Higgins Peter M. Nets, Puzzles and Postmen. An Exploration of Mathematical Connections

Oxford University Press, 2007. — 256 p.What do road and railway systems, mingling at parties, mazes, family tress, and the internet all have in common? All are networks--either people or places or things that relate and connect to one another. In this lively and fun look at the mathematics of networks, Peter Higgins shows that these phenomena--and many more--all share the same deep mathematical structure. Filled with puzzles and other curious mathematical conundrums, this stimulating book offers new insights into such familiar mathematical quandaries as the four-color map, the bridges of Konisberg, and the Postman Problem (what is the most efficient way of delivering your letters, so you get back to your starting point without having traversed any street twice). Only relatively recently have mathematicians begun to explore networks and connections, and their importance has taken everyone by surprise. Nets, Puzzles, and Postmen takes readers on a dazzling tour of this new field, in a book that will delight math buffs everywhere.