The annotated Alice
by Lewis Carroll, Martin Gardner · first published 1963
57% recommend43% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Gardner's annotations explain the wordplay, double meanings, and mathematical jokes in Carroll's Alice books. It makes a fun, curious read for anyone interested in Alice or Dodgson's math background.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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My introduction to Martin Gardner was his book "The Annotated Alice," from which I learned about Lewis Carroll, Alice, enantiomorphs, Oxford, logic, how to read closely, and much more that I can't recall off the top of my head. He was a fascinating writer and man.
on “"My world is a little darker." RIP Martin Gardner” ↗…study of geometry, algebra [0], word play and pioneering forays in the then new field of photography. Anyone interested in this ought to read Marin Gardner's book https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Annotated_Alice [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodgson_condensation
on “Math Jokes in Alice in Wonderland” ↗D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths Star Trek, the original series I, Robot by Isaac Asimov. The first science fiction story I read, which lead to all the others. The Annotated Alice by Lewis Carroll and Martin Gardner. That's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, by Lewis Carroll, with wonderful annotations by Martin Gardner.
on “Articles, Ideas, Books and/or Concepts that have changed your life” ↗I think everyone who posted here would be well served reading Martin Gardner's The Annotated Alice. Gardner, who was the puzzle editor for Scientific American for decades, is also a Lewis Carroll scholar, and his annotated versions of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass are tremendous.…
on “Algebra in Wonderland” ↗If you're thinking of getting the annotated version, another classic in the same spirit is The Annotated Alice by Martin Gardner. It exposes a lot of double entendres, mathematical games, and other historical stuff about Alice in Wonderland that shows how much of a playful mathematician Lewis Carroll was.
on “Flatland: A Forgivably Flat Classic” ↗…children, twelve and above I'd say, but I think the Alice books (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There) are great. Then they (and you) can read The Annotated Alice by Martin Gardner, which opened up entirely new levels of the stories to me. For younger children, I'd say The Wind in the Willows.
on “What's your favorite children's book?” ↗OT: I have a copy of The Annotated Alice; I revisit it every couple of years. It's not maths, although Charles Dodgson was a mathematician. Gardner's marginalia bring the books to life.
on “Ask HN: Why Martin Gardner is no longer popular?” ↗…not falling into rote monkey-coding, but questioning "what am I doing here?" and "how can this be done different ways?" are much more important. Alice gives you that. I recommend Martin Gardner's "the annotated Alice", which explains a lot of things that us non-Victorians might have missed otherwise.
on “If you could only have one programming book on bookshelf what would it be?” ↗…en poëtische reisverhalen' by professor Willy Vande Walle, a Belgian Japanologist. It's a translation of Basho's travel diaries with a lot of contextual information, kind of like Martin Gardner's 'The Annotated Alice', if you've read that one. It's an amazing intellectual tour de force by one of the foremost experts in his field, and it helps that the original works are of very high quality of well. Unfortunately…
on “Ask HN: What's the "best" book you've ever read?” ↗…book we've ever read. As I have re-read the book this year I will link my comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41758060 For a general recommendation for a book to buy for Christmas I'd say the Annotated Alice by Martin Gardner is quite wonderful, if you'll pardon the pun.
on “Ask HN: What were the best books you read this year?” ↗Martin Gardner’s The Annotated Alice explains the subtleties, mathematical and otherwise, of both Alice books in engaging detail. It explained things I never understood, and showed me things I missed (and then explained them). Besides the…
on “Math Jokes in Alice in Wonderland” ↗Not only was he a mathematician, but Alice is considered partially a commentary on the state of mathematics at the time! [0] I highly recommend The Annotated Alice for anyone interested in Alice in Wonderland, because it makes a fun, curious read even curiouser! ;) [0] https://www.npr.org/2010/03/13/124632317/the-mad-hatters-sec...
on “How Lewis Carroll Computed Determinants” ↗…provide context, commentary and explanation. When someone annotates a text, they are modifying it. It's called glossing, it has a long and academically valuable history. When Martin Gardner created the "Annotated Alice", he took an existing work by Lewis Carroll and added his explanations and commentary. This was incredibly useful and just the sort of thing that the FSF policy prohibits. As time passes this sort of…
on “The FSF Allows No Derivatives, and That's a Mistake” ↗Beginning The Land of Lisp, as a totally lisp newbie. And finishing the reread of that wonderful trilogy in six parts The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and waiting on the line "The Annotated Alice" by Lewis Carroll , Martin Gardner and John Tenniel (a spanish edition).
on “Ask HN: What are you reading right now?” ↗What really caught my eye in the article was the end: Martin Gardner's "The Annotated Alice" has been updated yet again, this time for the 150th anniversary of the story. I have the previous two editions of the book and I'm seriously thinking of getting this one too.
on “The Mathematical Surprises of Triangles, Squares and Pentagons” ↗