The Math Library is sponsoring a “Coffee Hour” during Study Break. This book talk features editor Mircea Pitici, Cornell PhD Candidate in Mathematics Education and editor of “The Best Writing on Mathematics” – a series of anthologies of accessible writings on math and related subjects. Mr. Pitici also teaches math courses and writing seminars at Cornell and Ithaca College. With a forewords by esteemed mathematicians William Thurston (Jacob Gould Schurman Professor of Mathematics at Cornell) and Freeman Dyson, Best Writing has been favorably reviewed by Publishers Weekly, Notices of the AMS, The Mathematics Magazine, the New York Journal of Books and Library Journal.

Per the Princeton University Press website, the 2011 anthology “ brings together the year's finest mathematics writing from around the world. Featuring promising new voices alongside some of the foremost names in the field, The Best Writing on Mathematics 2011 makes available to a wide audience many articles not easily found anywhere else--and you don't need to be a mathematician to enjoy them. These writings offer surprising insights into the nature, meaning, and practice of mathematics today. They delve into the history, philosophy, teaching, and everyday occurrences of math, and take readers behind the scenes of today's hottest mathematical debates. … This book belongs on the shelf of anyone interested in where math has taken us--and where it is headed.”

Open to all of Cornell – students, faculty and staff – come out to hear Mr. Pitici talk about the process of gathering articles for his book, the publishing experience and making math accessible to anyone through these essays. Coffee and other light refreshments will be served and copies of the 2011 edition will be for sale. As a door prize, we will be giving away a copy that will be signed by the editor himself.