Significant Figures

July 31, 2017
Stewart (Infinity), professor of mathematics at Warwick University, tells the history of mathematics though 25 biographies of influential mathematicians. The selections are ordered chronologically, beginning with Archimedes (third century B.C.E.) and ending with Fields Medal–winning topologist William Thurston (1946–2012). In between, the contributions of Newton, Poincaré, Gödel, and Turing, along with those of lesser-known mathematical giants, are explored. Stewart treats the spotlighted mathematics seriously and his rigorous explanations often include explanatory equations and in-depth discussions of esoteric concepts. He also strives to underscore the impact and real-world importance of each of the mathematicians’ contributions. Stewart balances the demanding math with down-to-earth, even gossipy, thumbnail sketches of the mathematicians. For example, he offers that Newton may have invented the cat door; that George Boole, inventor of mathematical logic, loved his mother’s gooseberry pies; and that an aging, paranoid Gödel’s fear of being poisoned led him to starve himself to death. Stewart includes the mathematical accomplishments of three women, illuminating the obstacles each had to overcome to be accepted in the male-dominated field. Stewart folds into his biographies a broad swath of mathematics, including Euclidian and non-Euclidean geometries, set theory, calculus, algebra, and topology; readers with an affinity for math will find the material challenging and fun. Illus. Agent: George Lucas, Inkwell Management.

July 15, 2017
Summarizing 2,500 years of mathematics milestones and the mathematicians who made them.Even a popularizer as skilled and prolific as Stewart (Mathematics/Univ. of Warwick; Calculating the Cosmos: How Mathematics Unveils the Universe, 2016, etc.) cannot expect general readers to fully digest his highly distilled explanations of what these significant figures did to resolve ever more complex conundrums as math advanced. The author clearly reviews Euclid and highlights the contributions of Arabic and Indian innovators in algebra and trigonometry, but things get more complicated as he turns to differential equations, three-dimensional manifolds, or multiholed tori. Thankfully, Stewart's brief but colorful sketches of the life and times of the innovators keep the pages turning. Besides well-known figures such as Archimedes, Pierre de Fermat, Isaac Newton, Alan Turing, and Kurt Godel, the author also discusses Evariste Galois, the algebraist killed in a duel at age 20; Georg Cantor, who was driven to depression and breakdown by critics of his ideas of higher orders of numerical infinity; and Srinivasa Ramanujan, the self-taught Indian number theorist of phenomenal intuition. Among other biographical nuggets, we learn that Turing may not have died from self-inflicted cyanide poisoning but from inhaling fumes from other causes and that Godel so feared being poisoned that he died of slow starvation. Stewart includes three women in his pantheon (Ada Lovelace, Sofia Kovalevskaia, and Emmy Noether) and blames centuries of cultural bias and not genes for their scant representation. In the final chapter, the author ponders what his subjects have in common. Most seem to have manifested aptitude at an early age, but otherwise, there are few shared aspects of class, character, education, or family background. One thing is certain, however: they all had a profound love for math. A text for teachers, precocious students, and intellectually curious readers unafraid to tread unfamiliar territory and learn what mad pursuits inspire mathematicians.

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July 1, 2017

One of the stated goals of this book is to dispel the idea that mathematicians are boring, and this delightful title goes a long way toward that aim. In 25 brief chapters, Stewart (mathematics, Univ. of Warwick, UK; Infinity: A Very Short Introduction) profiles a wide range of renowned mathematicians, men and women, from many countries and educational backgrounds. The author provides capsule biographies of the mathematicians. An overview of their contributions is followed by a more in-depth look at their work placed in the context of their life story. Usually, this is capped off with an explanation of how their achievements are important to mathematics or to everyday life. This last section is particularly noteworthy because readers who have not previously studied math at the college level are unlikely to comprehend the equations. Still, overall, Stewart succeeds, demonstrating the interconnectedness of mathematics: most chapters make reference to at least one other character in the book, plus a host of others deemed insufficiently impressive to warrant their own treatment. VERDICT Best appreciated and understood by advanced students of mathematics.--Cate Hirschbiel, Iwasaki Lib., Emerson Coll., Boston

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2017
Math is a science that has been communicated, taught, and recorded since the days of clay tablets in Babylonian times. Mathematician and prolific writer Stewart (Visions of Eternity, 2013) takes readers on a tour through the history of math from ancient Greece to China, India, Europe, and America. He also brings mathematical discoveries to life in engaging brief biographies of 25 foundational inventors of mathematical disciplines, spelling out the significance of their work. Natural patterns and cycles sparked brilliant insights about the workings of the universe in men and women whose intellect was matched by great curiosity and passion to share their ideas with others. Stewart considers just how amazing it is that concepts developed many hundreds of years ago are as accurate today as when they were first revealed and that they are still being used in cutting-edge computer programs. Part advanced math lesson and part history book, Stewart's celebration of seminal mathematicians and their findings will appeal to anyone who wants to better understand the building blocks of many of today's sciences.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)