Saunders Mac Lane: A Mathematical Autobiography [Hardcover]

Saunders Mac Lane (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1568811500 | ISBN-13: 978-1568811505 | Publication Date: May 25, 2005

Saunders Mac Lane was an extraordinary mathematician, a dedicated teacher, and a good citizen who cared deeply about the values of science and education. In his autobiography, he gives us a glimpse of his "life and times," mixing the highly personal with professional observations. His recollections bring to life a century of extraordinary accomplishments and tragedies that inspire and educate. Saunders Mac Lane's life covers nearly a century of mathematical developments. During the earlier part of the twentieth century, he participated in the exciting happenings in Göttingen---the Mecca of mathematics. He studied under David Hilbert, Hermann Weyl, and Paul Bernays and witnessed the collapse of a great tradition under the political pressure of a brutal dictatorship. Later, he contributed to the more abstract and general mathematical viewpoints developed in the twentieth century. Perhaps the most outstanding accomplishment during his long and extraordinary career was the development of the concept of categories, together with Samuel Eilenberg, and the creation of a theory that has broad applications in different areas of mathematics, in particular topology and foundations. He was also a keen observer and active participant in the social and political events. As a member and vice president of the National Academy of Science and an advisor to the Administration, he exerted considerable influence on science and education policies in the post-war period. Mac Lane's autobiography takes the reader on a journey through the most important milestones of the mathematical world in the twentieth century.

Editorial Reviews

Review

" Mac Lane is an immense presence in modern mathematics. One of the last Americans to be educated in Göttingen prior to the Nazi era, Mac Lane was ideally and propitiously situated to become a leader in modern algebra and modern algebraic topology. His influence on our subject has been powerful and widespread. This chronicle tells of an influential and important life. -Steven G. Krantz, Washington University in St. Louis, March 2005
""Studying mathematics in high school or even college rarely gives you a sense of what mathematical research is all about..."" -Ivars Peterson, Science News Online, April 2005
""Saunders Mac Lane war einer der Mathematiker, die die Forschung fast des gesamten 20. Jahrhunderts miterlebt und mitgestaltet haben..."" -George Szpiro, NZZ am Sonntag, October 2005
""Saunders Mac Lane, who died April 14, 2005, at 95, remains well-known for his seminal work incategory theory, homological algebra, algebraic topology, etc. and was active in mathematics and public service until late in his life."" -Lance W. Small, Notices of the AMS, November 2005
""Here is the personalized and deftly written story of a century of extraordinary accomplishments and tragedies that will inform and inspire future generations of aspiring mathematicians and is therefore an essential addition to all college and university library collections."" -Willis M. Buhle, Midwest Book Review, November 2005
""In reading his autobiography, I feel that I have been given the gift of a small window into his life and his thoughts."" -Amy Shell-Gellasch, MAA Online, February 2006
""This book is an excellent autobiography written by one of the greatest 20th century mathematicians Saunders Mac Lane."" -Newsletter of the European Mathematical Society , June 2006
""This is a splendid book... Despite the word 'mathematical' in the title... this is a book for the non-specialist reader as well as the mathematician [revealing] many fascinating insights into the characters of the people and institutions with which the author came into contact during his long career."" -Peter Johnstone, Mathematiacl Reviews, August 2006
""It takes a rare personality to write an autobiography and an even rarer one to write an autobiography with candour ... this book is a 'must read' for anyone interested in the history of 20th-century American mathematics and for anyone interested in the history of category theory, homological algebra, and homotopy theory."" -K.V.H. Parshall, History and Philosophy of Logic, February 2007
""Ein fast hundertjähriges Gelehhrtenleben tut sich vor uns auf! ... Wie nicht anders zu erwarten wird uns viel Interessantes über eine lange Epoche aus mathematischer Sicht geboten ... Die Aufmachung des Bandes ist gediegen und ansprechend - fester Deckel, hübsche Fotografien und augenschonendes Papier. Ich las diese Biographie mit Freude und Gewinn."" -Internationale Mathematische Nachrichten, April 2007
""...this is a fascinating look at the history of twentieth century mathematics by one of its most distinguished practitioners."" -Gerry Leversha, St Paul's School, London, The Mathematical Gazette, November 2007
""Saunders Mac Lane was one of the most influencial mathematicians of the 20th century ... In his autobiography, Saunders reveals detials of his early life and education as well as those of the relationships that were so critical in the development of his career."" -John MacDonald, CMS Notes, April 2008"

