Book Review: Fear No Numbers By Jose Paul Moretto

FEAR NO NUMBERS
How to Multiply or Divide and Always Get It Right

By:  Jose Paul Moretto

Published:  September 21, 2012

Have you ever heard your child say, “I don’t like math!”? Well, fortunately, my kids love math, but in my time substitute teaching, I have had numerous students ask me, “When am I ever going to use this in my life?”. To that, I answer, you may not ever need to use this particular math problem, but learning how to solve problems and work through a process or formula will help you later in life.  I can admit that I wasn’t a huge fan of math and even cringe a bit if I have to teach it, but once I have the formula, I can usually figure any problem out.  In FEAR NO NUMBERS, Moretto gives us another way to process math.  By using his formulas and systems, you will be able to simplify large numbers as well as learn a shorter method for solving division problems.  Maybe, just maybe, you will even find math….fun!

My aunt and uncle are both retired math professors and so I have grown up with my Aunt Kathy showing me fun math problems or neat tricks for math.  When I saw this book, I thought it might be just another way I could learn more about math both for our kids and for me when I am scheduled to teach math.

All of the methods in this book are simple and carefully explained.  There are plenty of examples and ways for you to try out the formula on your own, with or without a calculator.  Along with the methods and formulas, the author also teaches the reader various areas of math history which I found to be interesting. Learning the formulas and reasons behind them can help you not just in math, but in your way of thinking.

This would be an excellent book for those with an upper elementary to middle school aged child who is struggling with math or just the opposite, loves learning about math.  I think they will have fun trying out the formulas and finding the new ways to work on multiplication and division problems.  This book will teach them another step in the process of checking their work.

Jose Paul Moretto grew up in an orphanage in Southern France with harsh and meager conditions. Later in life, he was inspired by his math teacher to develop newer mathematical theorems.  His insight into math later became essential while serving in the French Air Force.  He wrote FEAR NO NUMBERS in the hopes of encouraging young people in math and giving them a fun addendum to what they are currently learning. He hopes to write his next book about his childhood experiences during and after WWII in the orphanage.

For more on FEAR NO NUMBERS, check out the website, http://www.fearnonumbers.com/.