[1] However, some of its claims on the history of the notations it describes have been subsumed by more recent research, and its coverage of modern mathematics is limited, so it should be used with care as a reference.
[3][4][5] The first volume concludes with 30 pages on elementary geometry,[3][5] including also the struggle between symbolists and rhetoricians in the 18th and 19th centuries on whether to express mathematics in notation or words, respectively.
[11][12] Although praising the book's "richness of explanation" and "familiarity with the ground", Lao Genevra Simons expressed a wish that Cajori had access to a greater number of original sources,[10] and pointed to some historical inaccuracies in the work.
[13] In 1974, and echoing Feigl,[13] reviewer Herbert Meschkowski [de] complained that the book's coverage of mathematics from after the beginning of the 19th century was inadequate.
In the case of ancient number systems, Gouvêa recommends instead Numerical Notation: A Comparative History by Stephen Chrisomalis (Cambridge University Press, 2010).