Dana Mackenzie—Master Sun's Problem

Advance copy: Backstories on books by NASW members

Cover of the book Master Sun — Master Sun's Problem

MASTER SUN'S PROBLEM:
A MATHEMATICAL EPIC 2,000 YEARS IN THE MAKING
Dana Mackenzie
Princeton University Press, 10/13/2026
Price of Hardcover: $27.95
Price of ebook: $27.95
ISBN: 978-0691277721 (hardcover), ‎978-0691295640 (EPUB), 978-0691277868 (PDF)

Mackenzie reports:

Master Sun’s Problem is an autobiographical work about a mathematics problem that dates back more than 2,000 years and that I became hooked on and unexpectedly solved. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to write a science book in the first-person. Almost all of my writing is about discoveries made by other people, and I’m fine with that. It’s what journalists do. But first-person is the rawest and most intimate voice, opening a direct line between the author and the reader. It was easy to communicate how cool the problem was and to take the reader to this magical headspace where mathematics lives, because I was right there when everything happened.

Portrait photo of Dana Mackenzie — Dana Mackenzie

The hardest step in writing the book was convincing myself that other people would want to read it. The rest was ridiculously easy. I had prior contacts at Princeton University Press, because they had published one of my previous books. Diana Gillooly, my editor, was a strong advocate for my book from the very beginning, and she was not fazed when one reviewer of my proposal just didn’t get the point. (Three other reviews were much more positive.) In fact, the negative review was a blessing because it showed why the book was so necessary. To this mathematician, all that mattered about a math problem was the solution. And that’s exactly the opposite of what I’m trying to communicate in Master Sun’s Problem: What really matters is the journey!

Do I have any advice for aspiring writers? If possible, write about a topic that you really care about—because you’ll need that as motivation over the long haul. Be ready to explain to other people, and to yourself, why you are THE writer for this job. Be aware that the job does not begin and end with writing. Promotion of yourself and your book is also important. And if, in spite of everything, you find your book’s Amazon ranking going down and down, that’s okay. It happens to everyone. Don’t obsess over it, because that isn’t why you wrote the book in the first place.

Contact Info:

Dana Mackenzie, scribe@danamackenzie.com
Mackenzie’s website: https://danamackenzie.com/
Book: Master Sun's Problem
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Publicist: Matthew Taylor, Matthew_Taylor@press.princeton.edu

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Advance Copy

The path from idea to book may take myriad routes. The Advance Copy column, started in 2000 by NASW volunteer book editor Lynne Lamberg, features NASW authors telling the stories behind their books. Authors are asked to report how they got their idea, honed it into a proposal, found an agent and a publisher, funded and conducted their research, and organized their writing process. They also are asked to share what they wish they’d known when they started or would do differently next time, and what advice they can offer aspiring authors. Lamberg edits the authors’ answers to produce the Advance Copy reports.

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Publication of NASW author reports in Advance Copy does not constitute NASW's endorsement of any publication or the ideas, values, or material contained within or espoused by authors or their books. We hope this column stimulates productive discussions on important topics now and in the future as both science and societies progress. We welcome your discussion in the comments section below.