Men of Mathematics

by Eric Temple Bell

Here is the classic, much-read introduction to the craft and history of mathematics by E.T. Bell, a leading figure in mathematics in America for half a century. Men of Mathematics accessibly explains the major mathematics, from the geometry of the Greeks through Newton's calculus and on to the laws of probability, symbolic logic, and the fourth dimension. In addition, the book goes beyond pure mathematics to present a series of engrossing biographies of the great mathematicians -- an extraordinary number of whom lived bizarre or unusual lives. Finally, Men of Mathematics is also a history of ideas, tracing the majestic development of mathematical thought from ancient times to the twentieth century. This enduring work's clear, often humorous way of dealing with complex ideas makes it an ideal book for the non-mathematician.

Genres: Mathematics, Science, History, Biography, Nonfiction, History Of Science, Popular Science

590 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1937

About the author

Eric Temple Bell (February 7, 1883 – December 21, 1960) was a mathematician and science fiction author born in Scotland who lived in the U.S. for most of his life. He published his non-fiction under his given name and his fiction as John Taine.

Reviews

[Purushotham · Rating 5 out of 5]

I came across this outstanding book in my schooldays, and read it then, not understanding much, but enough to know that I had got hold of something awesome. It made the subject of maths and the mathematicians come to life. Maths class at school was not as boring as it used to be, after realizing that Archimedes and Newton were real, flesh-and-blood men.

Then I read the book again, while at engineering college. This time around, I was familiar with at least the names of the important mathematicians, and knew a little about their work. After this second reading, I felt more than a little love for the subject of maths, when I learned about the interesting lives that the mathematicians had led, and the often curious ways in which they had created the mathematics that we now took so much for granted. I realized that in the world of the intellect, Cauchy, Riemann, Newton, Liebnitz, Gauss, Abel and all the rest of them were true heroes. Not only that, many of them did their magnificent work in the face of desperate odds against them, like Abel and Galois. Knowing all this made the subject of mathematics come alive to me, and to this day, mathematics remains a thing of beauty to me. For this wonderful gift, I am forever indebted to E. T. Bell's Men of Mathematics.

[Aleksandar Janjic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Са овом књигом сам се први пут срео на четвртој години факултета, кад сам спремао семинарски из историје српске културе (!!?!?!?!?!??!), када сам је прочитао у српском преводу под називом Велики математичари. Сада сам је репризирао у оригиналу и могу да кажем да је ово једно ђаволски вриједно штиво, при чему бих ипак препоручио српски превод јер је овај енглески из тридесетих година прошлог вијека прилично тежак за читање.

Елем, шта је заправо ово? У питању је нека врста "популарне математике", да је тако назовемо. Заправо, већ летимичан поглед на садржај књиге даје нам до знања да су у питању биографије разних великих математичара, почевши од старих Грка, па све до модерног доба, при чему се то "модерно" доба завршава са Кантором, који је умро 1918. Међутим, кроз те биографије илустроване су све математичке дисциплине и велики број најбитнијих открића и теорија. У сваком поглављу обрађена је по једна личност, (евентуалне) пикантерије из његовог (кажем "његовог", јер у књизи нема жена) приватног живота и најпознатија његова открића, тамо гдје је било простора да се тако нешто опише.

Ово посљедње је гдје се књига разилази са највећим бројем научнопопуларних књига којих сам имао прилику да се прихватим - наиме, иако је скоро све објашњено тако да и нематематичари могу да разумију (под условом да имају барем солидно средњошколско знање математике и да нису баш тотални дудуци за логику), Бел се уопште не устручава да вам у лице саспе разноразне формуле и цртеже, па ћете се тако овде нагледати бесконачних низова, редова, полинома, алгебарских структура, комплексних бројева и сличних звијери од којих (ако се не бавите математиком) неке можда нисте ни срели, а већину сте упознали у средњој школи и онда са одушевљењем заборавили при изласку из исте. Међутим, као што рекох, овде су скоро сви (не баш СВИ) ти концепти објашњени тако да их је уз мало труда могуће разумјети.

