A bestselling author tries to rehabilitate a much-maligned field

'Stewart is Britain's most brilliant and prolific populariser of maths' Alex Bellos 'The instructive equivalent of a Michelin-starred tasting menu' Tim Radford Many people think mathematics is useless. They're wrong. In the UK, the 2.8 million people employed in mathematical science occupations contributed £208 billion to the economy in a single year - that's 10 per cent of the workforce contributing 16 per cent of the economy. What's the Use? asks why there is such a vast gulf between public perceptions of mathematics and reality. It shows how mathematics is vital, often in surprising ways, behind the scenes of daily life. How politicians pick their voters. How an absurd little puzzle solved 300 years ago leads to efficient methods for kidney transplants. And how a bizarre, infinitely wiggly curve helps to optimise deliveries to your door.

"Praise for Ian Stewart: 'Humbling and inspiring. Stewart shows with his typical clarity how the power of pure thought has shaped our world for over two millennia" - FRS

"This is not pure maths. It is maths contaminated with wit, wisdom, and wonder ... A mind-boggling journey from the ultra trivial to the profound" - New Scientist

"An engaging history ... [Stewart] at his best" - Times

"Stewart has served up the instructive equivalent of a Michelin-starred tasting menu" - Guardian

"Richly informative [and] revealing ... If you believe mathematics offers little of practical use, Stewart is back to show you the error of your ways" - Kirkus

"This is a superb Cabinet of Mathematical Curiosities that deserves a place with the classics of the genre." - Mathematics Today

"The innumerate will struggle, but every reader will encounter gems and jolts in this expert analysis of probability" - Kirkus

"[An] entertaining guide" - Wall Street Journal

"[Stewart] can make tricky ideas simple ... with aplomb" - LA Times

"We live in a mathematically driven world in this 21st Century world that we have created, but oftentimes the mathematics is completely hidden from the end-user. Professor Stewart brings the mathematics out into the open" - Mathematical Association of America