physics 🦋 Symmetry In Nature 🧠 Evolutionary Psychology

Why Study Mathematics?

by Vicky Neale • 2020

A math degree opens careers from kidney swaps to climate models. Effort trumps genius every time.

3.97

📐 Applied Mathematics 🧠 Growth Mindset 📊 Data Science ➗ Mathematical Thinking 📖 Popular Mathematics

Why Study Mathematics? 92%

A math degree opens careers from kidney swaps to climate models. Effort trumps genius every time.

by Vicky Neale 2020

3.97

38 ratings

📐 Applied Mathematics 🧠 Growth Mindset 📊 Data Science ➗ Mathematical Thinking 📖 Popular Mathematics

The Theory That Would Not Die

by Sharon Bertsch McGrayne • 2011

Statisticians said it was dead. Turing used it to crack Enigma. Computers made it unstoppable.

3.77

3k+

🧮 Bayesian Statistics 📜 History Of Mathematics 🎲 Probability Theory ⚔️ Scientific Controversy 🔐 Codebreaking History

The Theory That Would Not Die 92%

Statisticians said it was dead. Turing used it to crack Enigma. Computers made it unstoppable.

by Sharon Bertsch McGrayne 2011

3.77

3k+ ratings

🧮 Bayesian Statistics 📜 History Of Mathematics 🎲 Probability Theory ⚔️ Scientific Controversy 🔐 Codebreaking History

Quantum Computing

by Brian Clegg • 2021

Online encryption relies on math no classical computer can crack. Quantum ones do it instantly.

3.64

306

🧪 Quantum Physics 💾 Computing History ⚛️ Quantum Computing 🧮 Quantum Algorithms 🔐 Cryptography

Quantum Computing 92%

Online encryption relies on math no classical computer can crack. Quantum ones do it instantly.

by Brian Clegg 2021

3.64

306 ratings

🧪 Quantum Physics 💾 Computing History ⚛️ Quantum Computing 🧮 Quantum Algorithms 🔐 Cryptography

Mathematica

by David Bessis • 2024

Real math isn't done with symbols. It's done with mental images, physical intuition, and curiosity.

4.18

862

🧮 Mathematical Thinking 💭 Philosophy Of Mathematics 🧠 Intuition And Reason 👁️ Mental Imagery 🔄 Learning How To Learn

Mathematica 92%

Real math isn't done with symbols. It's done with mental images, physical intuition, and curiosity.

by David Bessis 2024

4.18

862 ratings

🧮 Mathematical Thinking 💭 Philosophy Of Mathematics 🧠 Intuition And Reason 👁️ Mental Imagery 🔄 Learning How To Learn

Learning from Leonardo

by Fritjof Capra • 2013

He traced water, drew muscles, and built wings. He also painted the Mona Lisa.

3.96

108

🧠 Systems Thinking 🔍 Scientific Method 🏛️ Renaissance Science 🌳 Holistic Science 🎨 Art And Science

Learning from Leonardo 92%

He traced water, drew muscles, and built wings. He also painted the Mona Lisa.

by Fritjof Capra 2013

3.96

108 ratings

🧠 Systems Thinking 🔍 Scientific Method 🏛️ Renaissance Science 🌳 Holistic Science 🎨 Art And Science

Compare Features	Free	Pro
📖 Read Summaries Read unlimited summaries. Free users get 3 per month
🎧 Listen to Summaries Listen to unlimited summaries in 40 languages	—
❤️ Unlimited Bookmarks Free users are limited to 4	—
📜 Unlimited History Free users are limited to 4	—
📥 Unlimited Downloads Free users are limited to 1	—

People love SoBrief

Join our global community of 600,000+ readers

★★★★★

This site is a total game-changer. I've been flying through book summaries like never before. Highly, highly recommend.

— Dave G

Worth my money and time, and really well made. I've never seen this quality of summaries on other websites. Very helpful!

— Em

Highly recommended!! Fantastic service. Perfect for those that want a little more than a teaser but not all the intricate details of a full audio book.

— Greg M