Дакле, иако ово није класичан уџбеник, неко ко се не бави математиком откриће рапидан скок у свом разумијевању математичких појмова и њихових односа. За нас који смо имали несрећу да немамо на студију историју математике као посебан предмет књига ће добро да послужи да се барем неке рупе попуне.

Неко је стил писања упоредио са Раселовом Историјом западне филозофије и то поређење није сасвим бесмислено - ово је, што би се рекло, књига "са ставом", у којој се аутор не устручава да буде духовит и да повремено поткачи неку од личности које су му предмет анализе. Видио сам да аутору замјерају што је на неким (многим?) мјестима анегдоте сумњиве аутентичности навео као чињенице, у чему ја лично не видим никакав проблем, али ето ако баш имате некакав опсесивно-компулсивни поремећај, можете да отрчите на нет и провјерите догађај који вам изгледа превише невјероватно.

[Yi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for anybody interested in the life of Mathematicians, the history of Math, or Math itself. The author has managed to make a seemingly dull subject lively and fun to read. Highly recommended.

[Philipp · Rating 4 out of 5]

A history of mathematics up to Georg Cantor, who died in 1918, the book itself was published in 1937. Each chapter summarises the life of a mathematician (sometimes two, if their lives are intertwined), with about a quarter of each chapter being reserved for details on one or two discoveries.

In tone it reminded be a lot of Russell's History of Western Philosophy - there's the British humor and the strong opinions, some people may be put off by this. It's definitely no unbiased retelling of the history of mathematics (furthermore, about 80 years have passed. Many of these stories may turned out to have been falsehoods by now [and in looking up this book, many of them are, but that doesn't detract from their fun]).
Some quotes to show the humor:

As a matter of temperament some find the Laplacian conception of an eternally stable solar system repeating the complicated cycle of its motions time after time for ever and ever as depressing as an endless nightmare. For these there is the recent comfort that the Sun will probably explode some day as a nova. Then stability will cease to trouble us, for we shall all quite suddenly become perfect gases.

or

Cauchy's life and character affect us like poor Don Quixote's — we sometimes do not know whether to laugh or to cry, and compromise by swearing.

or

But on the utterly imbecilic advice of his physician he began meddling in politics "to benefit his nervous system." If ever a more idiotic prescription was handed out by a doctor to a patient whose complaint he could not diagnose it has yet to be exhumed.

Some things I learned:

- many famous mathematicians were ridiculous child prodigies in their youngest ages, Gauss being the most famous example, discovering formulas at the age of 9, finishing Disquisitiones Arithmeticae at the age of 21 (!!!) in Latin (!!!); William Rowan Hamilton spoke 13 languages by the time he was 13 years old (E. T. Bell gets very angry about this "waste of time", he could have been doing mathematics!). It may make you look at your own life with a hint of having already wasted it.

- others did terrible in traditional systems - like Poincaré, who nearly failed the mathematical parts of his Bachelor's degree and was only admitted because of his previous mathematical importance

- funding of science changed a lot with the French revolution - before that, good mathematicians got their money from benevolent rulers, after that, they either had to give lessons or were (sometimes poorly) employed by universities

- transfinite numbers are weird

- and much more, it's a long book

The biggest drawback, and here the book shows its age, is the very dry style of the mathematical parts, maybe I'm too spoiled by pop-science writing, maybe it's the age. Sometimes, the mathematics is rather simple and you wonder why the author takes so much time to expand on these points (the age?), sometimes it's so short that you have to go look it up on Wikipedia. These definitely take their time if you want to read them properly.

But then again, to quote the author (on a different occasion):

The choice of such phraseology is not merely stereotyped pedantry. There is a reason for its use, and careful writers mean exactly what they say when they assert that “we can find, etc” They mean that they can do what they say.

Recommended for: People into mathematics; people who think a book about mathematics is boring (you may want to skip or skim the mathematical parts, but it's your loss); fans of British humor

Not recommended for: People without patience, as it took me a few weeks to read this; People who need the truth and nothing but the boring truth

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This quirky tome and mini biography of the world's great mathematicians was written some eighty years ago. It is quite dated and the prose is purple.

