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Gamma: Exploring Euler's Constant (Princeton Science Library)
 
 

Gamma: Exploring Euler's Constant (Princeton Science Library) (Hardcover)

by Freeman Dyson (Foreword), Julian Havil (Author) "In an age when a 'computer' is taken to mean a machine rather than a person and calculations of fantastic complexity are routine and executed..." (more)
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
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Gamma: Exploring Euler's Constant (Princeton Science Library) + "e": The Story of a Number (Princeton Science Library) + An Imaginary Tale: The Story of "i" [the square root of minus one]
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Product details

  • Hardcover: 266 pages
  • Publisher: Princeton University Press; illustrated edition edition (17 Mar 2003)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0691099839
  • ISBN-13: 978-0691099835
  • Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 16.3 x 2.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 179,856 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #33 in  Books > Science & Nature > Mathematics > Numbers > Arithmetic
    #37 in  Books > Science & Nature > History & Philosophy > History of Mathematics
    #82 in  Books > Science & Nature > Mathematics > History of Mathematics
  • See Complete Table of Contents

Product Description

Review

[A] wonderful book. . . . Havil's emphasis on historical context and his conversational style make this a pleasure to read. . . . Gamma is a gold mine of irresistible mathematical nuggets. Anyone with a serious interest in maths will find it richly rewarding.
(Ben Longstaff New Scientist )

This book is a joy from start to finish.
(Gerry Leversha Mathematical Gazette )

[Gamma] is not a book about mathematics, but a book of mathematics. . . . [It] is something like a picaresque novel; the hero, Euler's constant g, serves as the unifying motif through a wide range of mathematical adventures.
(Dan Segal Notices of the American Mathematical Society )

The book is enjoyable for many reasons. Here are just two. First, the explanations are not only complete, but they have the right amount of generality. . . . Second, the pleasure Havil has in contemplating this material is infectious.
(Jeremy Gray MAA Online )

It is only fitting that someone should write a book about gamma, or Euler's constant. Havil takes on this task and does an excellent job.
(Choice )

This book is accessible to a wide range of readers, and should particularly appeal to those who feel a love for mathematics and are dissuaded by the dryness and formality of text-books, but are also not satisfied by the less rigorous approach of most popular books. Mathematics is presented throughout as something connected to reality. . . . Many readers will find in this book exactly what they have been missing.
(Mohammad Akbar Plus Magazine )

This book is written in an informal, engaging, and often amusing style. The author takes pains to make the mathematics clear. He writes about the mathematical geniuses of the past with reverence and awe. It is especially nice that the mathematical topics are discussed within a historical context.
(Ward R. Stewart Mathematics Teacher )


Review

I like this book very much. So much, in fact, that I found myself muttering 'neat stuff!' all the way through. While it is about an important topic, there isn't a single competitor. This amazing oversight by past authors is presumably the result of the topic requiring an author with a pretty sophisticated mathematical personality. Havil clearly has that. His skillful weaving of mathematics and history makes the book a 'fun' read. Many instructors will surely find the book attractive.
(Paul J. Nahin, author of "Duelling Idiots" and "Other Probability Puzzlers" and "An Imaginary Tale" )

Inside This Book (Learn More)
First Sentence
In an age when a 'computer' is taken to mean a machine rather than a person and calculations of fantastic complexity are routine and executed at lightning speed, constricting difficulties with ordinary arithmetic seem (and are) extremely remote. Read the first page
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Concordance
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A must have for any maths enthusiast., 17 April 2003
I had heard that this book was coming out and, having read the books by Maor and Nahin, was looking forward to the next 'constant' treatise from PUP; it' s great that the author is English this time! Well done PUP for letting the Brits in (I see that they now have an office in England). The book is (for me) the best yet of the series (if that is what it is) and having read it I can see why Gamma was the topic to be chosen (pi has of course been done several times and so has the Golden Ratio). Havil is a new author and an extremely good one-and he knows his maths. I am just an amateur enthusiast and as such I have learned so much maths from his exposition. The Harmonic Series stuff leading to the Zeta functions was some of the best for me and opened my eyes to the Prime Number Theorem and the Riemann Hypothesis; why has no-one else explained them so clearly and interestingly-and without avoiding the maths? As the author says, some parts need work to understand but it's very rewarding to get to grips with the ideas and particularly with the historical perspective that is woven into the pages. Now I have 3 great books from PUP on mathematical constants on my shelf...I await the fourth..
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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Who would have thought!?, 27 Jun 2003
By Palle E T Jorgensen "Palle Jorgensen" (Iowa City, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
Who would have thought that there can be so much life in a constant? And one with a Greek name! If you have some math interests, I predict that you will get caught up in the thread of events: They are mathematical topics, but are presented like in a novel or a drama. A book that I couldn't put down. The main characters are the harmonic series, the sub-harmonic series, Riemann's Zeta function, its functional equation, its zeros, the Riemann hypothesis(it is worth a million dollars!), the prime number theorem, (..hard stuff! but it somehow seems easy in this book),Bernoulli numbers, Pell's equation, the distribution of prime numbers.... And if you forgot some of your math, you will have it reviewed in the appendices. They are attractive, well written, and to the point.
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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A Remarkable Compilation of Mathematics, 16 May 2003
The book has just become available in the UK, although it has been on sale in the States for about a month it seems. Havil has filled the gap by writing a book about Euler's constant, Gamma; it was the most obvious number missing from the growing library of 'popular' mathematical explanations. The historical approach of these expositions has great appeal and provides welcome respite from some of the actual mathematics; in the case of this book, there really is a great deal of mathematics too. Fortunately, the explanations are clear and interesting and the whole tone of the work is one of exitement. The author has used the opportunity to cram in as much interesting (and sometimes offbeat) mathematics as he can and as a result the work is pretty much a selective encyclopaedia of some areas of the subject. The reader certainly needs at least a good A level and more than that if the final chapter on the Riemann Hypothesis is to be taken on. Havil's book is nicely complimentary to the other more popular books that have recently been published on this, with the mathematics there in pretty much complete form. In summary this is a quite superbly crafted book with a central important theme and many welcome diversions from it. The author deserves the success that he will no doubt enjoy: bring on his next book!
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5.0 out of 5 stars Who would have thought!?
Who would have thought that there can be so much life in a constant? And one with a Greek name! If you have some math interests, I predict that you will get caught up in the... Read more
Published on 12 Aug 2003 by Palle E T Jorgensen

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