Elements of Mathematics
Elements of Mathematics by John Stillwellby John Stillwell
Shares rank 16 of 19 mathematics books by recommenders
Recommended as a clear, accessible tour of modern mathematics and how its domains connect, and an excellent book to browse.
3 people recommended Elements of Mathematics by John Stillwell in Hacker News comments and none criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026.
3 of the 3 people who recommend it commented in one thread, “Six Math Essentials”.
Summary written by Claude from 4 comments.
3 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 3
- mixed feelings
- 0
- warn against or regret it
- 0
The record
Recommended in 3 of 12 months
In 3 different threads.
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 3 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 3 of 12 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
- Recommended in 3 threadsNeeds 5 or more, not met.
- 3 of its 3 recommenders came from one threadNeeds half or less, not met.
The same rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. Mixed feelings count toward neither side. How the badge works
What people say about it
Reasons grouped from a sample of 4 of the 5 opinions about it, picked in proportion to how many people recommend it, have mixed feelings and criticize it. Each mark is one comment in the sample. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Clear, accessible writing
“I find Stillwell's writings to be exceptionally clear and accessible, and I recommend them.”
Comment from 23 Feb 2026 in “Six Math Essentials” Tour of modern mathematics
“Both of them give a nice tour of various domains within modern mathematics and their inter-relationships”
Comment from 23 Feb 2026 in “Six Math Essentials” Good for casual browsing
“making it an excellent book to peruse”
Comment from 26 Dec 2025 in “Online Book: Exploring Mathematics with Python” Author's books highly regarded
“Stillwell's books are very good”
Comment from 24 Feb 2026 in “Six Math Essentials”
Other mathematics books people recommend
The four most recommended other mathematics books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Mixed | Criticize | Approval | Months | Had for | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elements by Euclidby Oliver Byrne | 14 | 2 | 9 | 61% | 8 | — | — |
| Fermat's Last Theoremby Simon Singh | 11 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Gödel's Proofby Nagel and Newman | 9 | 0 | 1 | 90% | 2 | — | — |
| Mathematica: A Secret World of Intuition and Curiosityby David Bessis | 8 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 6 | — | — |
| Elements of Mathematicsby John StillwellThis page | 3 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
4 of the 5 opinions about it, picked in proportion to the three counts, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Stillwell's books are very good”
“Both of them give a nice tour of various domains within modern mathematics and their inter-relationships”
“I find Stillwell's writings to be exceptionally clear and accessible, and I recommend them.”
“making it an excellent book to peruse”
Counts come from 1,791,911 Hacker News comments labeled by Claude, November 2025 to October 2026, with data through October 31, 2026. Counts updated 2 Nov 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.