3.5 stars

[Kaśyap · Rating 3 out of 5]

The main intent here is biographical rather than mathematical. But this isn't a very good account. He doesn't distinguish between facts and anecdotes and the author always lets his prejudices get in the way of narrative. I guess it just reflects the times in which it was written. The parts i liked the most of this book were the mathematical parts.

[Jake · Rating 2 out of 5]

Men of Mathematics, by E.T. Bell is a collection of (brief) biographies of the more well known mathematicians through history and the lasting marks they have made. Included in each chapter is a description of their major works and an attempt to bring them down to the average readers' comprehension.

Where oh where to begin. It should have been straightforward; a short bio into some remarks on major published works. But Bell cannot make it that simple. He needs to write with excessively florid prose that often loses the reader in its self indulgence. He must throw names around as if everyone is familiar with the world of mathematics. Idioms and other turns of phrase are violently inserted by Bell, who must think highly of himself indeed, and is unable to leave himself out of his writing.
Next, the descriptions of major works. Complexity upon complexity is thrown upon the reader, followed by condescending remarks about how simple it should be to anyone who has completed their basic courses...blah blah blah…

I hated this book, and I suffered. And yet, despite all of this, I was drawn into the lives of these men, and I find myself wanting to know more. In the long run, this book served its purpose; it sparked an interest within me.

This is a terribly subjective attempt at a non fiction survey of mathematicians. I beg any prospective reader to look elsewhere, it will not be too hard to find a higher quality substitution for this nonsense.

Rating: 3/10

[Scott Shepard · Rating 2 out of 5]

First 1/3: 4 starts
Later 2/3: 2 stars
I guess that averages out to a 2 & 2/3 star rating, although it feels like I slugged through the boring parts for so long that I'm rounding down.

The biggest point against Men of Mathematics is that is truly the Men of Mathematics. And it really should have been White European Men of Mathematics. While it is true that most of modern mathematics was discovered by European men *cough* imperialism *cough*, there were some people of color and women who some important work. Like Ada Lovelace, the first computer scientist. Or Emmy Noether, a landmark abstract algebraist whose theories underpin all of modern physics. Or, you know, the Arabs who invented Algebra. Or the Indians who invented zero. It’s not as if there was a time period to focus on, the book opens on ancient Greece and then skips straight to Descartes.

I guess this book is a product of its times. It was written in 1937. Ideas like including women on the merit of their accomplishments weren’t invented yet.

Aside from the imperialist and sexist attitude of the author, it was quite enjoyable! For some of it at least. The book is structured as a series of mini biographies of famous mathematicians. There are 23 chapters (intro + 22 mathematicians) from Zeno to Descartes to Gauss to Eisenstein to…if you’re bored already this book is not for you. My main issue is that if you are not already familiar with the characters and their accomplishments, the writing will not make you interested. I know this because I was already familiar with the characters in the 1/3 of the chapters I liked and unfamiliar with the 2/3 of the characters in the chapters I didn’t.

I learned some neat tidbits, and some pretty cool math, but mostly I get to say I read the damn thing and have it look impressive on my shelf. Men of Mathematics, where you have to be white, male, and french or german, and a genius as 22 to get a few pages jotted down about you. Oh and you’ll probably die poor and sick and young anyway.

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5 for historical accuracy, 4/5 for culture. Ultimately, 3/5, but still highly recommendable.

The only problem I have with Bell is that the characterisation of mathematics may put off some impressionable young mathematician-to-bes. Bell, most likely inadvertently, gives a sense that, if one is not going to be a first-rate, world-class mathematician, then they should not bother taking up the art.

