The Football
The Amazing Mathematics of the World's Most Watched Object
$38.61
- Hardcover
136 pages
- Release Date
30 November 2025
Summary
The Football takes readers on an entertaining and fact-filled exploration of the mathematical secrets of the most popular spherical object on the planet. The football is familiar to billions of fans across the globe, but how many really look at it? Do footballs all have the same shape? Spoiler: not exactly. How does their shape affect how they play? With Étienne Ghys as our guide, we discover why ballistics, friction, and air flow are key to scoring goals—and why the football is a ma…
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780691263120 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 0691263124 |
| Author: | Étienne Ghys, Teresa Lavender Fagan |
| Publisher: | Princeton University Press |
| Imprint: | Princeton University Press |
| Format: | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages: | 136 |
| Release Date: | 30 November 2025 |
| Weight: | 282g |
| Dimensions: | 35mm x 147mm x 210mm |
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Critics Review
“A Scientific American Staff Favorite Book of the Year”
“A fascinating mathematical and physical microhistory of soccer balls and the official FIFA World Cup match balls in particular.”—Emma R. Hasson, Scientific American
“Erudite and whimsical… . A kick for fans and nonfans alike.” * Kirkus *
Étienne Ghys
Étienne Ghys is CNRS director of research emeritus at the École normale supérieure de Lyon and permanent secretary of the French Academy of Sciences. Inaugural recipient of the prestigious Clay Award for Dissemination of Mathematical Knowledge, he writes a popular mathematics column for Le Monde.
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