Basic Math Textbook: The Napkin Project ↗

The books people recommended

2025-10-02 · 245 points · 73 comments · 13 books named by at least one person here and at least 3 people overall. The number on the left is how many people named it in this thread.

3
The Princeton Companion to Mathematics
Timothy Gowers
3 here · 26 all-time · #227 overall
Buy on Amazon4.7 out of 5, 454 ratings on Amazon
1
Gödel, Escher, Bach
Douglas Hofstadter
1 here · 347 all-time · #1 overall
Buy on Amazon4.7 out of 5, 2,713 ratings on Amazon
1
Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs
Harold Abelson
1 here · 316 all-time · #2 overall
Buy on Amazon4.7 out of 5, 742 ratings on Amazon
1Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality
Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality
Eliezer Yudkowsky
1 here · 101 all-time · #27 overall
Buy on Amazon
1
Mathematics
Jan Gullberg
1 here · 37 all-time · #134 overall
Buy on Amazon4.4 out of 5, 528 ratings on Amazon
1Real Analysis
Real Analysis
Stein & Shakarchi
1 here · 16 all-time · #404 overall
Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 107 ratings on Amazon
1Basic Mathematics
Basic Mathematics
Serge Lang
1 here · 7 all-time · #985 overall
1Elements of Mathematics
Elements of Mathematics
John Stillwell
1 here · 5 all-time · #1323 overall
1Complex Analysis
Complex Analysis
Stein and Shakarchi
1 here · 5 all-time · #1495 overall
1Introduction to Mechanics
Introduction to Mechanics
I. I. Gol'dman
1 here · 5 all-time · #1522 overall
1Baby Rudin
Baby Rudin
Walter Rudin
1 here · 4 all-time · #1796 overall
1Algebra I
Algebra I
I. M. Gelfand
1 here · 3 all-time · #2051 overall
1Measure Theory
Measure Theory
Terrence Tao
1 here · 3 all-time · #2166 overall