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Summary: " Euler, the anlysis incarnate "!!!!
Review: " Analysis incarnate " , no other more suitable words probably can describe the incomparable power of Euler, as his contemparies called him. Concerning the usual style of Dunham to write this stimulating book, other readers have made many comments and I think there is no need to repeat that. What I want is that Dunham to write another book, perhaps volume 2,3 etc and also write a thorough biography of Euler, one the greatest mathematicians in the history. ( To me, for mathematical ability, his should be at the same rank with Newton, Archaemedes, and Gauss, even Einstein concerning the mathematical and theroetical aspect, is below par compared with Euler )
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Summary: Excellent Mix of History and Mathematics
Review: As with his other books, William Dunham puts mathematics in an historical (and sometime political) context. This time he takes this kind of look at a few narrow slices of the huge volume of works by Euler. Each chapter focuses on a different branch of mathematics touched by Euler and each could probably be expanded to fill a book of its own. Very interesting but it requires a strong mathematical background on the part of the reader. I would not recommend it to someone who has not taken some calculus courses.
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Summary: What is creativity in Mathematics?
Review: Euler is the apotheosis. Read this book for inspiration, or just to have your eyes opened about how one person could have so many different ideas in one lifetime.
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Summary: So much fun it makes you chuckle
Review: I don't have much to add to the excellent reviews above, except to say that if you like clear exposition of sometimes obscure mathematical themes, like logarithms of imaginary numbers, or the almost magical Euler line, you can't do better than read Professor Dunham's books. And when you mix this talent with a subject such as the incredibly clever and curious Leonhard Euler, you can't help but be carried away. I literally found myself chuckling with awe at some of the amazing leaps of intuition this 18th-century mathematician was able to make, even as he was losing his sight and fathering 13 children! I've always been an admirer of Euler's, and Prof. Dunham's wonderful little book only increased my admiration -for both.I hope Prof. Dunham will decide to write a sequel, and/or tackle the work of other prolific mathematicians, like the Indian Srinivasa Ramanujan, another one of my heroes. This is the third book by Prof. Dunham I've read. I have enjoyed them all and keep them handy to lift my spirits when I'm down -they're that much fun. I wish I'd had him as a teacher in college, and I envy his students at Muhlendorf. I just hope they appreciate how lucky they are!
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Summary: An enjoyable mathematical romp
Review: I got the book this morning, started reading it, and I didn't know the earth was still rotating until hours later and I had to start the rice cooking for supper. Solid mathematical exposition; historical asides interesting and readable. Very well done except that the puns are too exposed. Each chapter starts off with a description of the state of some mathematical topic as it was before Euler's work, then it explains Euler's contributions to the topic (take your time to follow along, proofs given!). Lastly, each chapter tells where the work has led since. This is a superb way to present a mathematician's achievements. The math is mostly pre-calc level: natural logs, complex numbers, and standard trig identities. The occasional derivatives and integrals pose no hazard to a first-year calculus student. But the book is enjoyable even if you skip over some of the math, a credit to the author's clear exposition. A truly enjoyable mathematical romp.
Rating:
Summary: An enjoyable mathematical romp
Review: I got the book this morning, started reading it, and I didn't know the earth was still rotating until hours later and I had to start the rice cooking for supper. Solid mathematical exposition; historical asides interesting and readable. Very well done except that the puns are too exposed. Each chapter starts off with a description of the state of some mathematical topic as it was before Euler's work, then it explains Euler's contributions to the topic (take your time to follow along, proofs given!). Lastly, each chapter tells where the work has led since. This is a superb way to present a mathematician's achievements. The math is mostly pre-calc level: natural logs, complex numbers, and standard trig identities. The occasional derivatives and integrals pose no hazard to a first-year calculus student. But the book is enjoyable even if you skip over some of the math, a credit to the author's clear exposition. A truly enjoyable mathematical romp.
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Summary: A little gem.
Review: I had never read any of William Dunham's many books before. Now I want to read them all. In a scant 173 pages he describes in great detail how Leonhard Euler, arguably the greatest mathematician ever, solved the most difficult mathematical problems of his day. The style in this book is both unusual and clever. Each of the eight chapters covers a different branch of mathematics and each begins with a prologue, then follows with some of Euler's contributions, and finishes with an epilogue. The prologues present the history of mathematics up to Euler's time, so the reader gets a feel of what this great mathematician had to work with. And the epilogues tell where we have come since Euler. This book is full of equations and expects some work (but not much mathematical background) from the reader. If you like mathematics or ever wondered how some of the great discoveries in this field were derived, do yourself a favor and buy, then carefully read, this wonderful book.
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Summary: Nice book for readers with a background in math
Review: I really enjoyed reading this book that describes some background on Euler and his work. It is written in an informal style, so for people with a math background it reads like a novel. The book is not suitable for people who want to learn more about the person Euler, but do not have a math background, because 75% of the book is about real math (equations). So if you don't enjoy reading equations, do not buy the book. Summary: as enjoyable as the other Dunham books, although a bit more expensive (but still worth the money).
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Summary: Presents Euler as the mathematical magician he was
Review: Mr. Dunham portrays Euler, the mathematical prodigy from Switzerland in a clear and consice way. Of Euler's countless contributions, Dunham takes the reader on a tour in eight dynamic areas of mathematics. Where others failed, Euler succeeded. The mathematical prodigy answered a plea for help from Jakob Bernoulli, the renowned mathematician of the time, in summing the now-well known infinte series: 1/k^2. Written for the mathematically literate, this book is another tribute to the most proficient mathematician in history, the great Leonhard Euler.
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Summary: Euler! Perfect.
Review: This is a lovely book. We are invited to share in Euler's voyages of discovery and the tools that we need are little more than high school algebra and Euclidean geometry. Read them and weep. Euler's original work continued to be published more than fifty years after his death in 1783 and his Opera Omnia has only begun to be gathered in the 20th century. Prof. Dunham's book brings his seminal work back to life with a description of the problems and Euler's unique insights and methods in algebra, geometry, numbers and number theory, probability, and analysis, thirty-six in total, in a sort of crescendo of accomplishment that only touches the surface of the man. Each problem is discussed in the context of history before Euler, with Euler, and after Euler, and we are also privileged to share in some of the personal conflicts of Euler the man and the family man. For example, Euler conflicted with Voltaire in the courts of Friedrich the Great and was saved more than once by the Bernoulli's, Jakob the father and Daniel the son. One wonders how a man could survive in those rough and brutal times and yet perfect and exceed the work of two thousand and five hundred years before him. Pray that we may take heart there from, and with humility, continue to flourish and harvest in Euler's garden.
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