Duel at Dawn: Heroes, Martyrs, and the Rise of Modern Mathematics

With tremendous attention to detail, historian Alexander examines the lives of 18th and 19th century mathematicians, finding much evidence to support his theory that the earlier geniuses of math (like Évariste Galois and Neils Henrik Abel) cultivated an artistic temperament, living short but fiery lives with little recognition, while the next generation (Jean le Rond d'Alembert, Leonhard Euler) pursued mathematics (and life) with purity and rigor, becoming ""successful men of affairs who were the bright stars of their era and lived to a ripe old age."" Though occasionally repetitive, Alexander's personable history of mathematics over two centuries (rounded out by a brief look at the present and future of the field) is filled with biographical details that will interest devoted mathematicians and historians of math or science; lay-readers may find Alexander's delivery too dry to stir their sympathies.