Named one of the Best Nonfiction Books of 1998 by the Los Angeles Times, Once Upon a Number presents a surprising and humorous look at the similarities between narratives and numbers. "Both delightful and wise, this little book cries out to be kept close at hand, to be looked into from time to time, to be treasured as an old friend." -Los Angeles Times A "charming narrative.…Almost every piece is fascinating." -Salon "[Once Upon a Number] deserves rereading." -Booklist Once Upon a Number shows that stories and numbers aren't as different as you might imagine. In fact, they have surprising and fascinating connections. Beside lucid accounts of cutting-edge information theory we get hilarious anecdotes and jokes; instructions for running a truly impressive pyramid scam; a freewheeling conversation between Groucho Marx and Bertrand Russell; explanations of why the mundane facts of the O.J. Simpson case are overwhelmingly incriminating; how the Unabomber's thinking shows signs of mathematical training; why we're much more likely to feel aggrieved than aggrieving; and dozens of other treats. America's most engaging mathematician has done it again.

(My web page is johnallenpaulos.com and my twitter feed is @johnallenpaulos.)

John Allen Paulos is an extensively kudized author, popular public speaker, and former monthly columnist for ABCNews.com, the Scientific American, and the Guardian. Professor of math at Temple University in Philadelphia, he earned his Ph.D. in the subject from the University of Wisconsin.

His new book (November, 2015) is A Numerate Life - A Mathematician Explores the Vagaries of Life, His Own and Probably Yours. Other writings of his include Innumeracy (NY Times bestseller for 18 weeks), A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper (on the Random House Modern Library's compilation of the 100 best nonfiction books of the century), Once Upon a Number (chosen as one of the best books of 1998), and A Mathematician Plays the Stock Market (a brief tenant on the BusinessWeek bestsellers list). He's also written scholarly papers on probability, logic, and the philosophy of science as well as scores of OpEds, book reviews, and articles in publications such as the NY Times, the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Nation, Discover, the American Scholar, and the London Review of Books and has an extensive web and media presence.

In 2003 he received the American Association for the Advancement of Science award for promoting public understanding of science, and in 2013 the Mathematics Communication Award from the Joint Policy Board for Mathematics.