Customer Reviews

The World of Mathematics (4 Volumes Set)

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I pencil in the date that I finish reading each 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.

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 topics have been chosen with care. Newman preceded each article with a thoughtful commentary.

The individual articles are not abridgements, but are reprinted in their entirety. Some articles are short, some quite long, some are easy reading, some are difficult, but few are overwhelming.

I have not systematically read section by section. I find that 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 to Newman, select another article, and begin the cycle again.

The Newman collection was published in 1956 as a boxed set that occasionally shows up in used bookstores. More recently, the four volumes have become available in soft cover (a Dover reprint) and can be purchased individually.

What makes Newman collection so remarkable? The answer is 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.

I enjoy the biographical and historical articles scattered throughout the four volumes. I especially liked Bell's article "Invariant Twins, Cayley and Sylvester", The Great Mathematicians" by Turnball, and G. H. Hardy's "A Mathematician's Apology".

Mathematicians try to define just 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.

This is the "World" of mathematics. Newman's assemblage also includes a fascinating, eclectic mix of articles that I have not encountered elsewhere 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 this four volume set from section to section, article to article. I assume that someday I will finally read the last article. I expect that I will simply begin again. It would be hard to say good-bye to Newman's collection.

I received this book from my father as a high school graduation gift to take with me as a budding mathematics student at college. I have been "dipping into it" ever since. It is a delicious compendum of all the neat things that have happened in mathematics and those disciplines that mathematics had touched up to the time that the book was written. I received my copy in 1960 and I still delight in looking things up when I see a reference in another book. I've deliberately resisted reading the four volumes from cover to cover as that would spoil the surprise and fun. Different chapters are written by different contributors so there is a wealth of viewpoints and styles. By the 90's the scientific disciplines have become quite adept at sharing their discoveries, but when this book was written it was not yet the accepted thing. So the persective is very interesting. I looked up this book to see if there would be any reviews, so I thought I should write one while I am here.

This four volume set is a gem. I bought this treasure back in 1973 but I still go back to it at least twice a week. The writing is uneven because of the different authors who have contributed articles. However, the substance of the book is top notch. Starting with the number system all the way to the differential calculus and parts of game theory, the book is a treasury of mathematical delights. Just pick a chapter, and you are sure to be sucked in. Another point I wish to make is the design and layout of the books. There are no slick, extra large, shiny page designs here. Just plain 6 by 8 size pages with appropriate black and white diagrams. This is when books used to be more like friends, often in one's company, and much perused. It is truly a shame that this series is out of print. If you happen to find it somewhere introduce yourself!!

I acquired this boxed set from a library sale for only $5, and I didn't read any of it for almost a year, what a mistake that has been. The articles included are unabridged and begin with an amazing commentary by James Newman, which adds to the experience of reading the article, which a commentary should do. The articles range from simple to fairly complex, but they are all fairly easy to grasp with a marginal grasp of mathematics.

All in all, this set is worth every penny that I paid for it, and much, much more.

this is a book that I recieved as a junior in High School. I am currently a senior and I still enjoy looking into this book for mathematical insight and history.

Al leer esta enciclopedia, aprendí que las matemáticas pueden ser fascinantes, y no muy difíciles de entender. Es muy agradable entender los razonamientos que impulsaron grandes descubrimientos, en estos Libros el autor nos explica claramente todos los pasos para ello. Nos muestra el trabajo de los mejores Matemáticos y las consecuencias de sus trabajos. Nos contagia el gusto por esta ciencia. En México se puede conseguir en la librería La aventura de Leer .

Jorge Gallegos

I received the 6-volume spanish version of this work from the Venezuelan Ministry of Education in 1982 as one of the prizes of the national math olympics. For anyone who has an interest in this subject and would like to get a taste of the breadth and variety of all the faces of this discipline, without getting too much into the details, this is an excellent work. I've looked for an English print, without success (although I've seen some volumes being sold second hand).

I'm happy with the book, yet, when I ordered it I thought i had the deal of a life time on a used 4 vol. set. I double checked the page and each time i looked it seemed it indeed was the 4 vol. set. When, only one book, volume 2, arrived i went to the web site and looked to make sure i hadn't missed anything. it didn't seem I had but on closer inspection, further down the page it plainly said: volume 2. Unfortunately, Vol 2 was the one I could have done without. It would have been helpful,if,the information about what i was getting was the first thing i saw. then, i would have shopped some more and would have purchased the 4 volume set. I called and talked to one of your representatives and was told I could return it. I was thinking that would really be the best thing to do when i became ill and was hospitalized. Only now, am I well enough to sit at my pc and write this review. The book is in great shape. I will purchase from you again. good service and customer service.

I picked up this 4 volume set, in mint condition, at an estate sale june 2010 and they were the set from a man in his 90s who had not cracked open this set for decades.

I wish these were standard reading for US students who want to no longer fear pure and applied mathematics.

As a mechanical engineer and computer scientist I would have killed having this set in my M.E. undergrad days.

Anyone wanting to truly get an intimate background from some of the seminal minds throughout the history of mathematics needs to pick this set up and hope they reprint these in this original format.

The books that I received were in excellent condition, exactly as they were described.