Journey through Genius

Book excerpt: Praise for William Dunham s Journey Through Genius The GreatTheorems of Mathematics "Dunham deftly guides the reader throughthe verbal and logical intricacies of major mathematical questionsand proofs, conveying a splendid sense of how the greatestmathematicians from ancient to modern times presented theirarguments." Ivars Peterson Author, The Mathematical TouristMathematics and Physics Editor, Science News "It is mathematics presented as a series of works of art; afascinating lingering over individual examples of ingenuity andinsight. It is mathematics by lightning flash." Isaac Asimov "It is a captivating collection of essays of major mathematicalachievements brought to life by the personal and historicalanecdotes which the author has skillfully woven into the text. Thisis a book which should find its place on the bookshelf of anyoneinterested in science and the scientists who create it." R. L.Graham, AT&T Bell Laboratories "Come on a time-machine tour through 2,300 years in which Dunhamdrops in on some of the greatest mathematicians in history. Almostas if we chat over tea and crumpets, we get to know them and theirideas ideas that ring with eternity and that offer glimpses intothe often veiled beauty of mathematics and logic. And all the whilewe marvel, hoping that the tour will not stop." Jearl Walker,Physics Department, Cleveland State University Author of The FlyingCircus of Physics