On the other hand, Bell's enthusiasm for mathematics is infectious. Many have criticised his tendency to embellish and from a historian's point of view Bell does more harm than good. But as a piece of mathematical culture it remains very important -- think Romance of the Three Kingdoms in Chinese literature, except not as fictionalised. So long as you take some of the historical accounts with a grain of salt, Men of Mathematics will be a pleasure to read, even for the non-mathematician. In fact, I would say that the gravitas Bell attributes to certain eras, ideas and theorems of mathematics is only an approximation, for their universal significance is truly ineffable. So in that sense, Bell is actually being modest.

My final qualm with it is that it doesn't really capture the collaborative spirit that is even more pronounced in modern mathematics. In this sense Men of Mathematics is outdated, and perhaps a tad too romantic for my taste. Nonetheless, it is a classic, to inspire at least one more generation of mathematicians (mine!).

[Ronald Lett · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I was younger, I liked this book a lot. Later, however, it is easy to notice that there are several great mathematicians who are curiously omitted simply because they were female, and that some of the biographies have a few liberties taken with them to be more dramatic. As another reviewer said, this is a product of the times in which it was written. Still, a readable overview of the sometimes overly dramatic lives of the greatest male contributors to mathematics, but by now there are many more accurate and complete texts on the history of mathematics.

[Mouly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book about the lives and contributions of the greatest mathematicians up to early 19th century; the book starts with some . There are many threads running through the book. It shows how mathematics the subject itself evolved from its infancy. But mostly the book is about the mathematician and his work. Before I started the book, I wanted to know the common denominator across these great minds. The only common characteristic that all of them had was a true love for subject. And most of them started learning mathematics from their childhood.

To prove the greatness of a mathematician, his works have to be explained. And the author has done a fabulously job of conveying the greatness of each mathematician without too much mathematical details. Mind you there is still plenty of mathematics in each chapter, I would guess about 40%. I didn't understood many mathematical proofs, but still was able to appreciate the contribution of the mathematician.

I have been reading this book on and off for more than a year. It is not the lightest book I have read, but definitely one of the best non-fictions I have picked.

[Hrothgar · Rating 5 out of 5]

E.T. Bell is by no means unbiased, but he doesn't ever claim to be. His writing reflects his captivating wit and seemingly endless knowledge; it is anyone's pleasure to read.

[Dipanshu Gupta · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always been interested in the life of Physicists and Mathematicians, so this was a entertaining read for me. What strikes out for me is that Bell tries to portray these men as gods; outworldly people capable of doing inhuman tasks. No doubt these men are legends in their own right but this praise is not justified. But I loved reading about the little stories behind these men's lives. Since it was written in the 1930s, the author has been very reserved about lot of things. A similar book written contemporarily would have been much spicier. Because let's face it, people reading this book have a vested interest in Mathematics and know most of the men discussed in the book. We were looking for stories about these men and not an explanation of the math they did, an explanation, which in my opinion. I should rate it 3.5 but since the author did the arduous task of combining so many eras of Mathematics, I'll be generous in the rounding-off.

[Abhishek Shakya · Rating 5 out of 5]

We generally think of mathematicians as some old, senile professors who think that common people don't understand them that they are just good for teaching. But the mathematicians have been politicians, administrators, churchmen, soldiers and whatnot. This book is not about mathematics but rather than the life of mathematicians in general.

Mathematicians: more humane than humans of any craft ever be - the ones who believed in logic deduced from fundamentals and stood for them even if the world stood against!

#MenOfMathematics #ETBell #Completed #Book_No_12 #Obsessed #Emotional #Humans

[A Mig · Rating 4 out of 5]

An impressive body of work on the life of famous (and less famous) mathematicians from antiquity to the early 20th century. We discover a melting pot of lives, poor and rich, happy and sad, uneventful and rich of adventures. It is a pleasure to discover all those mathematicians from that personal-life angle and how mathematical discoveries are made within the socio-political sphere of the Time. It feels, however, that more than simple knowledge in mathematics is needed to truly enjoy this book and the importance of each mathematician's contribution. A brief overview of the evolution of Mathematics would have been welcome to help follow the flow.

[Jonathan Yigzaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sick book with sicker burns

[Ayush Bhat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whenever I feel down or I am distracted, whenever I loose interest in Studies (Math and Computer Science), I read this book, sure shot way to get re-motivated.

