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A History of Mathematics, Second Edition 2nd Edition

by Carl B. Boyer (Author), Uta C. Merzbach (Author), Isaac Asimov (Foreword)
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A History of Mathematics
A History of Mathematics
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"Boyer and Merzbach distill thousands of years of mathematics into this fascinating chronicle. From the Greeks to Godel, the mathematics is brilliant; the cast of characters is distinguished; the ebb and flow of ideas is everywhere evident. And, while tracing the development of European mathematics, the authors do not overlook the contributions of Chinese, Indian, and Arabic civilizations. Without doubt, this is--and will long remain--a classic one-volume history of mathematics and mathematicians who create it." --William Dunham Author, Journey Through Genius, The Great Theorems of Mathematics "When we read a book like A History of Mathematics, we get the picture of a mounting structure, ever taller and broader and more beautiful and magnificent--and with a foundation, moreover, that is as untainted and as functional now as it was when Thales worked out the first geometrical theorems nearly 26 centuries ago." --From the Foreword by Isaac Asimov "One of the most useful and comprehensive general introductions to the subject." --J. W. Dauben The City University of New York "Both readable and scholarly, this book can serve as a fine introduction to the topic and also a reference book." --J. David Bolter University of North Carolina Author of Turing's Man Revised to make it more accessible to a general audience, A History of Mathematics paints a vivid picture of humankind's relationship with numbers. Updated and expanded, it now offers broadened coverage of twentieth century advances in probability and computers, and updated references to further reading. A feature that will be of interest to every reader is an appendix containing an extensive chronological table of mathematical and general historical developments.
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  1. ISBN-10
    0471543977
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0471543978
  3. Edition
    2nd
  4. Publisher
    John Wiley & Sons Inc
  5. Publication date
    March 6, 1991
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    6.25 x 1.75 x 9.25 inches
  8. Print length
    736 pages
  9. See all details
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Amazon First Reads | Editors' picks at exclusive prices

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

What do you mean there's no chapter 0? Whether or not you think that's a deficit, A History of Mathematics more than makes up for it with its depth and engaging analysis of the development of the "flawless science." Historian Carl B. Boyer designed it as a practical textbook for communicating math's complex timelines to interested college students in 1968; Uta C. Merzbach has gently revised it to bring it in line with current thought. Much of the early chapters are untouched, with new 19th- and 20th-century chapters covering Boyer's omissions and new and revised references guiding the reader to additional resources.

From the origins of numbering to the future of computing, the authors strive for comprehensive examination and clear, simple explanations. Some of the math will daunt those who have never taken college-level courses (or have forgotten what they learned), but some of the more elaborate technical material can be skipped if needed. Especially helpful is the extensive timeline-appendix that proceeds from the beginning of time to the late 20th century. Whether you're using it to gain a better understanding of mathematics or to broaden your awareness of the historical record, A History of Mathematics will help you make sense of the wide world of numbers. --Rob Lightner

From the Back Cover

"Boyer and Merzbach distill thousands of years of mathematics into this fascinating chronicle. From the Greeks to Godel, the mathematics is brilliant; the cast of characters is distinguished; the ebb and flow of ideas is everywhere evident. And, while tracing the development of European mathematics, the authors do not overlook the contributions of Chinese, Indian, and Arabic civilizations. Without doubt, this is?and will long remain?a classic one-volume history of mathematics and mathematicians who create it." ?William Dunham Author, Journey Through Genius, The Great Theorems of Mathematics "When we read a book like A History of Mathematics, we get the picture of a mounting structure, ever taller and broader and more beautiful and magnificent?and with a foundation, moreover, that is as untainted and as functional now as it was when Thales worked out the first geometrical theorems nearly 26 centuries ago." ?From the Foreword by Isaac Asimov "One of the most useful and comprehensive general introductions to the subject." ?J. W. Dauben The City University of New York "Both readable and scholarly, this book can serve as a fine introduction to the topic and also a reference book." ?J. David Bolter University of North Carolina Author of Turing?s Man Revised to make it more accessible to a general audience, A History of Mathematics paints a vivid picture of humankind?s relationship with numbers. Updated and expanded, it now offers broadened coverage of twentieth century advances in probability and computers, and updated references to further reading. A feature that will be of interest to every reader is an appendix containing an extensive chronological table of mathematical and general historical developments.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ John Wiley & Sons Inc; 2nd edition (March 6, 1991)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 736 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0471543977
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0471543978
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.25 x 1.75 x 9.25 inches

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
56 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Dylan
5.0 out of 5 stars boyer 2nd edition
Reviewed in the United States on September 6, 2010
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I picked up this and Burton's similarly named book, and I just wanted to make a few comments and comparisons of the two.

First off, both are excellent reads, and although they cover the same subject they approach it in two different manners. Boyer's text takes the style of a history book to approach the topic. It often focuses on the people and on the time period, commenting on political/cultural going-on. Its an enjoyable book to read, almost in the sense of reading a novel. Usually the mathematics is brought up in the text, but most of the proofs and derivations are often glossed over. Possible many of those mathematical details were in the questions that are no longer at the end of the chapters. But I found missing those details to be somewhat frustrating.

Conversely Burton takes the approach of a mathematics textbook that follows the story line of history. Its filled with proofs and examples, but isn't quite as rich in historical content. Each chapter ends with numerous "homework" problems, often times relating to specific solutions to a problem found by different mathematicians.

Both are excellent books, but depending on your personal taste and interests you may prefer one approach over the other. If you are looking to sit down and work through historical mathematical problems, Burton is probably right for you. If you want to cozy up and imagine what life and thought was like throughout different times in civilization, Boyer is probably your answer.

