An Introduction to the History of Mathematics (Saunders Series) [Hardcover]

Howard Eves (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0030295580 | ISBN-13: 978-0030295584 | Publication Date: January 2, 1990 | Edition: 6

This classic best-seller by a well-known author introduces mathematics history to math and math education majors. Suggested essay topics and problem studies challenge students. CULTURAL CONNECTIONS sections explain the time and culture in which mathematics developed and evolved. Portraits of mathematicians and material on women in mathematics are of special interest.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 800 pages
• Publisher: Brooks Cole; 6 edition (January 2, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0030295580
• ISBN-13: 978-0030295584
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #99,141 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, December 27, 2003

By 

Dr. Lee D. Carlson (Baltimore, Maryland USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: An Introduction to the History of Mathematics (Saunders Series) (Hardcover)

The careful documentation of the discoveries and history of mathematics is of overwhelming importance, especially in modern times where the advances are taking place so rapidly that the historical roots of some branches of mathematics seem to be getting lost. It would be a tragedy if the history of these important developments were not put into print so that later generations of mathematicians and students could have an understanding of how these came about. Thanks to the information age, the accessibility of mathematical documents has dramatically increased, but these documents usually do not include overviews of how the ideas took root and then flourished as independent research disciplines.

This book gives a general overview of mathematical developments up until the middle of the twentieth century. It is a fascinating story, and readers will realize to what extent mathematical ideas deemed complex by even modern standards were known by the ancients. Indeed, it is very surprising to learn that in 2000 BC the Babylonians were solving quadratic equations and even some cubic and quartic equations. The Babylonians did not produce an Evariste Galois, that took centuries more time, but they were dealing with mathematical constructions that were interesting to compare with modern methods.

One very interesting feature of this book is that it is meant to be used as a textbook, and not just in a course in the history of mathematics. The author has included "problem studies" and "essay topics" at the end of each chapter that challenge the reader to solve problems pertinent to the historical topics of each chapter. The inclusion of these problems will allow the student to gain insight on the difficulty in solving problems with the constraint of using concepts that were unique to a definite period in mathematical history.

The book also includes discussions of the history of non-Western contributions to mathematics. The work of the Hindus, the Chinese, and Arabs is included. The contributions of the Arabs are particularly important for later developments in the West, as it was they who revived Greek philosophy and mathematics and consequently changed dramatically the role of mathematics in Europe.

The reading of this book will give a greater appreciation of the developments in mathematics as they are done today. Mathematical research now is done by both human and machine, and no doubt this century, and others beyond it, will result in brilliant developments. Mathematics pervades every human activity in the modern world and every piece of technology. When books like this one are written in the future, readers who peruse them and take note of the incredible advancements made in mathematics in the centuries that preceed them, no doubt their predominant emotion will be astonishment.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great!, April 11, 2004

By 

another reader - See all my reviews

This review is from: An Introduction to the History of Mathematics (Saunders Series) (Hardcover)

I agree with the person who said this book is very informative & it is also easy to read. I learned lots from doing the problems too, like for example, a simple algorithm on how to construct magic squares of odd size. This book was good for the course I did because there's only so much you can do in a course; Morris Kline's "Mathematical Thought From Ancient to Modern Times" is twice as long as this one so it goes into much more detail, but too much for a 1-term course. This book by Eves is a good INTRO to the history of math, I liked it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very interesting read - Very hard problems, March 29, 2009

By 

S. reilly "engineer-turning-teacher" (Irwin, PA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: An Introduction to the History of Mathematics (Saunders Series) (Hardcover)

This was the textbook for a History of Math class I took at U of Iowa. The readings in each chapter are very interesting. As the other reviewers said, if you are interested in math, you will enjoy reading the text.

The problem is that the attached essays and problems for each chapter are not possible to be solved/completed just given the information in the chapter. The readings are generally qualitative descriptions of the historical development and then the problems ask you to (for example) find the tangent to the curve the way it would have been done by this ancient mathematician and then by this other ancient mathematician, etc. I spent hours every week searching online for enough information to complete the homework.

Good luck!