Significant Figures: The Lives and Works of Great Mathematicians

Stewart (Infinity), professor of mathematics at Warwick University, tells the history of mathematics though 25 biographies of influential mathematicians. The selections are ordered chronologically, beginning with Archimedes (third century B.C.E.) and ending with Fields Medal–winning topologist William Thurston (1946–2012). In between, the contributions of Newton, Poincaré, Gödel, and Turing, along with those of lesser-known mathematical giants, are explored. Stewart treats the spotlighted mathematics seriously and his rigorous explanations often include explanatory equations and in-depth discussions of esoteric concepts. He also strives to underscore the impact and real-world importance of each of the mathematicians’ contributions. Stewart balances the demanding math with down-to-earth, even gossipy, thumbnail sketches of the mathematicians. For example, he offers that Newton may have invented the cat door; that George Boole, inventor of mathematical logic, loved his mother’s gooseberry pies; and that an aging, paranoid Gödel’s fear of being poisoned led him to starve himself to death. Stewart includes the mathematical accomplishments of three women, illuminating the obstacles each had to overcome to be accepted in the male-dominated field. Stewart folds into his biographies a broad swath of mathematics, including Euclidian and non-Euclidean geometries, set theory, calculus, algebra, and topology; readers with an affinity for math will find the material challenging and fun. Illus. Agent: George Lucas, Inkwell Management. (Sept.)