Rating: 
Summary: Flatterland, a remarkable sequel to a remarkable book.
Review: When I first read Flatland (the original) I was deeply inspired and fasinated by the 4th dimensional ideas it brought up. When I picked up a copy of Flatterland, I had hoped for an interesting read with maybe a few new concepts at best, but I certainly got more than I bargained for. Flatterland takes you on a journey through much more than just the 4th dimension (which is interesting enough already.) He takes you through non-Eucludean dimensions, the world of 1.25 dimensions, theoretical dimensions, and even a world of infinite dimension. Ian Stewart brilliantly plays on words and makes you laugh at every step of the way. The ideas brought up are so fasinating and cutting edge, that it definately deserves more than one reading, and better still, they are explained in detail so that even the most complex concepts are easily understood. This book is clever, amusing, and perhaps even brilliant. I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Flatterland - another timeless classic.
Review: When I first struggled with the concepts of multi-dimensional space a friend recommended I read "Flatland" by Edwin A. Abbott. It was a best seller during the reign of Queen Victoria and I didn't expect to find it in a high street store. However, much to my delight, I found it in the mathematics section next to a book called "Does God Play Dice" by Ian Stewart. I bought them both and they had a profound effect on my choice of career. In "Flatterland" both my favourite subject and author have been combined in one book. Ian's style, both humourous and informative, brings the flatland characters into the context of this millennium and opens the readers mind to the rich complexity of the world of mathematics. The adventures of Victoria Line carries the reader through the book in an effortless ease. Ian is a winner of the Faraday Award, for the public understanding of science. His unique style carries the reader from chapter to chapter on a voyage that will enhance the readers understanding of some of the most challenging concepts and problems in mathematics. It may be a record for a sequel (over 100 years) but, having read it with the same enthusiastic delight as "Flatland" and "Does God Play Dice", it is not hard to picture a high street store 100 years from now with "Flatterland" still on the best seller list.Dr. G. Keith Still (Head of Mathematical Modelling - Starlab, Brussels)
Rating: 
Summary: Pretty weak
Review: While an interesting introduction to many aspects of modern geometry and physics, this book actually has diddly-doo to do with Flatland. Beyond a few superficial trappings, there is very little about the two-dimensional world, and our two-dimensional protagonist, Victoria Line, is constantly thinking, speaking and acting in ways far more reminescent of a three-dimensional being. Which makes sense, really -- after all, the book is intended to introduce a lot of geometrical ideas to three-dimensional humans, right? Right. So then why bother setting it in Flatland in the first place. (Other than to attract a larger set of potential buyers by pretending to be a sequel, that is. For a true sequel -- one which succeeds not only in introducing the reader to 20th century geometry and physics, but also in enlarging the social world created by Abbott AND in actually depicting a two-dimensional being -- stick with Burger's "Sphereland".)
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