Now regarded as the bane of many college students' existence, calculus was one of the most important mathematical innovations of the seventeenth ce...
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Jul 12, 2010
Jason
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I picked this book up impulsively, rationalizing the purchase using my profession (mathematics educator) and a curiosity about the conflict described in the book. When I teach courses related to the Calculus, I often remark on the 'discovery' of the Calculus and the conflict between Newton and Leibniz. What little I know about the conflict came from some histories of mathematics by Boyer which treated the conflict comparatively lightly. This book wades deep enough into the nitty-gritty of the
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Nov 18, 2008
Valerie
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I found this book fascinating and funny. But I couldn't really explain the dry humor. But 2 grown men hiding Calculus from each other and accusing each other of stealing it...priceless. As far as my students are concerned, they both could have kept it to themselves.
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Jan 01, 2012
Stephanie A.
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Quick read but boring. This book has too much history and not enough math. If I wanted to learn about scandals that "would make a soap opera-loving housewife blush," I'd watch The Bold and the Beautiful, mmkay. The style, while generally harmless, occasionally goes from professional/historical to personal narrative (i.e. the author injects himself into the story), and the figurative language is also anachronistic, with odd comparisons between Newton and a startup CEO and eBay and...I d
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May 26, 2008
Scott
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The content of this book, insofar as it actually talked about the invention of calculus, cultivated, for me, a profound respect for the genius of both Newton and Leibniz, respectively.
Still, this is a very sloppy book which would've benefited from some simple editing. I checked it out from the local library and was relieved to find that the person who checked it out before me actually went through with a blue pen and corrected the majority of Bardi's grammatical errors (the Biblio More...
Still, this is a very sloppy book which would've benefited from some simple editing. I checked it out from the local library and was relieved to find that the person who checked it out before me actually went through with a blue pen and corrected the majority of Bardi's grammatical errors (the Biblio More...
Dec 26, 2009
Ed
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This rather gossipy book won't teach you much about calculus, but it will give you a fascinating picture of social and political context of science and mathematics were like in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries.It was easy to read as well as quite well researched and modestly provides a nice bibliographic essay. I particularly appreciated the biographical material about Leibniz, whose first name [Gottfried:] I had never even know.
Mar 05, 2010
Schuyler
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After reading about Leibniz, Newton, et al. in Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle, I was inspired to read more about the real events. While the real story didn't quite have the same excitement, The Calculus Wars was about as exciting as math biographies get. I wouldn't recommend this to very many people I know, but if the phrase "math biography" doesn't horrify you, this was a good book and a relatively quick read.
May 18, 2009
Tag
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This was really about a war between England and Europe, Germany in particular. Brilliant men, Newton & Liebniz, being pushed by ego centrists of small minds. An incredible history of mathematics in an age when they were well prepared for the notions of differential and integral calculus.
Sep 26, 2010
Chris
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A very interesting subject, the book unlike most other math histories I've read has a nicer tone with evident humor and passion. Good read, would recommend to anyone interested in Calculus and its origin, or Newton or Leibniz. Odd thing, book has a large amount of grammatical and typeset errors
Apr 01, 2010
Converse
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The small part of the book devoted to the sniping between Newton & Leibninz over priority in creating calculus is amusing & interesting, but the book is marred by errors factual & editorial, and does a poor job in explaining what calculus is.
Oct 12, 2010
Steve
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Interesting story, but the writing was less than stellar. Also, I am far from convinced that the disagreement merits the term, "War." It reads more to me like a spat between old men.
Aug 16, 2009
John
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Interesting background material about the development of Calculus and about how even brilliant people can sometimes be unreasonable.
Dec 16, 2009
Jason
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This book is a disappointing text. It is full of typographical errors and one egregious historical error that should have been caught (i.e., James II of England is listed as Charles II's son, when in fact he was Charles' brother.) There is also too much anti-Catholic religious polemic here, and a facile presentation of the religious controversies that beset post-Elizabethan England, none of which have terribly much to do with the development of calculus or the battles between Leibniz and Newto
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Sep 13, 2009
Had to drop this like a hot potato when the author implied Leibniz had a way to square the circle. Do not read any book that claims this is possible, even if that reference does not actually have any bearing on the main points of the book. It shows that the general readership author does not understand the math he is attempting to writing about. (I also have a loathing of authors who use the first person singular in nonfiction works not about themselves. No one wants their opinions - just th
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Jan 01, 2012
winnie
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in an attempt to stir up interest in calculus, i picked up the book to check through its history. not that it was bad - the content was pretty intriguing - 'cept, i suppose, there's only so much that language can bring to a verbal war over mathematics. nonetheless, a worthy read since i don't suppose there are many more interesting books on the subject of calculus (:/).
(which raises the question - could bill bryson have done it better? my answer would be yes.)
(which raises the question - could bill bryson have done it better? my answer would be yes.)
May 30, 2011
Tbfrank
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The writing may have been a little uneven but the subject matter was presented well-enough to keep me interested. The book seemed more about Leibniz than Newton and one could conclude that the scope of Leibniz's interests overshadowed Newton's. The author bills the tale as a cautionary one about scientists, discoveries and publishing but it is also a window into how personality, ego and bias can affect even the great minds'motivations.
Oct 19, 2007
Thomas
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An intriguing historical narrative about the birth of calculus. As I am reading, I try to keep a perspective that this "war" took place over decades, was debated through scholarly editorials and letters. Today such a debate would be taking place over the internet. I won't tell you what the fatal flaw in Leibnezs' argument is. But, read it and find out. Not overly mathematical in terms of proofs.
Jan 10, 2008
Jessica
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This was a fairly interesting book, but it certainly didn't improve my opinion of Newton. I suppose nobody is at their best when they're feuding with other people, and Newton and Liebniz were certainly not exceptions to that rule.
Oct 19, 2011
Brandon
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Finally gave up and returned it to the library. Learned a few things, but it was not riveting.
Dec 04, 2007
Christian
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baroque cycle minus all the pirate stories. would benefit from another round of editing.
May 30, 2009
Norberto
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Very interesting book although I think the title is a bit hyperbolic.
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