Mathematics did not spring spontaneously into life, with rules set in stone for all time. Its story is closely linked with the problems of measurement and money that have often driven its progress. Quite Right explains how mathematical ideas have gradually emerged since prehistoric times, so that they pervade almost every aspect of life in the twenty-first century. Many histories of mathematics focus on the activities of those for whom mathematics itself was the motivation. Professor Biggs adopts a wider viewpoint. Making use of new discoveries of artefacts and documents, he explains the part that mathematics has played in the human story, and what that tells us about the nature of mathematics. The story reveals the power and beauty of mathematical concepts, which often belie their utilitarian origins. The twin paradigms of logical justification and algorithmic calculation recur throughout the book. No other book tells the story of mathematics, measurement, and money in this way. Includes secontions on: - The origins of calculation in ancient and medieval times - How mathematics provides answers that are right, and what that means - The impact of trade and the use of money on the development of mathematical algorithms - The use of mathematics for secure communications - How money and information are linked in our electronic world Quite Right is a fascinating story, suitable for anyone interested in the mathematical foundations of the world we live in. Norman Biggs is Professor (Emeritus) of Mathematics at the London School of Economics. He is the author of 12 books, including a perennial best-selling book Discrete Mathematics (Oxford University Press). He has a special interest in measurement and was Chair of the International Society of Weights and Scales Collectors from 2009-14. He served as a Vice President of the British Society for the History of Mathematics in 2014 and is an active member of the British Numismatic Society. 'This is a history of mathematics book with a difference. Instead of the usual chronological sequence of events, presented with mathematical hindsight (interpreting mathematical achievements from a modern point of view), this book tries to see things more from the context of the time - presenting the topics thematically rather than strictly chronologically, and including results and problems only when they fit into the themes ... the level of exposition is first-rate, with a far greater fluency than most mathematical writers can attain ... I am very happy to recommend it wholeheartedly.' Professor Robin Wilson, University of Oxford

In this substantial revision of a much-quoted monograph first published in 1974, Dr. Biggs aims to express properties of graphs in algebraic terms, then to deduce theorems about them. In the first section, he tackles the applications of linear algebra and matrix theory to the study of graphs; algebraic constructions such as adjacency matrix and the incidence matrix and their applications are discussed in depth. There follows an extensive account of the theory of chromatic polynomials, a subject that has strong links with the "interaction models" studied in theoretical physics, and the theory of knots. The last part deals with symmetry and regularity properties. Here there are important connections with other branches of algebraic combinatorics and group theory. The structure of the volume is unchanged, but the text has been clarified and the notation brought into line with current practice. A large number of "Additional Results" are included at the end of each chapter, thereby covering most of the major advances in the past twenty years. This new and enlarged edition will be essential reading for a wide range of mathematicians, computer scientists and theoretical physicists.