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Author(s) : Eli Maor
Publisher : Princeton University Press; 1 edition
Date : 1994
Pages : 223
Format : PDF
ISBN : 0691033900
Maor attempts to give the irrational number e its rightful standing alongside pi as a fundamental constant in science and nature; he succeeds very well.... Maor writes so that both mathematical newcomers and long-time professionals alike can thoroughly enjoy his book, learn something new, and witness the ubiquity of mathematical ideas in Western culture.
The interest earned on a bank account, the arrangement of seeds in a sunflower, and the shape of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis are all intimately connected with the mysterious number ^Ie^N. In this informal and engaging history, Eli Maor portrays the curious characters and the elegant mathematics that lie behind the number. Designed for a reader with only a modest background in mathematics, this biography of ^Ie^N brings out that number's central importance in mathematics and illuminates a golden era in the age of science. "This is a gently paced, elegantly composed book, and it will bring its readers much pleasure.... Maor has written an excellent book that should be in every public and school library." --Ian Stewart, New Scientist
"Maor wonderfully tells the story of Ie N. The chronological history allows excursions into the lives of people involved with the development of this fascinating number. Maor hangs his story on a string of people stretching from Archimedes to David Hilbert. And by presenting mathematics in terms of the humans who produced it, he places the subject where it belongs--squarely in the centre of the humanities." --Jerry P.
King, Nature "Maor has succeeded in writing a short, readable mathematical story. He has interspersed a variety of anecdotes, excursions, and essays to lighten the flow.... [The book] is like the voyages of Columbus as told by the first mate." --Peter Borwein, Science
About the Author
Eli Maor is the author of To Infinity and Beyond: A Cultural History of the Infinite (Princeton) and Trigonometric Delights (Princeton; see page 20 in this catalog). He teaches the history of mathematics at Loyola University in Chicago
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