I am looking for an illustrated book that depicts quantities so as to
make them comprehensible.  For instance (not an exact example), a
million bricks would be shown as a pyramid with certain dimensions.  As
I recall, the book is not by the renowned graphic designer Edward Hufty (?),
who depicted Napoleon's campaign in Russia, and other things, so brilliantly. 
I''ve looked at some of his available work.  I saw the book a decade or so ago.

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Request for Question Clarification by markj-ga on 10 Oct 2003 07:18 PDT

mendy9 --

I have come up with a few possibilities, and am in the process of
looking for more.  In order to narrow down those possibilities, it
would be useful to know if the book you have in mind was either (1)
written for children or (2) included the material that interests you
in one section of a book on a broader topic.

Thanks for any guidance you can give.

markj-ga

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Clarification of Question by mendy9-ga on 10 Oct 2003 11:13 PDT

The book was designed for children, I'm fairly certain.  The material
I'm interested in was not included in another book--it was a book unto
itself.  Thanks for the prompt reply.

mendy9 --

Since there is very likely more than one book that fits your general
description, I cannot be sure that I have found the right one. 
However, based on your clarification that it is likely a book designed
for children and a highly acclaimed work, I am going to propose an
answer.  If this is not the book, please ask for an "answer
clarification" and I will continue the search.

I believe that the book you are seeking is "How Much is a Million,"
written by David M. Schwartz and illustrated by Steven Kellogg.  Here
is an excerpt of a description of the book on the Web site of Towson
State University in Maryland:

"'How Much is a Million,' by David Schwartz is an interesting approach
that helps children understand the size and value of large numbers.
Very often, the term “million” or “billion” is used by children to
infer “a lot of something,” yet they don’t understand just how much a
million is. In his book, Schwartz uses examples that kids can
visualize, accompanied by wonderful illustrations done by Steven
Kellogg.

"The book begins by looking at the number 1,000,000. The one million
is then compared to sizes and lengths that kids can understand and
investigate themselves. For example, “If one million kids climbed onto
one another’s shoulders, they would be farther up than airplanes can
fly.” (p. 1-3) And did you know that, “If you wanted to count from one
to one million…it would take you about 23 days.” (p. 4) The book
continues in this manner giving more comparisons, and also
investigating one billion and one trillion."
Mathematics in Literature : Jennifer Eisdorfer: How Much is A Million
http://www.towson.edu/~yarnev/Jennifer%20Eisdorfer/JEisdorfer%20web%20math%20in%20literature.htm


Here is a link to an image of the cover of the book, which was
published in hardback in 1985 and in paperback in 1993:
Amazon.com: "How Much is a Million": Detail of cover
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0688099335/ref=lib_dp_TFCV/103-7867102-6341437?v=glance&s=books&vi=reader#reader-link

And here is a link to one of Kellogg's illustrations from the book,
this one representing a fish bowl that would be needed to house one
million goldfish:
Amazon.com: "How Much is a Million": Sample page
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0688099335/ref=lib_rd_ss_TT01/103-7867102-6341437?v=glance&s=books&vi=reader&img=2#reader-link

Finally, here is the Amazon.com listing for the book, which sells for
$6.99:
Amazon.com: "How Much is a Million"
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0688099335/ref=lib_rd_ss_TT01/103-7867102-6341437?v=glance&s=books&vi=reader&img=2#reader-link


Additional information and sites:

Here is a link to illustrator Steven Kellogg's Web site, which
contains his biography and a gallery of the elaborate covers of his
books:
Steven Kellogg
http://www.stevenkellogg.com/

In the course of researching your question, I came upon an especially
interesting Web site that is related to the conceptualization of large
numbers.  The site, which is frequently linked by other sites, is
called "The Megapenny Project."  "The Megapenny Project" describes its
mission as follows:

"Visualizing huge numbers can be very difficult. People regularly talk
about millions of miles, billions of bytes, or trillions of dollars,
yet it's still hard to grasp just how much a "billion" really is. The
MegaPenny Project aims to help by taking one small everyday item, the
U.S. penny, and building on that to answer the question: "What would a
billion (or a trillion) pennies look like?"
Kokogiak Media: The Megapenny Project
http://www.kokogiak.com/megapenny/

In fact, "The Megapenny Project" has expanded from pennies to cows(!,
and the site offers an illustration of a "block" of one million cows
side-by-side with the Sears Tower and the Empire State Building:
The Megapenny Project: One Million Cows!
http://www.kokogiak.com/megapenny/twentythree.asp

Given your interest in the conceptualization of large numbers, I think
you will enjoy browsing at the above site.




