Customer Reviews

Elements of Algebra

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Elements of Algebra by Leonhard Euler is in a class all its own. His masterful exposition of rudimentary and not-so-rudimentary algebra is extraordinarily clear and notably readable. The problems that Euler designed are both profoundly elegant and in-depth. A percentage of each of his problem sets is relatively straightforward while other problems require some attentive thought. If one is interested in becoming a proficient algebraist in the classical sense, then Euler's work will greatly facilitate this objective. If one simply desires to 'read' mathematics for the sheer pleasure of it, this book will fulfill that aim.

By the way, the other reviewer's one-star rating has to do with a softcover and edited edition of this work.

This book is NOT a reprint of Euler's book as the publisher claims. Point one..is has significantly fewer than 300 pages and the Hewlett reprint requires close to 600 pages. Furthermore, Euler, a genius in mathematics, is corrupted by a new organizing of its contents as if this new editor had the genius to select and reorder the contents. Important footnotes have been removed under the pretense that they just took up space..etc. These include the famous Lagrange notes. Part II of the Algebra is completely left out. The title of this so-called reprint of Euler's brilliant book translated so well by Hewlett would better be entitled..Euler's Elements of Algebra Highly Abridged and Re-organized (by a scholar who has yet to prove he is up to such discernment)...