Numbers Rule

"'Which candidate is the people's choice?' It's a simple question, and the answer is anything but. In Numbers Rule, George Szpiro tells the amazing story of the search for the fairest way of voting, deftly blending history, biography, and political skullduggery. Everyone interested in our too-fallible elections should read this book."--William Poundstone, author of Gaming the Vote: Why Elections Aren't Fair (and What We Can Do about It)"Writing a book for a general audience on voting and electoral systems is a daunting task, but Szpiro succeeds admirably. He completely avoids technical jargon and focuses on the most important scholars and results in the field. This book fills a gap in the existing literature."--Hannu Nurmi, author of Voting Procedures under Uncertainty"Numbers Rule focuses on key figures in the development of democracy and on the mathematics of voting, elections, and apportionment that they developed. Szpiro pays particular attention to the paradoxes that arise, and discusses them through examples."--Steven J. Brams, New York University"Numbers Rule is very thoroughly researched and quite well written. The story Szpiro tells is both important and interesting. The most significant contribution this book makes is in the detailed history that it presents. It will have broad appeal."--Alan D. Taylor, coauthor of Mathematics and Politics