In this manifesto Lockhart explains that mathematics is in fact an art and that by reducing it to a set of facts and procedures to be memorized modern education methods have left nothing but a boring shell; comparable to studying music only with notation and theory, or painting through color swatches and paint-by-numbers. He contends that most students have only experienced math with the depth, beauty, imagination, and history removed and suggests we approach the subject from a playful, intuitive and aesthetic angle. Very well written, this book will be of equal interest to teachers, students, parents, mathematicians and general readers. Lockhart has taught mathematics at Brown U and UC Santa Cruz and currently teaches K-12 students in New York. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)