Book Review: Mathematical thought from ancient to modern times

Abstract

This comprehensive history traces the development of mathematical ideas and the careers of the mathematicians responsible for them. Originally published in 1972, it is now available as a three volume paperback edition. Volume 1 looks at the discipline's origins in Babylon and Egypt, the creation of geometry and trigonometry by the Greeks, and the role of mathematics in the medieval and early modern periods. Volume 2 focuses on calculus, the rise of analysis in the nineteenth century, and the number theories of Dedekind and Dirichlet. The concluding volume covers the revival of projective geometry, the emergence of abstract algebra, the beginnings of topology, and the influence of Gödel on recent mathematical study.