M. Gardner
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Cited by:
I cannot but start with Hexaflexagons and Other Mathematical Diversions by Martin Gardner, or actually its Italian translation Enigmi e giochi matematici, vol. 1. I stumbled upon it when I was 14 or so: I always loved mathematics, but actually I was interested in performing mathematical operations. With that book, and all the following ones in the series, I learned that mathematics wasn't just this, but it was ideas, wit, and even philosophy. Well, I cheated about the last one. It took me a long time before acknowledging it.
-- Maurizio Codogno