· 2010
From a review of the second edition: "This book covers many interesting topics not usually covered in a present day undergraduate course, as well as certain basic topics such as the development of the calculus and the solution of polynomial equations. The fact that the topics are introduced in their historical contexts will enable students to better appreciate and understand the mathematical ideas involved...If one constructs a list of topics central to a history course, then they would closely resemble those chosen here." (David Parrott, Australian Mathematical Society) This book offers a collection of historical essays detailing a large variety of mathematical disciplines and issues; it’s accessible to a broad audience. This third edition includes new chapters on simple groups and new sections on alternating groups and the Poincare conjecture. Many more exercises have been added as well as commentary that helps place the exercises in context.
· 1995
The geometry of surfaces is an ideal starting point for learning geometry, for, among other reasons, the theory of surfaces of constant curvature has maximal connectivity with the rest of mathematics. This text provides the student with the knowledge of a geometry of greater scope than the classical geometry taught today, which is no longer an adequate basis for mathematics or physics, both of which are becoming increasingly geometric. It includes exercises and informal discussions.
· 2013
While most texts on real analysis are content to assume the real numbers, or to treat them only briefly, this text makes a serious study of the real number system and the issues it brings to light. Analysis needs the real numbers to model the line, and to support the concepts of continuity and measure. But these seemingly simple requirements lead to deep issues of set theory—uncountability, the axiom of choice, and large cardinals. In fact, virtually all the concepts of infinite set theory are needed for a proper understanding of the real numbers, and hence of analysis itself. By focusing on the set-theoretic aspects of analysis, this text makes the best of two worlds: it combines a down-to-earth introduction to set theory with an exposition of the essence of analysis—the study of infinite processes on the real numbers. It is intended for senior undergraduates, but it will also be attractive to graduate students and professional mathematicians who, until now, have been content to "assume" the real numbers. Its prerequisites are calculus and basic mathematics. Mathematical history is woven into the text, explaining how the concepts of real number and infinity developed to meet the needs of analysis from ancient times to the late twentieth century. This rich presentation of history, along with a background of proofs, examples, exercises, and explanatory remarks, will help motivate the reader. The material covered includes classic topics from both set theory and real analysis courses, such as countable and uncountable sets, countable ordinals, the continuum problem, the Cantor–Schröder–Bernstein theorem, continuous functions, uniform convergence, Zorn's lemma, Borel sets, Baire functions, Lebesgue measure, and Riemann integrable functions.
· 2008
In this new textbook, acclaimed author John Stillwell presents a lucid introduction to Lie theory suitable for junior and senior level undergraduates. In order to achieve this, he focuses on the so-called "classical groups'' that capture the symmetries of real, complex, and quaternion spaces. These symmetry groups may be represented by matrices, which allows them to be studied by elementary methods from calculus and linear algebra. This naive approach to Lie theory is originally due to von Neumann, and it is now possible to streamline it by using standard results of undergraduate mathematics. To compensate for the limitations of the naive approach, end of chapter discussions introduce important results beyond those proved in the book, as part of an informal sketch of Lie theory and its history. John Stillwell is Professor of Mathematics at the University of San Francisco. He is the author of several highly regarded books published by Springer, including The Four Pillars of Geometry (2005), Elements of Number Theory (2003), Mathematics and Its History (Second Edition, 2002), Numbers and Geometry (1998) and Elements of Algebra (1994).
· 2022
"The Story of a Common Soldier of Army Life in the Civil War" is a personal account of Leander Stillwell, an officer of the Company D, Sixty-first Illinois Volunteers. Stillwell wrote in detail about the everyday life of a common soldier. His account is mainly focused on the Sixty-first Illinois Infantry, including their parts in battles such as Little Rock and Murfreesboro.
· 2017
Here are over 1,000 pages of authoritative information on the archaeology of Greek and Roman civilization. The sites discussed in the more than 2,800 entries are scattered from Britain to India and from the shores of the Black Sea to the coast of North Africa and up the Nile. They are located on sixteen area maps, keyed to the entries. The entries were written by 375 scholars from sixteen nations, many of whom have worked at the sites they describe. Until now our knowledge of the Classical period has been scattered in hundreds of sources dating from antiquity to our own times. This volume provides essential information on work accomplished, in progress, and still to be undertaken. Originally published in 1976. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
· 1996
"Fifty years after the end of World War II comes the first complete history of the USS Missouri, site of the Japanese surrender on September 2, 1945. This book traces the story of the Missouri - the last of the U.S. Navy's fifty-seven battleships and the most technically advanced - from her keel-laying in 1941 through the ship's successful participation in the Persian Gulf War in 1991. Author Paul Stillwell was on the Missouri's final voyage to Hawaii, shortly before her decommissioning in 1992, and interviewed "Desert Storm" veterans still on board. Subsequently, he talked to dozens of other men who served on the Missouri's crew during her long and illustrious history." "Combining those interviews - more than 100 altogether - with records in the Naval Historical Center, National Archives, Harry S. Truman Library, and other repositories, Stillwell has produced an engrossing portrait of the ship and her crew. Readers have a sense of being right on board as history was being made in World War II. They are also treated to an up-close view of the 1946 trip to the Mediterranean that planted the seed for the Sixth Fleet, President Truman's involvement with the ship, the Korean War, midshipman cruises, the warship's modernization in the 1980s after a long period in mothballs, an around-the-world cruise, and finally, her presence in the Persian Gulf." "Among the many fascinating stories to be found here is the tale of a midshipman who gained a personal audience with Winston Churchill during a 1949 cruise to England, a crew member's description of winning a million-dollar state lottery, an account of President Truman's lifting the ban on drinking so he could enjoy his bourbon while visiting the Missouri, an explanation of why the ship just missed participating in the invasion of Inchon, Korea, and a Japanese participant's reaction to General Douglas MacArthur's speech at the surrender ceremony. Some 370 photographs enhance that narrative to give the reader a complete picture of the "Mighty Mo.""--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved
· 2013
An Introduction to Biological Membranes: From Bilayers to Rafts covers many aspects of membrane structure/function that bridges membrane biophysics and cell biology. Offering cohesive, foundational information, this publication is valuable for advanced undergraduate students, graduate students and membranologists who seek a broad overview of membrane science. - Brings together different facets of membrane research in a universally understandable manner - Emphasis on the historical development of the field - Topics include membrane sugars, membrane models, membrane isolation methods, and membrane transport
· 2010
Winner of a CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title Award for 2011! This book offers an introduction to modern ideas about infinity and their implications for mathematics. It unifies ideas from set theory and mathematical logic, and traces their effects on mainstream mathematical topics of today, such as number theory and combinatorics. The treatment is historical and partly informal, but with due attention to the subtleties of the subject. Ideas are shown to evolve from natural mathematical questions about the nature of infinity and the nature of proof, set against a background of broader questions and developments in mathematics. A particular aim of the book is to acknowledge some important but neglected figures in the history of infinity, such as Post and Gentzen, alongside the recognized giants Cantor and Gödel.