This book is not so much a history of ancient Greek mathematicians and their work (although that is part of it) as it is a sociological study of how mathematics was present as a cognitive method and how it was applied for practical and social purposes in ancient Greece and Rome. It is a look at how mathematics was used as a means of structuring the mental, physical, and social life during that period. If your interest is principally in the mathematics of ancient Greek mathematicians, then the book may seem diffuse and beside the point. It is, though, a clearly written and reflective book, and it brings into focus how mathematics is ever present and how it pervades our lives.