Product Description

A monumental four-volume reference 15 years in the making, The World of Mathematics was specially designed to make mathematics more accessible to the inexperienced. It comprises nontechnical essays on every aspect of the vast subject, including articles by and about scores of eminent mathematicians, as well as literary figures, economists, biologists, and many other eminent thinkers. This unique compendium includes the work of Archimedes, Galileo, Descartes, Newton, Gregor Mendel, Edmund Halley, Jonathan Swift, John Maynard Keynes, Henri Poincaré, Lewis Carroll, George Boole, Bertrand Russell, Alfred North Whitehead, John von Neumann, and many others. In addition, an informative commentary by distinguished scholar James R. Newman precedes each essay or group of essays, explaining their relevance and context in the history and development of mathematics. Volume I (ISBN 41153-2; Parts I-IV) features a general survey of the nature of mathematics; historical and biographical information on prominent mathematicians throughout history; material on arithmetic, numbers, and the art of counting; and the mathematics of space and motion. Individual essays include "Gauss, the Prince of Mathematicians" by Eric Temple Bell; "Calculating Prodigies" by W. W. Rouse Ball; "The Seven Bridges of Königsburg" by Leonhard Euler; and more than 30 others. 768pp. Volume II (ISBN 41150-8; Parts V-VII) covers the broad areas of mathematics and the physical world, mathematics and social science, and the laws of chance. Individual articles include "Mathematics of Motion" by Galileo Galilei; "Mathematics of Heredity," by Gregor Mendel; "Mathematics of Population and Food" by Thomas Robert Malthus; "Chance" by Henri Poincaré; "The Application of Probability to Conduct" by John Maynard Keynes; and dozens of others. 720pp. Volume III (ISBN 41151-6; Parts VIII-XVII) contains essays on such topics as statistics and the design of experiments, group theory, the mathematics of infinity, the unreasonableness of mathematics, the vocabulary of mathematics, and mathematics as an art. Essays encompass "The Law of Large Numbers" by Jacob Bernoulli; "The Vice of Gambling and the Virtue of Insurance" by George Bernard Shaw; "Mathematics and the Metaphysicians" by Bertrand Russell; and 30 more. 624pp. Volume IV (ISBN 41152-4; Parts XVIII-XXVI) considers such topics as mathematical machines; mathematics in warfare; a mathematical theory of art; mathematics of the good; mathematics in literature; mathematics and music; and amusements, puzzles, and fancies. Individual contributions include "Can a Machine Think?" by A. M. Turing; "Young Archimedes" by Aldous Huxley; "Mathematics of Music" by Sir James Jeans; "What the Tortoise Said to Achilles and Other Riddles" by Lewis Carroll; and two dozen more. 464pp. With its wealth of fascinating facts, abundance of anecdotes, and accessibility, this four-volume set will be exceptionally valuable to professional and amateur mathematicians alike. 1956 edition.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #464113 in Books
• Published on: 2003-11-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 4
• Binding: Paperback
• 2576 pages

Customer Reviews

Great Authors, Great Articles, Great Fun
I pencil in the date that I finish reading an article in James R. Newman's four volume, The World of Mathematics. After a good many years, I now find that I am more than halfway through Newman's remarkable collection that spans 2500 pages. The Newman collection was published in 1956 as a hard cover boxed set that occasionally shows up in used bookstores. More recently, the four volumes have become available in soft cover reprints (Dover Publications) that can be purchased individually.

Newman described his work as "a small library of the literature of mathematics form A'hmose the Scribe to Albert Einstein, presented with commentaries and notes". The individual articles are not abridgements, but are reprinted in their entirety. Some are short, others quite long, a few are easy reading, some are difficult, but none are overwhelming. Each article is introduced by a thoughtful, helpful commentary.

I do not systematically read section by section. I skip around. Often, after Newman introduces me to some mathematical topic, I find myself sidetracked, exploring other books and authors. But eventually I return, select another article, and begin the cycle again.

What makes Newman collection so remarkable? Great original papers, great authors, and wide ranging topics.

Imagine reading Descartes on Cartesian coordinates, Whitehead on mathematical logic, Weyl on symmetry, Dedekind on irrational numbers, Russell on number theory, Heisenberg on the uncertainty principle, Turing on computer intelligence, Boole on set theory, and Eddington on group theory. Biographical and historical articles are scattered throughout. I especially liked Bell's article Invariant Twins: Cayley and Sylvester, and The Great Mathematicians by Turnball.

In some articles noted mathematicians try to define what is mathematical thought and how a mathematician creates mathematics. Clifford writes about The Exactness of Mathematical Laws, Von Neumann on The Mathematician, Weyl on Mathematical Way of Thinking, Poincare on Mathematical Creation, Newman on Godel's Proof, and Russell and Whitehead separately offer their thoughts on mathematical creativity. And, of course, there is G. H. Hardy's remarkable essay, A Mathematician's Apology.

Newman's compilation also includes a fascinating, eclectic mix of articles like How to Hunt a Submarine, Durer as a Mathematician, A Mathematical Approach to Ethics, Geometry in the South Pacific, and The Vice of Gambling and the Virtue of Insurance.

I have had great fun wandering through Newman's four volume set. I may someday finally read the last article. If so, I expect that I will simply begin again. It would be hard to say good-bye.

Excellent collection of original sources
I owned a hardcover version of this set for several years. I loved it. I wish I had thought of penciling in the date I completed an article like the reviewer from Texas. This set is engrossing. You need some discipline to keep from bouncing around for hours. Most of the articles are accessible to people with highschool trigonometry and calculus. It is great that Dover is around to pick up these works that would otherwise fade into history.

Complete listing of contents now available
We have posted the contents for all four volumes of this classic on "Amapedia", Amazon's wiki for additional product information. (The link is near the bottom of this Amazon product page, hidden in plain sight.)