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History of Analytic Geometry (Dover Books on Mathematics)

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Analytic geometry is where the maths student first encounters the combining of traditional Euclidean geometry with algebra. A profound mix, though perhaps most students won't appreciate it as such. Boyer shows how, slowly, the necessary ideas in analytic geometry came together. He traces the first stirrings back to the classical era of ancient Greece and Rome. But the greatest step may well have been due to Rene Decartes and his laying down of the x and y grid in two dimensions. Plus, of course, analytic geometry was necessary for the development of calculus, with the concept of a slope.

You probably are already familiar with all of the maths that the book covers. What Boyer offers is an appreciation of the great minds that preceded up and made these achievements.