A Strange Wilderness: The Lives of the Great Mathematicians by Amir D. Aczel (PDF)

Description

“Mathematics is not a careful march down a well-cleared highway, but a journey into a strange wilderness, where the explorers often get lost.”– Mathematics historian W. S. Anglin From the internationally bestselling author of Fermat’s Last Theorem comes a landmark publication on the eccentric lives of the foremost mathematicians in history..From Archimedes’ eureka moment to Alexander Grothendieck’s seclusion in the Pyrenees, bestselling author Amir Aczel selects the most compelling stories in the history of mathematics, creating a colorful narrative that explores the quirky personalities behind some of the most groundbreaking, enduring theorems. This is not your dry “college textbook” account of mathematical history; it bristles with tales of duels, battlefield heroism, flamboyant arrogance, pranks, secret societies, imprisonment, feuds, theft, and some very costly errors of judgment. (Clearly, genius doesn’t guarantee street smarts.) Ultimately, readers will come away entertained, and with a newfound appreciation of the tenacity, complexity, eccentricity, and brilliance of the mathematical genius.

User’s Reviews

Editorial Reviews: About the Author Amir D. Aczel is the author of a dozen nonfiction books on the subjects of science and mathematics, most of which have appeared on various bestseller lists in the United States and abroad. He has appeared on more than 50 television programs, including nationwide appearances on the History Channel, CBS Evening News, CNN, CNBC, Nightline, and on more than 200 radio programs. His science articles have been published in such major periodicals as Scientific American, the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, Jerusalem Post, and London Times. Aczel is a Guggenheim Fellow and a research fellow in the history of science at Boston University.

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐I bought this book to write a paper. It is really interesting and informative, and very happy with the purchase.

⭐This book briefly described the lives of a large number of mathematicians from ancient times to now, but didn’t go into enough detail to give me a “flesh and blood” feeling for them. And not much of their math contributions was presented, except in general terms.

⭐Another great book by this author. I, so far, have seen 8 of his.

⭐Disjointed

⭐Great author.

⭐XXXXX”I fell in love with the history of mathematics and the life stories of mathematicians when I took my first ‘pure math’ course as a mathematics undergraduate at the University of California at Berkeley in the mid-1970s…[Pursuing my love], I learned that the lives of mathematicians can at times be downright weird: they can get absurdly involved in grandiose political intrigue, become delusional, falsify documents, steal from each other, lead daring military strikes, carry on affairs, die in duels, and even perform the ultimate trick: disappearing completely off the face of the Earth so that no one could ever find them…Researching this book has been one of the greatest adventures of my life as an author. It took me to faraway corners of the world, from the island of Samos, where Pythagoras [circa 580 to 500 BC] was born, to southern Italy, to Beijing and Delhi, and to countless locations in Europe–all in search of intricate details of the lives of our greatest mathematicians…Our story begins around five thousand years ago in the civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia.”The above extract is from the preface and introduction of this fascinating book by Amir Aczel. Aczel is a Guggenheim Fellow and a research fellow in the history of science at Boston University. He is also a prolific author of non-fiction, lecturer, and has appeared on more than fifty television programs.I can’t really add much more than what I quoted above. But I can say that this book is quite well written giving us the true stories of mathematical geniuses. (Incidentally, the quotation that titles this review was said by mathematician Benjamin Peirce, 1809 to 1880)Besides the engrossing narrative, there are numerous black and white pictures and portraits generously peppered throughout this book. These bring the main narrative alive making this book an absorbing read.There is some mathematics presented. Don’t worry!! You can still enjoy this book even if you can’t follow some of this mathematics.I personally enjoyed the chapter entitled “The Greatest Rivalry” between Sir Isaac Newton (1642 to 1727) and Gottfried Leibniz (1646 to 1716).Finally, the only problem I had is that the brilliant mathematician Georg Friedrich Bernhard Riemann (1826 to 1866) is only briefly mentioned. I would have liked to read more about him.In conclusion, this is truly “a magnificent romp through mathematical history.” I leave you with this two-part mathematical problem:(1) Multiply the following Gaussian integers together (named after the mathematical genius Carl Gauss, 1777 to 1855):(1 + 2i) and (1 – 2i)Hint: the result is a prime number in the “normal” number system(2) Multiply the result of (1) by “Grothendieck’s prime” (named after the now reclusive mathematical genius Alexander Grothendieck, born 1928)Hint: Grothendieck’s prime is not really a prime numberThe above two-part problem can be written as follows:[(1 + 2i) (1 – 2i)] (Grothendieck’s prime)(first published 2011; preface; introduction; 6 parts or 15 chapters; main narrative 255 pages; notes; bibliography; photo credits; index)<>XXXXX

⭐Ordinarily, I like such books, and have read quite a few of them. However, I found this one a little on the lifeless side — too much a short description of facts which left me not much impressed. I’ve read quite a few books on the history of mathematics (both specific and general) that were much better than this one, so I’m trying to figure out what the difference was. [See my Listmania! list “Layman’s Books on Mathematics” at http://www.amazon.com/Layman-s-Books-on-Mathematics/lm/R36EB81HBKC4CG/ref=cm_lm_byauthor_title_full ] Here are my conclusions:1) The descriptions were a little too cold and purely informative to me. They didn’t have much life to them.2) Unlike some other reviews of this book I’ve read, I felt that the book lacked enough detail on the mathematics that the characters were responsible for. (Some of the other reviews said that they couldn’t follow the math, which surprised me because what was covered was pretty elementary, and lacked detail.) The other books I’d read had a more balanced approach — often alternating chapters of history with the math (albeit not in great detail — these were all laymen’s books)3) There were some odd omissions — the most obvious to me was Bernhard Riemann, who was mentioned but was not given the same coverage as others. Also, while the relatively recent solution of Fermat’s Last Theorem was mentioned, I would have thought that it merited a little more coverage — although perhaps Andrew Wiles, the major contributor to that solution may not yet be considered one of the great mathematicians.4) I did like the fact that this book contained images of various kinds (one common shortcoming of such books is that they often rely too much on just text, with minimal visual aids). While there were some pictures of mathematical items, I felt that there were not enough of these — but that would have required more text about the math, in order to explain it.5) This book seems to end rather abruptly. Surely some kind of summary would have been appropriate?This said, the book is an easy read. The author, Amir Aczel does have a pleasant style.

⭐Really it is very interesting in reading.just awesome.

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