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A Source Book in Mathematics (Dover Books on Mathematics) Paperback – July 1, 1984

by David Eugene Smith (Author), Mathematics (Author)

5 customer reviews

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The writings of Newton, Leibniz, Pascal, Riemann, Bernoulli, and others in a comprehensive selection of 125 treatises dating from the Renaissance to the late 19th century — most unavailable elsewhere. Grouped in five sections: Number; Algebra; Geometry; Probability; and Calculus, Functions, and Quaternions. Includes a biographical-historical introduction for each article.

A Source Book in Mathematics (Dover Books on Mathematics)

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Product Details

Series: Dover Books on Mathematics
Paperback: 736 pages
Publisher: Dover Publications (July 1, 1984)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0486646904
ISBN-13: 978-0486646909
Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.4 x 1.4 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #590,685 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #487 in Books > Science & Math > Mathematics > History

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Customer Reviews

3.6 out of 5 stars

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

The poorest of the available source books

By Viktor Blasjo on November 5, 2012

Format: Paperback

This cheapest and oldest of the various source books available is unfortunately also the poorest by a comfortable margin.

Translation and commentary for the various selections were outsourced to numerous non-experts, giving the whole book an incohesive and amateurish feel. For example, we are told in a footnote on page 619 to "see the various encyclopedias" for more biographical information on a particular author. Surely readers who are not familiar with the concept of encyclopedias could benefit from this information much earlier.

By the same token, the editorial material is not to be trusted. In the selections of Leibniz's writings on the calculus the translator claims to have "corrected several mistakes." She has, but she has also introduced as many new ones. Thus the differentiation rule for 1/x^a is given incorrectly on p. 622, and on p. 625 it says dx where it should be dy, even though both are correct in the original.

Again, on p. 648 we find Johann Bernoulli taunting an unnamed target by writing that "their golden theorems, which they imagine known to no one, have been published by others long before." According to the translator "this remark is to be regarded as a covert thrust at Newton," which is certainly not the case. It is his brother Jacob that Johann is mocking in this passage. Jacob had indeed called his formula for the radius of curvature a "golden theorem" when he published it in 1694, for which he was promptly ridiculed by Huygens and Leibniz who already knew this result.

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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful

I have an Older 1959 version in two parts

By Roger Bagula on August 11, 2008

Format: Paperback

Mathematics was never easy and looking at these classic
reproductions you really get a feel of the ignorance
of even the greatest men in mathematics.
Here you can see them struggle to invent new ideas
that made possible our scientific and technical culture.
I think this kind of book is invaluable to the student
who wishes to actually understand.
Some of the papers are almost impossibly difficult.
It is a very good book!

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many original papers

By W Boudville HALL OF FAMEVINE VOICE on January 1, 2005

Format: Paperback

For students of the history of maths, Smith provides you with a very convenient reference. He has gone back to many of the original papers by Newton, Pascal and others, and gathered 125 of these into this book. You can search for insight into how those luminaries made their important discoveries. As an added utility, the papers have been translated into English.

An amazing time saver. For he lets you access the papers without any intermediary. The alternative would be to spend months searching in some large research library. And also probably having to order copies made from other libraries. At non-trivial cost in time and money.

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Math Equations Do Not Show Up On The Kindle Edition

By rhw001 on October 20, 2015

Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase

I bought the Kindle edition. But the math equations show up as unreadable random symbols/letters. I would not recommend the digital edition. I asked for a refund within minutes.

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2 of 4 people found the following review helpful

Great book

By D. J. Paz on May 24, 2010

Format: Paperback Verified Purchase

The footnotes contained in the book are very helpful. I bought this book some few years ago and stiff look upon the pages for referencing and clarification.

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