Customer Reviews

Set Theory and the Continuum Hypothesis

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

 

 

Paul Cohen's "Set Theory and the Continuum Hypothesis" is not only the best technical treatment of his solution to the most notorious unsolved problem in mathematics, it is the best introduction to mathematical logic (though Manin's "A Course in Mathematical Logic" is also remarkably excellent and is the first book to read after this one).

Although it is only 154 pages, it is remarkably wide-ranging, and has held up very well in the 37 years since it was first published. Cohen is a very good mathematical writer and his arrangement of the material is irreproachable. All the arguments are well-motivated, the number of details left to the reader is not too large, and everything is set in a clear philosophical context. The book is completely self-contained and is rich with hints and ideas that will lead the reader to further work in mathematical logic.

It is one of my two favorite math books (the other being Conway's "On Numbers and Games"). My copy is falling apart from extreme overuse.

This is still the definitive work on set theory and the continuum hypothesis. Although extremely terse, it is wonderfully clear and unburdened by the technical and pedantic details that doom many books in the subject. If you cannot track this down right now be patient, the American Mathematical Society is going to be reprinting it.

Professor Cohen passed away in March of 2007, but thankfully this book remains as a testament to his genius. Originally trained as an analyst, he began working on the continuum hypothesis knowing almost nothing about logic or set theory. Within two years he mastered the subject and solved the greatest outstanding problem in the field (and arguably in all of mathematics). Read this book if you want to understand one of the deepest ideas in all of human thought.

An "older" original work of a great mathematican. Not the best book to read about the subject, but certainly a collectors item.
I happen to have one because my master thesis used it as a major reference. It's the one book that everyone interested in the foundations of mathematics should own - if you can still get one.

This book reminds me of the Russellian Principia.... To be filed in the list of unreadable books : books written by great mathematicians for their peers, professional mathematicians...

If you're interested in the continuum problem, your best buy is Smullyan's "Set theory and the contnuum problem" : accessible, lucid, elegant and complete.

This is one of the greatest math works ever. Prof. Cohen solves one of the most important problems in mathematics of this century, and this book explains his thinking and methods. A must for anyone who is really interested in mathematics.

Easiliy readable and very profound in content. Not only a must reading for researchers in set theory but also the best introduction in mathematical logic.

It is a book that the most part of him is written in a naive form(not in formal logic).

You need a basic knowledge of Set Theory(like Halmos Book).

Very interesting and the book started from the root of the problem.

Very Good

I wasn't expecting an easy read, but I'll wait to tackle this after I've absorbed "The Joy of Sets". Typographically, the meat of the book looks like it was photocopied off the original typewritten draft.