The Mathematical Tourist

Ivars Peterson

ISBN 10: 0716732505 / ISBN 13: 9780716732501

Published by W H Freeman & Co, 1998

Item in good condition. Textbooks may not include supplemental items i.e. CDs, access codes etc. Seller Inventory # 00102648527

Synopsis:

Peterson pushes past rows of symbols and lines of formulae to explore the central ideas and inspirations behind the work of professional mathematicians in language non-mathematicians can understand. This new edition has been thoroughly revised and updated to include all the latest information on proofs, fractals, prime numbers and chaos.

Review: When the first edition of Ivars Peterson's The Mathematical Tourist was published in 1988, the New York Times called it "a rich array of ideas, drawing on virtually every branch of mathematics and bunging in plenty of late-breaking developments to boot." Now Peterson has expanded this popular book to feature another decade of mathematical progress, including new sections on crystal structure, string theory, mathematicians' use of computers, chaos theory, and Fermat's Last Theorem. Most of the other sections have been reworked and reworded as well, and there are many new illustrations. One thing that has not changed is the clarity of Peterson's writing and his almost unparalleled ability to make mathematical ideas themselves interesting, without focusing on the lives and personalities of mathematicians. Martin Gardner called the first edition "a travel guide that the professional mathematician will read with as much excitement and pleasure as the veriest amateur ... a masterpiece of popular exposition," and this second edition is no less. --Mary Ellen Curtin

Bibliographic Details

Title: The Mathematical Tourist
Publisher: W H Freeman & Co
Publication Date: 1998
Binding: Soft cover
Condition: Good
Edition: 2nd Edition