From the Back Cover

Saunders Mac Lane is an immense presence in modern mathematics. One of the last Americans to be educated in Göttingen prior to the Nazi era, Mac Lane was ideally and propitiously situated to become a leader in modern algebra and modern algebraic topology. His influence on our subject has been powerful and widespread. This chronicle tells of an influential and important life. -Steven Krantz

Product Details

• Hardcover: 354 pages
• Publisher: A K Peters/CRC Press (May 25, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568811500
• ISBN-13: 978-1568811505
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,141,122 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Takes the reader on fascinating and informative journey through the most important milestones of the mathematical world, November 13, 2005

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Saunders Mac Lane: A Mathematical Autobiography (Hardcover)

Saunders Mac Lane: A Mathematical Autobiography is the personal memoir of the late Saunders mac lane, one of the most influential mathematicians of the 20th century. His life story takes the reader on fascinating and informative journey through the most important milestones of the mathematical world of the last ten decades. Saunders provides the reader with a glimpse into his "life and times" through a blending of professional observations with highly personal commentary. He recounts his experiences in pre-war Gottingen (where he studied under David Hilbert and witnessed the collapse of a great German academic and cultural tradition under the political pressures of a brutal Nazi regime). He reflects on his work with Samuel Eilenberg and the impact of their creation of a new mathematical language and theory. Here is the personalized and deftly written story of a century of extraordinary accomplishments and tragedies that will inform and inspire future generations of aspiring mathematicians and is therefore an essential addition to all college and university library collections.

11 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars career choice, November 20, 2005

By 

yvan saint-pierre (montreal, quebec Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Saunders Mac Lane: A Mathematical Autobiography (Hardcover)

I recommend this book heartily because it is such a tremendous failure that it has to mean something. I expected a lot from this title and this author, but in vain. Let us look at chapter 54: `Dorothy's Delights'. We find there a plethora of tiny details about his life with his wife in the winter of 1984-85 and it becomes clear at the onset that the chapter will end up with her death. The last sentence reads: "I remember with gratitude the stalwart help she gave me over more than 50 years, and the beauty and grace that she brought to my life." We may admire Mac Lane's discretion when he writes about his relation with his wife, but we cannot follow him when he does the same with his relation with mathematics. Indeed the whole book is constructed like this chapter: a flood of facts about his personal life, about mathematical results and mainly about his academic life. A flood which dries down to this last sentence: "All told, mathematics was a great career choice for me." What an unbelievable ending, what an unbelievable book!
A unique dim spark of life appears when Mac Lane talks about his crucial collaboration with Samuel Eilenberg. In chapter 13, `Eilenberg Enters', he describes his first encounter with him and he comes back to it in the penultimate chapter of the book. "It can be best summarized by a striking proof that 2 is more than 1 plus 1" (p. 347). There was a book to write on this proof alone, on the mysterium coniuntionis which gave us category theory, that pot of gold of contemporary mathematics. It is a pity that Saunders Mac Lane chose instead to talk about the NAS, the NRC and the AMS.

6 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Mathematical Life Well Lived, July 19, 2005

By 

John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Saunders Mac Lane: A Mathematical Autobiography (Hardcover)

Saunders Mac Lane, who died while this book was in preparation, was a teacher nonpareil. In the mathematics genealogy program (www.genealogy.ams.org) he is listed as having 40 students (who earned Ph.D. degrees) and a total of 1,044 descendents, that is Ph.D. students who studied under his students or their students.

A graduate of Yale in 1930 he went to Germany to study at Gottingen, the premier center for mathematics in the world at that time. While there he saw at first hand the removel of the top mathematicians who had any Jewish connections. And later he saw that these refuge mathematicians made many significant contributions to the advancement of mathematics in the United States.

Over his career he worked on many mathematical problems, but he also worked on many other problems such as the teaching of mathematics at the K-12 level. As he ends the book, mathematics was a great career choice for me.