TITLE: Book recommendation about mathematics
QUESTION [13 upvotes]: I'm looking for a book about mathematics, but not about calculus, algebra or any field of math. I want to read a book about the use of mathematics in the world, for example, Why is math so useful. Or maybe something about the point of view of a mathematician in the world or even a biographyy of someone math related.
 Any book related to math (but not with the theorems/definitions/integrals/etc) I will take in consideration. Thanks

REPLY [2 votes]: On "Why is math so useful?", this is a question that's been discussed in recent years by philosophers of science and philosophers of math.  Mark Colyvan's An Introduction to the Philosophy of Mathematics includes a bit of dicussion of this subject, and should have pointers to others' work on the topic.  Mathematically, the book seems quite accessible to someone who's already quite comfortable with math.  It is definitely introductory with respect to philosophy (of math), but philosophical thinking about something like math can seem foreign at first to some people.
To give you some context to how I'm interpreting your question, in a very informal way:  Sometimes mathematical entities--numbers, sets, structures, etc.--seem to live in a realm of their own.  Some mathematicians and philosophers think about math this way.  Yet math seems to be essential to the ways that science learns about physical world.  These two perspectives seem to conflict, so some adjustment to thinking about math and science seems necessary. There are different ways to do this.