". . . Nothing less than a major contribution to the scientific culture of this world." — The New York Times Book Review
This major survey of mathematics, featuring the work of 18 outstanding Russian mathematicians and including material on both elementary and advanced levels, encompasses 20 prime subject areas in mathematics in terms of their simple origins and their subsequent sophisticated developement. As Professor Morris Kline of New York University noted, "This unique work presents the amazing panorama of mathematics proper. It is the best answer in print to what mathematics contains both on the elementary and advanced levels."
Beginning with an overview and analysis of mathematics, the first of three major divisions of the book progresses to an exploration of analytic geometry, algebra, and ordinary differential equations. The second part introduces partial differential equations, along with theories of curves and surfaces, the calculus of variations, and functions of a complex variable. It furthur examines prime numbers, the theory of probability, approximations, and the role of computers in mathematics. The theory of functions of a real variable opens the final section, followed by discussions of linear algebra and nonEuclidian geometry, topology, functional analysis, and groups and other algebraic systems.
Thorough, coherent explanations of each topic are further augumented by numerous illustrative figures, and every chapter concludes with a suggested reading list. Formerly issued as a three-volume set, this mathematical masterpiece is now available in a convenient and modestly priced one-volume edition, perfect for study or reference.
"This is a masterful English translation of a stupendous and formidable mathematical masterpiece . . ." — Social Science
Comments From The Esteemed Professor Morris Kline of New York University
This unique work presents the amazing panorama of mathematics proper. It is the best answer in print to what mathematics contains both on the elementary and advanced levels."
Review From "The Mathematics Teacher
"An excellent reference set for bright high school students and beginning college students . . . also of value to their teachers for lucid discussions and many good elementary examples in both familiar and unfamiliar branches. The intelligentsia of laymen who care to tackle more than today's popular magazine articles on mathematics will find many rewarding introductions to subjects of current interest."
Critical Acclaim for Mathematics: Its Content, Methods and Meaning:In effect, these volumes present a do-it-yourself course for the person who would like to know what the chief fields of modern mathematics are all about but who does not aspire to be a professional mathematician or a professional user of mathematics. The coverage is extremely wide, including such important areas as linear algebra, group theory, functional analysis, ordinary and partial differential equations, the theory of functions of real and complex variables, and related subjects. . . . What makes these volumes so readable as compared with usual mathematics textbooks is the emphasis here upon basic concepts and results rather than upon the intricate and wearying proofs that make such demands in conventional textbooks and courses. There are proofs in these volumes, but usually they are presented only for the most important results, and even then to emphasize key areas and to illustrate the kind of methodology employed. . . . It is hard to imagine that any intelligent American with a curious mind and some good recollection of his high school and college mathematics would not find many entrancing discoveries in the intellectual gold mine that is this work." —The New York Times Book Review
"An excellent reference set for bright high school students and beginning college students . . . also of value to their teachers for lucid discussions and many good elementary examples in both familiar and unfamiliar branches. The intelligentsia of laymen who care to tackle more than today's popular magazine articles on mathematics will find many rewarding introductions to subjects of current interest." — The Mathematics Teacher
"Whether a physicist wishes to know what a Lie algebra is or how it is related to a Lie group, or an undergraduate would like to begin the study of homology, or a crystallographer is interested in Fedorov groups, or an engineer in probability, or any scientist in computing machines, he will find here a connected, lucid account." — Science
Formerly issued as a three-volume set, now 1 volume; Over 1100 pages!
Reprint of the three-volume work by The M.I.T. Press, Cambridge, MA, 1963.
This major survey of mathematics, featuring the work of 18 outstanding Russian mathematicians and including material on both elementary and advanced levels, encompasses 20 prime subject areas in mathematics in terms of their simple origins and their subsequent sophisticated development.

The twentieth century was a time of unprecedented development in mathematics, as well as in all sciences: more theorems were proved and results found in a hundred years than in all of previous history. In "The Mathematical Century", Piergiorgio Odifreddi distills this unwieldy mass of knowledge into a fascinating and authoritative overview of the subject. He concentrates on thirty highlights of pure and applied mathematics. Each tells the story of an exciting problem, from its historical origins to its modern solution, in lively prose free of technical details. Odifreddi opens by discussing the four main philosophical foundations of mathematics of the nineteenth century and ends by describing the four most important open mathematical problems of the twenty-first century.In presenting the thirty problems at the heart of the book he devotes equal attention to pure and applied mathematics, with applications ranging from physics and computer science to biology and economics. Special attention is dedicated to the famous '23 problems' outlined by David Hilbert in his address to the International Congress of Mathematicians in 1900 as a research program for the new century, and to the work of the winners of the Fields Medal, the equivalent of a Nobel prize in mathematics. This eminently readable book will be treasured not only by students and their teachers but also by all those who seek to make sense of the elusive macrocosm of twentieth-century mathematics.

Roger Penrose, one of the most accomplished scientists of our time, presents the only comprehensive and comprehensible account of the physics of the universe. From the very first attempts by the Greeks to grapple with the complexities of our known world to the latest application of infinity in physics, The Road to Reality carefully explores the movement of the smallest atomic particles and reaches into the vastness of intergalactic space. Here, Penrose examines the mathematical foundations of the physical universe, exposing the underlying beauty of physics and giving us one the most important works in modern science writing.