What Is Mathematics? An Elementary Approach to Ideas and Methods (Paperback)

by Richard Courant (Author), Herbert Robbins (Author), Ian Stewart (Editor) "Number is the basis of modern mathematics..." (more)
Key Phrases: septimal system, greater cardinal number, biunique correspondence, Fermat's Last Theorem, Continuum Hypothesis, Riemann Hypothesis (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
A 1996 revision of a timeless classic originally published in 1941. Highly recommended for any serious student, teacher or scholar of mathematics.

Review
A lucid representation of the fundamental concepts and methods of the whole field of mathematics...Easily understandable. (Editor's note: "hmmm...") -- Albert Einstein

A work of extraordinary perfection. -- Mathematical Reviews

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Product Details

• Paperback: 592 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 2 edition (July 18, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195105192
• ISBN-13: 978-0195105193
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #22,696 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

131 of 136 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book. Belongs on Your Bookshelf., August 3, 2003

By	Michael Wischmeyer (Houston, Texas) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Courant's 500-page text is not entirely suitable for the layman. Its target audience includes those who enjoy reading and studying mathematics and have a good background through precalculus or higher. "What is Mathematics?" is a mathematics book, not a book about mathematics.

"What is Mathematics?" is not a new book. It was first published by Oxford University Press in 1941 with later editions in 1943, 1945, and 1947. Good quality soft cover copies are still in print as Oxford Paperbacks.

The authors indicate that it is no means necessary to "plow through it page by page, chapter by chapter". I fully agree. I have skipped around, jumping to chapters of particular interest, but I have now read nearly every chapter.

I initially skipped to page 165 and delved directly into projective geometry (chapter IV), proceeded to topology (chapter V), and then jumped backwards to the beginning to explore the theory of numbers. After moving to geometry, I finally returned to the later chapters on functions and limits, maxima and minima, and the calculus.

Courant engages the reader in discussions on mathematical concepts rather than focusing on applications and problem solving. "What is Mathematics?" is a great textbook for students that have completed a year or more of calculus and wish to pull all of their mathematical learning together before moving on to more advanced studies. I suspect that it would even be welcomed by students that have completed an undergraduate degree in mathematics.

I cannot resist quoting Albert Einstein's comment on What is Mathematics? - "A lucid representation of the fundamental concepts and methods of the whole field of mathematics...Easily understandable."

Richard Courant was a highly respected mathematician. He taught in Germany and in Cambridge and was director of the Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University (now renamed the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences). Courant has authored other widely acclaimed mathematical texts including Methods of Mathematical Physics (co-authored with David Hilbert) and his popular Differential and Integral Calculus.

41 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring, October 23, 1999

By A Customer

Although I was always good in math in high school, I never really appreciated it. One summer I found this book in a dusty little corner of a bookshelf and I started reading it. I still remember how for the first time, I was inspired by the subject while reading this book. I couldn't stop reading it, until I finished it. At the time, I didn't really know Calculus or any advanced subject and I had never read any math books other than the high school textbooks. This book literally changed my life. I might have forgotten who my first love was, but I remember very well this book after 25 years!

40 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the best bargain in introductory math books in existence, April 20, 2005

By	twit - See all my reviews

This book genuinely has more mathematical content, for around $15-$25, than most, maybe all, "bridge" texts for college math majors, costing 5 or 10 times as much.

This book was written by a master, for an intelligent person knowing only 1950's style high school mathematics (some trig, algebra, and geometry).

When I fiorst tried to read it as a youngster however I was not used to books that required actually thinking about each statement, before proceeding to the next. Hence I could not read it at the pace I thought normal.

So this is not a breezy read, but is an outstanding one. It has literally no competitor to my knowledge at the present time, in quantity of material, quality of material, and quality of exposition.

Even experts may learn something here about the most familiar topics. E.g. in presenting the proof of the well known fact that all integers greater than one have unique prime factorizations, the authors show how a clever use of induction avoids developing the characterization of a gcd, which usually precedes this theorem. I had never seen that before.

If you are looking for a miracle book that treats the reader like a baby, and still covers calculus, this is not it. But if you have the prerequisites of a good high school course of elementary math, and are willing to spend time on the arguments, there is no better book for beginners and intelligent laypersons.