The First Three Books of Euclid's Elements of Geometry from the text of Dr. Robert Simson: Together with Various Useful Theorems and Problems as Geometrical Exercises on Each Book by Euclid

by Euclid

This Elibron Classics edition is a facsimile reprint of a 1866 edition by Longmans, Green, and Co., London.

Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Euclid (Ancient Greek: Εὐκλείδης Eukleidēs -- "Good Glory", ca. 365-275 BC) also known as Euclid of Alexandria, was a Greek mathematician, often referred to as the "Father of Geometry". He was active in Alexandria during the reign of Ptolemy I (323–283 BC). His Stoicheia (Elements) is a 13-volume exploration all corners of mathematics, based on the works of, inter alia, Aristotle, Eudoxus of Cnidus, Plato, Pythagoras. It is one of the most influential works in the history of mathematics, presenting the mathematical theorems and problems with great clarity, and showing their solutions concisely and logically. Thus, it came to serve as the main textbook for teaching mathematics (especially geometry) from the time of its publication until the late 19th or early 20th century. In the Elements, Euclid deduced the principles of what is now called Euclidean geometry from a small set of axioms. Euclid also wrote works on perspective, conic sections, spherical geometry, number theory and rigor. He is sometimes credited with one original theory, a method of exhaustion through which the area of a circle and volume of a sphere can be calculated, but he left a much greater mark as a teacher.

Reviews

[José Monico · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very short read, but an absolute powerhouse of deductive conciseness. The style is archaic, and it does not help that there are some redundancies in a few propositions and proofs. Nevertheless, his style is repetitive so a quick trip to your familiar dictionary should get you set for optimal understanding. The propositions center on basic geometry and the Pythagorean theorem; so you'll have to go on to Euclid's later works for my favorite books - prime and perfect numbers.