Search strategy:

I used various Google searches to zero in on books that relate to the
visualization of large numbers.  The most productive of those searches
used the following search terms:

illustrations visualize "large numbers OR quantities"
://www.google.com/search?q=illustrations++visualize+%22large+numbers+OR+quantities%22&num=100&hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1

"how much is a million" schwartz
://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&q=%22how+much+is+a+million%22+schwartz


I am hopeful that this is the book you are seeking.  Again, if it is
not, please ask for clarification of without rating this answer, and I
will continue to assist you.


markj-ga

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Request for Answer Clarification by mendy9-ga on 13 Oct 2003 13:40 PDT

Thanks for the useful answer.  My only memory of a specific picture in
the book I'm seeking--and I don't even know the number
illustrated!--is of a pyramid of bricks.  Do you have any way of
finding it, or should I simply order from Amazon?

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Clarification of Answer by markj-ga on 13 Oct 2003 15:30 PDT

mendy9 --

Thanks for posting your clarification request.  

In reading your original question, I did not interpret your pyramid
example as a specific recollection of an image contained in the book
you are seeking.  Armed with that new information, I checked my local
public library's copy of "How Much Is A Million."  Unfortunately the
pyramid image is not in the book, so it seems that my answer is
incorrect.

Under the circumstances I will ask the Google Answers editors to
remove my answer, so that other researchers can take a further crack
at your question, along with me.  You don't need to take any action.

Thanks again for the clarification.

markj-ga

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Clarification of Answer by markj-ga on 14 Oct 2003 07:46 PDT

mendy9 --

Based on my research so far, I am not optimistic about being able to
find the book you seek if the author's use of an illustration of a
pyramid is the only  recollection we have to go on, other than the
general nature of the book, the time frame in which you recall seeing
it and the likelihood that it was written for children.

I would like to give your question another shot, but it would be
useful (and maybe necessary) to have the benefit of any other clues
you might have about the book or its author.  For example, do you have
any recollections about the following:

Was the book recently published at the time you saw it (about a decade
ago)?

Was the book was a hardback or a paperback?

Was it a book designed to be used in schools (i.e., a textbook)?

What were the circumstances under which you saw it -- browsing in a
bookstore, library, other?

You confirmed that the visualization of large numbers related to the
general topic of the book.  Were large numbers the only topic of the
book (like "How Much is a Million") or was it about "innumeracy"
(ignorance about numbers in a broader sense) or some broader
mathematical topic?

Do you have any recollection of the author -- a man, a woman, a
mathematician?

Was it a "picture book," that is, a book for children in which the
illustrations are the central purpose of the book, or were the
illustrations incidental to a mainly textual work?

Is there anything else at all that you remember about the book that
might help in its identification?

Thanks in advance for any mroe clues that you can provide.


markj-ga

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Request for Answer Clarification by mendy9-ga on 16 Oct 2003 11:29 PDT

I have lost the email from google with your latest questions.  Would
you kindly have i t sent to me again--along with a clue on how to
reply. The answer to one of the questions is that the book is
primarily pictures, with a line of text explaining the number as
related to the graphic.  Many thanks, once more, Mendy9

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Clarification of Answer by markj-ga on 16 Oct 2003 13:03 PDT

mendy9-- 
 
Thanks for your latest "Request for Answer Clarification."  You should
be able to access the list of questions in my "Answer Clarification"
by clicking on the link in the e-mail you should get which alerts you
to the posting of this Clarification.  I look forward to hearing from you
again.
 
Thank you very much for the satisfaction you have expressed with my
work so far.  As I have said, I can't guarantee that I will find the
book with the precise image you remember, but I will try.  I am hoping
that your answers to my questions might help, along with any other
recollections you have about the book, even if they don't seem
relevant now.
 
Needless to say, I was disappointed that "How Much Is A Million"
turned out to be without the image of a pyramid.  It is an uniquely
well-regarded and popular children's book that is solely concerned
with the visualization of large numbers.
 
Let's keep trying, though. 
 
markj-ga

So far--we're not done quite yet--markj as done a splendid job.