Reviews
"The most ambitious and comprehensive history in the English language of mathematics and its relations to science."--Carl Boyer, author of A History of Mathematics, "Without a doubt a book which should be in the library of every institution where mathematics is either taught or played."--The Economist, "The consistently high quality of presentation, the accuracy, the readable style, and the stress on the conceptual development of mathematics make [these volumes] a most desirable reference."--Choice, "What must be the definitive history of mathematical thought....Probably the most comprehensive account of mathematical history we have yet had."--Saturday Review, "I have always had great regard for this book as the one which relates the development of modern mathematical ideas in a readable fashion."--Michael F. O'Reilly, University of Minnesota in Morris"Outstanding scholarship and readability. One of only a couple of books available in English for in-depth historical studies at the fourth year/graduate level."--Charles V. Jones, Ball State University"The consistently high quality of presentation, the accuracy, the readable style, and the stress on the conceptual development of mathematics make [these volumes] a most desirable reference."--Choice"Without a doubt a book which should be in the library of every institution where mathematics is either taught or played."--The Economist"What must be the definitive history of mathematical thought....Probably the most comprehensive account of mathematical history we have yet had."--Saturday Review, "I have always had great regard for this book as the one which relates the development of modern mathematical ideas in a readable fashion."--Michael F. O'Reilly, University of Minnesota in Morris "Outstanding scholarship and readability. One of only a couple of books available in English for in-depth historical studies at the fourth year/graduate level."--Charles V. Jones, Ball State University "The consistently high quality of presentation, the accuracy, the readable style, and the stress on the conceptual development of mathematics make [these volumes] a most desirable reference."--Choice "Without a doubt a book which should be in the library of every institution where mathematics is either taught or played."--The Economist "What must be the definitive history of mathematical thought....Probably the most comprehensive account of mathematical history we have yet had."--Saturday Review, "For scope and detail there is no work which could compete with [this book]. Students or teachers in search of their mathematical heritage will find most of it in Mathematical Thought from Ancient to Modern Times."--Times Literary Supplement (London), "I found it hard to put the book down--the bold sweep of mathematics, as a shaper of the world, and as it is shaped by world needs is balanced neatly with almost anecdotal vignettes."--New Engineer, "It's a pleasure to see such a complete and scholarly treatise of thistype from the pen of a working mathematician."--Robert A. Haberstroh, The BostonGlobe, "I have always had great regard for this book as the one which relates the development of modern mathematical ideas in a readable fashion."--Michael F. O'Reilly, University of Minnesota in Morris "Outstanding scholarship and readability. One of only a couple of books available in English for in-depth historical studies at the fourth year/graduate level."--Charles V. Jones,Ball State University "The consistently high quality of presentation, the accuracy, the readable style, and the stress on the conceptual development of mathematics make [these volumes] a most desirable reference."--Choice "Without a doubt a book which should be in the library of every institution where mathematics is either taught or played."--The Economist "What must be the definitive history of mathematical thought....Probably the most comprehensive account of mathematical history we have yet had."--Saturday Review, "A precious source of information on the history of mathematics....Thebook, clearly the result of a lifetime of critical research, will be appreciatedby all who wish their understanding of the way our present mathematics came intobeing both broadened and deepened."--Dirk J. Struik, author of A Concise Historyof Mathematics, "I have always had great regard for this book as the one which relates the development of modern mathematical ideas in a readable fashion."--Michael F. O'Reilly, University of Minnesota in Morris, "Outstanding scholarship and readability. One of only a couple of books available in English for in-depth historical studies at the fourth year/graduate level."--Charles V. Jones, Ball State University, "We had better treasure this book on our shelf, for as far as mathematical history goes, it is the best we have."--Gian-Carlo Rota, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, "Outstanding scholarship and readability. One of only a couple of booksavailable in English for in-depth historical studies at the fourth year/graduatelevel."--Charles V. Jones, Ball State University, "The most ambitious and comprehensive history in the English language ofmathematics and its relations to science."--Carl Boyer, author of A History ofMathematics, "It's a pleasure to see such a complete and scholarly treatise of this type from the pen of a working mathematician."--Robert A. Haberstroh, The Boston Globe
Synopsis
This comprehensive history traces the development of mathematical ideas and the careers of the mathematicians responsible for them. Volume 1 looks at the discipline's origins in Babylon and Egypt, the creation of geometry and trigonometry by the Greeks, and the role of mathematics in the medieval and early modern periods. Volume 2 focuses on calculus, the rise of analysis in the 19th century, and the number theories of Dedekind and Dirichlet. The concluding volume covers the revival of projective geometry, the emergence of abstract algebra, the beginnings of topology, and the influence of Godel on recent mathematical study., This comprehensive history traces the development of mathematical ideas and the careers of the mathematicians responsible for them. Originally published in 1972, it is now available as a three volume paperback edition. Volume 1 looks at the discipline's origins in Babylon and Egypt, the creation of geometry and trigonometry by the Greeks, and the role of mathematics in the medieval and early modern periods. Volume 2 focuses on calculus, the rise of analysis in the nineteenth century, and the number theories of Dedekind and Dirichlet. The concluding volume covers the revival of projective geometry, the emergence of abstract algebra, the beginnings of topology, and the influence of Gödel on recent mathematical study.
