Men of Mathematics (Touchstone Book) (Paperback)

Which is sad, in a way, because it is, according to modern accounts of Galois' life, not accurate. The work Bell is describing was written before his last night, in no such hurry. This has been known for some time, and yet few who know, and who perhaps should know better, will relinquish their affection for this marvellous book. It so captures the enthusiasm one can feel for the beauty and poetry that mathematics brings to the mind that errors of fact are minor flaws.

And the errors are few enough that they really don't matter. In Galois' case, for example, one takes away a deeply etched portrait of an astonishing mind that descended on revolutionary France like a meteorite, and which had about as much chance of being understood. This is accurate, and Bell tells his stories so powerfully that they stay in the mind--for decades, in my case and that of others I know who have read him.

Bell includes many wonderful quotes and stories. The whole first section of the book is just a series of quotes--my favourite is perhaps Weierstrass, "A mathematician who is not also something of a poet will never be a complete mathematician." But he lards the book with quotes, and since this book can profitably be read by an enthusiastic 12-year-old, and often has been, for many people this book is the first time they will meet with such famous quotes as Newton's line about being merely a child, playing with pretty pebbles on the seashore.

Bell claims that the book is not a history of mathematics, and he's right. It's a series of chapters that provide biographical--and mathematical--sketches of thirty-odd great mathematicians, from Archimedes to Cantor. You'll learn a lot about the history of mathematics from this book, but mostly you'll be infected by the passionate enthusiasm of someone who knows and loves his subject. Buy it; read it; if you love mathematics you won't regret it.

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This book considered all of the heavy weights in mathematics at the time. From the Greeks onward until those mathematicians considered worthy at the time of Bell's writing. Bell's review of their lives are partly general biography, part assessment of their mathematics, and part psychological studies of why they did what they did. Bell is by no means an objective reporter of the facts. He definitely had his favorites and he had his not so favorites, and he was not shy about letting you know. That is partly why this is such a good book. He puts in his opinions of the foibles and genius of each of the men he is writing about and he puts their genius in a pecking order that he himself created. I found it informative and entertaining. Others may find it bothersome, but this is by far the most complete book of its kind for its day. I recommend it to anyone even remotely interested in mathematics and mathematicians.

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We learn that mathematicians really are like the rest of the world, not nerds or ivory-tower type academicians. The types of people here span the whole gamut, and as their lives were intertwined with historical events of the time, we learn a bit about general history in this book as well.

Bell's writing is also excellent. He keeps the style varied, and as his material spans almost 2500 years, the book is never boring. My personal favorites were the biographies about Galois and Abel, and as their lives were tragically cut short by lots of unlucky circumstances, Bell writes wonderfully about their lives and how mathematics touched them, and in return was blessed by them. It is perhaps Galois' story which can ring true with younger readers - like many teenagers, he was full of ambition, dreams, and hopes, but, well, he had an incredible gift for mathematics and also a whole lot of bad luck - but you'll have to read the book to see for yourself!

This book is definitely not to be missed. Although the book is long, you'll enjoy every minute of it, and also come away wiser about a group of people not many people in this world know much about.

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