The Glorious Golden Ratio

Book excerpt: What exactly is the Golden Ratio? How was it discovered? Where is it found? These questions and more are thoroughly explained in this engaging tour of one of mathematics' most interesting phenomena. The authors trace the appearance of the Golden Ratio throughout history, demonstrate a variety of ingenious techniques used to construct it, and illustrate the many surprising geometric figures in which the Golden Ratio is embedded. Requiring no more than an elementary knowledge of geometry and algebra, the authors give readers a new appreciation of the indispensable qualities and inherent beauty of mathematics.