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Title: Gamma : Exploring Euler's Constant by Julian Havil ISBN: 0-691-09983-9 Publisher: Princeton Univ Pr Pub. Date: 17 March, 2003 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.87 (15 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: A Winner
Comment: There is more mathematics in this book, more interestingly explained than any other of its type that I have read. What is its type? Well, I guess it comes under the category of 'Popular math' or in the jargon 'trade books' but don't be fooled by that; to get something out of it you need some math knowledge-and more than that, some math ability. There are symbols everywhere. The constant Gamma just had to be the next single number to appear as the subject of a book and with the books on e and i under their belt I guess that Princeton would be the obvious publisher. Havil, a first-time author, could easily have made the grave mistake of writing a gritty book on analysis with gamma as its focus but he didn't do that. He decided on a historical approach and to divide his attention between the harmonic series, logarithms and gamma itself. As a result the book really is a mathematical odyssey (publisher's blurb)which embraces a huge number of ideas, each of which has a natural place in the development. For the first time I really understand Napier's approach to logarithms and how it relates to what we now define them to be. For the first time I understand that wakky Benford's Law. For the first time I understand the Riemann Hypothesis. There is stacks more stuff too. The Continued Fraction chapter has really got me into that cool idea, which I had only vaguely heard about. Euler was for me the man who solved the 7 bridges of Konigsberg problem-I had no idea just how fantastic he was.
They tell us that Havil is a math teacher at Freeman Dyson's old high school. What a school that must be-I wish I had gone there and I would like to have been taught by a teacher who is so clearly knowledgeable and enthusiastic about his subject! Dyson wouldn't put his name to the book just becaause he is an alumni. He rates it and its real easy to see why.
Every so often you come across a winner...for me this is the first this year.
Rating: 5
Summary: Excellent - highly recomended
Comment: Gamma seemed like an unusual subject for a book, but the author really makes it hang together. There is so much mathematics in here that I didn't know, that the author presents clearly and with enthusiasm. His enthusiasm is infectious and I really enjoyed it. The book assumes you are prepared to put in some effort, but the reward is worth it. The material on the harmonic series and logs was particularly good. I even understood the Riemann Hypothesis sections!. I don't know the author (I think it's his first book) but I'll be at the front of the queue for his next. Highly recommended.
Rating: 4
Summary: Far-reaching, but not "popular math"
Comment: I debated for a while whether this book deserved four stars or five. There's a lot of very interesting material here: if there's one thing this book does--perhaps better than any book I've read in quite some time--is show just how interrelated far-flung mathematical concepts can be (how are the prime numbers related to pi, for example?).
My one complaint about the book--and the reason for giving it four stars instead of five--is that there are times when the formulae and notation get so dense that it's extremely difficult to follow the author's train of thought: I can think of a number of places where diagrams would have helped immensely. Likewise, since there's no list of symbols or formulae, it's not a book that you can simply browse through, in the sense that you can browse through, say, "A Brief History of Time."
Finally, let me reiterate that this book assumes that you already know a fair amount of math: if you don't know what a capital pi means, for example, you're probably going to have a hard time understanding this book. But if you *do* know what that symbol means, though, then by all means, give this book a try.
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Title: Prime Obsession: Bernhard Riemann and the Greatest Unsolved Problem in Mathematics by John Derbyshire ISBN: 0309085497 Publisher: Joseph Henry Press Pub. Date: 23 April, 2003 List Price(USD): $27.95 |
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Title: Riemann's Zeta Function by Harold M. Edwards ISBN: 0486417409 Publisher: Dover Pubns Pub. Date: 13 June, 2001 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Abel's Proof : An Essay on the Sources and Meaning of Mathematical Unsolvability by Peter Pesic ISBN: 0262162164 Publisher: MIT Press Pub. Date: 01 May, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: The Music of the Primes : Searching to Solve the Greatest Mystery in Mathematics by Marcus du Sautoy ISBN: 0066210704 Publisher: HarperCollins Pub. Date: 29 April, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: Euler : The Master of Us All by William Dunham ISBN: 0883853280 Publisher: The Mathematical Association of America Pub. Date: 01 January, 1999 List Price(USD): $33.95 |
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