[Misrab · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eloquent, researched - an absolute delight.

It was written in 1937 and that's reflected in the style. Not as patriarchal or dogmatic as it sounds, although it is a book on a particular choice of mathematicians.

Written when Hilbert was alive. Super fun to see the perspective on the foundations of maths before Gödel was absorbed, let alone the advent of Turing, Church on decidability etc.

Highlights include the discrete versus the continuous, Descartes making geometry algebraic, Leibniz the polymath, Euler then Gauss the computationalists, the French! Lagrange and Méchanique Analytique, Laplace and his ego and their Méchanique Céleste, times of revolution, Cauchy and Riemann and complex numbers, analysis <3, the theory of numbers and groups from Abel to Galois, the odd Anglo-Saxon from Boole to Hamilton, linear algebra and matrices from Sylvester and Cayley, and many more.

My brain has changed.

[Sandy Maguire · Rating 1 out of 5]

Don't let the introduction of this book fool you! While the front-matter is enticing and exciting, the rest of the book fails to live up to these expectations. This book manages to make an exciting topic boring and hard to suffer through via a combination of flowery, say-nothing prose and a focus on the people rather than the math.

OK, I get it -- for the most part, readers do want people stories over math, but those are not the people who are going to be reading this book. Know your audience, Eric Temple Bell. I would not recommend this book in the slightest.

If you're looking for a book that presents the history of nerdy shit well, treat yourself to "The Making of the Atomic Bomb" and skip over this drivel.

[Juan · Rating 4 out of 5]

slow going, but fascinating, because he describes how mathematics has evolved over time, and you get some idea of how remarkable these discoveries were. Starts with Pythagoras. I I'm as far as Newton now. Some math, but not a lot. Very opinionated writer, which really comes through when he is discussing mathematicians who also were theologians, like pascal and Newton. He has no time whatever for those endeavors.

[Vipin Singh Sehrawat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can see why this book inspired Freeman Dyson. The book contains bio-sketches of more than 27 mathematicians, arranged chronologically in 29 chapters. The book starts with Zeno of Elea (ca. 490 - 430 BC) and ends with George Cantor (1845 - 1918). It successfully compiles the lives of the 27 great mathematicians, depicting interesting aspects of their lives. An outstanding book by a great mathematician. Highly recommended!!

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

As history, this book should be taken with some salt. As a book about mathematical characters and the character of mathematics, though, I think Men of Mathematics is hard to beat. I first read this when I was in middle school or high school, and while it wasn't the only thing that got me into mathematics, it was certainly an influence.

[David Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the ones I keep on my shelf for easy access rather than in a box in the closet. Each chapter is a self-contained bio with personal info, the mathematician's place in history, and life in the context of his/her times. Laid back, not like other scientific bios that can be annoyingly stuffy. One of my favs. Just now finding out there's a part 2. Hot damn!

[Tattwamasi Amrutam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mathematics has evolved over centuries. It is unlike any other branch of science where someone proposes a theory and years later it is proved wrong. When something is accepted in mathematics, it is forever in there. This book provides an insight into the lives of those great mathematicians who have shown the world new ways and opened new dimensions in various fields of mathematics.

[Sorawit13 · Rating 5 out of 5]

it very good

[Bako · Rating 2 out of 5]

Extremely biased against protestants. Author seems to be an angry Catholic.

[Hangci Du · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful biography, however a little bit old, it is not with Ramanujan, Von Neumann, Hilbert, Godel...

I can get some new ideas.

[Liedzeit Liedzeit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just as good as I remembered it. I like that when in doubt he tells us the anecdote even if there are no proofs. I want Evariste Galois to have led exactly the life that Bell gives us.

[Ryker · Rating 2 out of 5]

The most obnoxious writing style ever.

[Daniel Romero · Rating 5 out of 5]

Es una obra de arte, aún sin logrará entender todo su contenido, apasiona la forma en cómo se describen y muestran las obras de estos genios de la humanidad.
Recomendado.