Save 17% when you order the complete set! A monumental 4-volume reference, 15 years in the making, The World of Mathematics was specially designed to make mathematics more accessible to the inexperienced. It comprises non-technical essays on every aspect of the vast subject, including articles by scores of eminent mathematicians and other thinkers.
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90 of 91 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
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.
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.
41 of 41 people found the following review helpful
By R. Coffin
Format:Paperback
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.
22 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Love the contents of these books. Truly a classic that stands up well today. Unfortunately Dover chose to reissue these books as trade-press sized books with standard paperback bindings (along with the usual downsides of glue binding). Would have been great to give them a little better treatment (at least a lay-flat binding) for longevity and ease of reading.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Great collection!
I first came across this set long ago in grad school. It kind o' disappeared but I found it recently. Great read if you are into this sort of reading. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Kamala Krishnan
5.0 out of 5 stars
Classic
Bought as a gist for a math buff and it was a smashing sucess. Must have for any mathematician's library.
Published on December 21, 2008 by N. Rajan
5.0 out of 5 stars
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. Read more
Published on April 27, 2007 by Jevons & Hollerith Books
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