Books published by publisher J. Murray

Mathematics often gets a bad press. Describing someone as 'calculating' or 'rational' is hardly as flattering as being labelled 'artistic' or 'creative' and mathematicians in movies or novels are often portrayed as social misfits who rarely get the guy or girl. No wonder some folks say 'oh I don't care for mathematics, I was never any good at it' with a wistful sense of pride. Yet professional mathematicians talk of the subject differently. They look for elegant solutions to problems, revel in playing around with mathematical ideas and talk of the creative nature of mathematics. As the Russian mathematician Sophia Kovalevskaya said "It is impossible to be a mathematician without being a poet in soul."So why is there such a gap between the views of everyday folks and professional mathematicians? Part of the problem lies in how most of us were taught mathematics in school. The mathematics served up there is presented as a series of de-contextualised, abstract ideas, wrested from the human struggles and interactions that gave birth to the ideas. Through looking at some of the history of mathematics, psychological studies into how we come to know mathematics and key ideas in mathematics itself, the intent of this book is, if not to make the reader fall in love with mathematics, then at least to come to understand its nature a little better, and perhaps care a little more for it. In short, this book explores the human side of maths.

The stories introduce idioms to youngsters as a way of encouraging conversations about life skills and values. Its characters are young children who experience and question the world around them, which resonates especially well with young readers.Pieter Kokkewieter en die Hart op sy Mou first appeared in 2015 and was subsequently translated into Braille. It is the first book in the Murray & Me Idiom series of picture books, which is ideal for 6 to 9-year-olds. The work follows the equally popular Hetta Elizabetta en die Wêreld op haar Skouers, which is also available in Braille.Since its release, the series has already been adopted by subject advisors at schools who recognise the value of the idiom and how it is too often underestimated and excluded from learning programmes. Linda Bredenkamp, a curriculum advocate and Grade 5 teacher, was the language advisor on the Idiom project.The Murray&Me publishing company was established two years ago by Milan and entrepreneur Charmaine Nolte. Its projects include a picture book, created in association with Cipla, about asthma and entitled Thomas and the Trumpet (also available in Afrikaans as ‘n Trompet vir Thomas).The tale of Pete Twiddelfeet and the Heart on his Sleeve is born from the observation that adults seldom carry their hearts on their sleeves. “They prefer to hide it, keeping secrets,” says Milan. “Children, on the other hand, bravely and honestly show how they feel.“When exactly do we become so self-conscious about our inner lives? At what moment do we decide to put up our shields and hide our hearts away?“Pete shows us the way when he decides rather to wear his heart proudly on his sleeve.” Pete Twiddlefeet and the Heart on his Sleeve (ISBN 978-0-620-76839-9)

'It's a rollicking tale that brings to life the antic atmosphere of America in the 'Me' Decade' Wall Street JournalOn the moonlit evening of September 12, 1970, an ex-Harvard professor with a genius IQ studies a twelve-foot high fence topped with barbed wire. A few months earlier, Dr. Timothy Leary, the High Priest of LSD, had been running a gleeful campaign for California governor against Ronald Reagan. Now, Leary is six months into a ten-year prison sentence for the crime of possessing two marijuana cigarettes.Aided by the radical Weather Underground, Leary's escape from prison is the counterculture's union of "dope and dynamite," aimed at sparking a revolution and overthrowing the government. Inside the Oval Office, President Richard Nixon drinks his way through sleepless nights as he expands the war in Vietnam and plots to unleash the United States government against his ever-expanding list of domestic enemies. Antiwar demonstrators are massing by the tens of thousands; homemade bombs are exploding everywhere; Black Panther leaders are threatening to burn down the White House; and all the while Nixon obsesses over tracking down Timothy Leary, whom he has branded "the most dangerous man in America."Based on freshly uncovered primary sources and new firsthand interviews, THE MOST DANGEROUS MAN IN AMERICA is an American thriller that takes readers along for the gonzo ride of a lifetime. Spanning twenty-eight months, President Nixon's careening, global manhunt for Dr. Timothy Leary winds its way among homegrown radicals, European aristocrats, a Black Panther outpost in Algeria, an international arms dealer, hash-smuggling hippies from the Brotherhood of Eternal Love, and secret agents on four continents, culminating in one of the trippiest journeys through the American counterculture.