Hope this is helpful.
60 people found this helpful
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Wan Koon Yat
5.0 out of 5 stars The best book on history of mathematics
Reviewed in the United States on September 14, 2003
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I first bought the firt edition about 25 years ago when I was still a matriculation student preparing the examination to university. This book has been with me for more than one fourth of a decade. I also own the second edition of the same book.
It is a pity that the new author did not take the opportunity to expand the book to a much wider scale. ( what I mean is not to a encycoplaedic but at least expand the history of mathematics in the 20 the century. Now back to the book. What makes this book different other ones, I think it is the historical intuition of Boyer makes this book eternal. Some book arrange the content chronologically and somes book arrange the content according to the topics. However, Boyer cleverly combined that two . Also, he also extinctly discuss the topics proportional to their importance in the history. There is not too much mathematics and
there is not too few mathematics, Just a few words to describe that is " that book is really well balanced " and gives you everything and also the range of audience is wide, coupled with the very very reasonable price, it is the book on mathematical history who are interested should own one.
11 people found this helpful
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Juergen Kahrs
4.0 out of 5 stars Good book, very good book if you already now the basics
Reviewed in the United States on September 5, 1999
The first edition of this book was published in 1968. In the preface to the first edition, Carl Boyer mentions some other books about the history of mathematics and why he thinks it is necessary to write just another one. The most important reason for him is strict adherence to chronological arrangement and a stronger emphasis on historical elements. From my point of view, this aim is (at once) the strength and the weakness of the book. In this single volume of more than 700 pages, the book supplies you with so much detailed historical facts and numbers that it really deserves to be called "A History Of Mathematics". But soon after starting to read the book, I lost interest in reading it. Why was it so boring to read facts and even more facts ? The wealth of material alone does not answer the questions about the history of mathematical ideas.
But Boyer also supplied the solution to this problem. Among the books he recommends in the preface of the first edition is a much shorter book by Howard Eves (Foundations and Fundamental Concepts Of Mathematics, ISBN 0-486-69609-X). Eves' book emphasizes the historical development of the most important ideas and methods through more than 2000 years. After reading Eves' book, you can return to Boyer's book and you will appreciate the wealth of details much more because your mind is equipped with a guideline.
There is one other fact worth mentioning about the book. The avaiable second edition has been revised by Uta C. Merzbach and Isaac Asimov has written a foreword. Merzbach left the first 22 chapter virtually unchanged. The chapters about more recent developments have been expanded. In revising the references and the bibliography, Merzbach replaced Boyer's references (often non-English sources) by works in English. That is good for the English-speaking readers, but is it also good for people who are interested in the history of mathematics (which mostly took place in Europe: Greece, Italy, France, Germany) ? The second major change Merzbach made was dropping the exercises. For a history book, this was probably the right decision. But in Eves' book (focused on the development of ideas), the exercises are a valuable means of deepening the understanding of the era and its problems.
To whom can I recommend this book ? I recommend this book to the initiated readers. If you have never heard about the axiomatic method, you should probably first read Eves' book and then return to this one.
121 people found this helpful
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jb
5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting
Reviewed in the United States on May 25, 2022
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Written in historical perspective of math. It was very interesting!
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Albatross Necklace
5.0 out of 5 stars Wife loves it.
Reviewed in the United States on October 28, 2016
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One of my wife's favorite books.
So going with her opinion and her "You have to log on right now and buy me another, I can't find mine!" I'm going to say this is 5 star.
I should read it one of these days. I sort of lost interest in reading math books after trying Gödel, Escher, Bach, which turned out to be rather dry for a 6-8 year old.
One person found this helpful
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robt0914
5.0 out of 5 stars thorough
Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2016
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lengthy, well-rounded. as "wet" (not dry) as it can be without loosing its professionalism and keeping with subject (it's math history, not an epic).

inference by reader can be made toward history of cultures, cultural anthropology, origin of numbers to modern day math.
2 people found this helpful
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user
5.0 out of 5 stars As advertised
Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2021
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As advertised
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Dylan McMurry
5.0 out of 5 stars Thank you!
Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2014
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Hi, just wanting to thank you for your speedy delivery and quality of the book. As a student, it means a lot. I've enjoyed even more than I thought I would.
Thank you.
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Top reviews from other countries

David Harrison
5.0 out of 5 stars A Birthday Gift of Mathematics
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 24, 2012
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The History of Mathematics was bought as a birthday gift for my brother who loves the subject (yes, unbelievable as it may seem, there are ordinary people out there who adore maths). It arrived well in good time for his birthday and he was completely bowled over by the book. I had a wonderful response from him regarding his birthday present, so it ticked all the boxes for me.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars A very long and comprehensive book on the History. ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 18, 2017
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A very long and comprehensive book on the History. I would have pen and paper at the ready to explain some of the descriptive proofs. I would get this book with Euclid's ELements as it makes many references too
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A. BUTTERWORTH
4.0 out of 5 stars Challenging but interesting
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 1, 2017
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This is a challenging read for the general reader. A lot of mathematical content is included, but in a fairly concise form which makes that material difficult for the non-expert to follow. The book can, however, be read with much interest on a non-technical level for the historical context. That is what I am doing as a person with A-level plus some university-level knowledge.
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DayMail
5.0 out of 5 stars A History of Mathematics - Boyer
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 9, 2009
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I would strongly recommend this book as it gives a very wide coverage of the overall history of mathematics - right from its earliest beginnings to the present day. It still manages to convey a great deal of detail despite the book's wide scope.
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Kemetecus
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 29, 2014
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A very thorough book detailing the history of mathematics and its impact on all cultures and human civilization.
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