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A strong statement about the professional diversity in the field of mathematics
Since it is almost totally a collection of research papers published before 1980 and written by black mathematicians, there is no central mathematical theme to this book. The range of the papers is wide, from mathematics education to group theory. However, it is a strong statement about the professional diversity in the field of mathematics. Blacks have made major contributions to the advancement of science and mathematics and this book is a partial description of that fact. It is well worth looking over, even if the topics covered are not in your area of interest. ... Read more

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The life of Vito Volterra, one of the finest scientists and mathematicians Italy ever produced, spans the period from the unification of the Italian peninsula in 1860 to the onset of the Second World War--an era of unparalleled progress and unprecedented turmoil in the history of Europe. Born into an Italian Jewish family in the year of the liberation of Italy's Jewish ghettos, Volterra was barely in his twenties when he made his name as a mathematician and took his place as a leading light in Italy's modern scientific renaissance. By his early forties, he was a world-renowned mathematician, a sought-after figure in European intellectual and social circles, the undisputed head of Italy's mathematics and physics school--and still living with his mother, who decided the time was ripe to arrange his marriage. When Italy entered World War I in 1915, the fifty-five-year-old Volterra served with distinction and verve as a lieutenant and did not put on civilian clothes again until the Armistice of 1918. By 1925, he was president of the world's oldest scientific society, the Accademia dei Lincei, the founder and president of Italy's National Research Council, a mentor to the brilliant and restless Enrico Fermi, and "Mr. Italian Science" to the rest of the world. But none of this was enough to keep the government of Benito Mussolini from stripping him of all his honors and affiliations in 1931, when he was one of only twelve professors in the entire country to refuse to sign an oath of loyalty to the Fascist regime. This book, based in part on unpublished personal letters and interviews, traces the extraordinary life and times of one of Europe's foremost scientists and mathematicians, from his teenage struggles to avoid the stifling life of a "respectable" bank clerk in Florence, to his seminal mathematical work--which today influences fields as diverse as economics, physics, and ecology--and from his spirited support of Italy's scientific and democratic institutions during ... Read more

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Volterra di vivero.
I have just reluctantly completed my second reading of "The Volterra Chronicles".The first time I was pleased to follow the scientific information and see the historical framework revealed.This second time, I read purely for enjoyment and the amazing feeling of being in that time/place while still observing it through a present day lens. Judith R. Goodstein has accomplished an awesome feat of authorship. Thesensibilities of today, and her focusing of our hindsight, inform our view of the personal and professional choices of Volterra.At the same time the reader is made aware of his, and his accomplished countrymen, interaction with the real constraints of their society. The strength of his intellect and, most vividly, his character emerge indelibly.Truly - Volterra lives.

Life of a great mathematician
Vito Volterra, one of the finest scientists and mathematicians Italy ever produced, is best known for his theory of functionals, which led to his later contributions in integral and integro-differential equations; for his interest in solid state physics, astronomy and mathematical biology, whose importance he was among the first to stress. In Goodstein's words "Volterra's life exemplifies the post-unification rise of Italian mathematics, its prominence in the first quarter of the twentieth century, and its precipitous decline under Mussolini... The meteoric rise and tragic fall of Volterra and his circle thus constitutes a lens through which we may examine in intimate detail the fortunes of Italian science in an epic scientific age".
Born in Ancona, into a rather poor Jewish family in the year of the liberation of Italy's Jewish ghettos, Volterra showed very early promise in mathematics. He attended the University of Pisa, where he graduated in physics and where he became professor of rational mechanics in 1883. Ten years later he moved to Turin and in 1900 to Rome, where he taught mathematical physics at the University "La Sapienza". Volterra, an enthusiastic patriot, in 1905 was elected a senator of the Kingdom of Italy on grounds of high scientific standing. In his 1907 talk for the inauguration of the first congress of the Italian Society for the Progress of the Sciences, Volterra proudly drew a comparison between his era and the Renaissance: "In that time of the wonderful restoration of intellectual life, Italy became the very center of universal scientific thought. Today, I venture to wish that the destiny reserved for us not be a lesser one, as the pure and authentic Italian soul rises and takes shape, reviving our thought and restoring to us our ancient country". During World War I, already well into his 50s, he joined the Italian Army and worked on the development of airships. His hopes for Italian science were soon to be betrayed. When Benito Mussolini took power, Volterra joined the opposition to Fascism, and in 1931 he was one of the twelve university professors (over more than a thousand) who refused to take a mandatory oath of loyalty. He was compelled to resign his university post and membership of scientific academies in Italy (he belonged to quite a number of them all over the world), and, during the following years, he lived largely abroad.
This very elegant book, based in part on unpublished private letters and documents, interviews, and personal contacts of the author with members of the scientist's family during her frequent stays in Italy, tells the quite unique life of an extraordinary person in a country and in an age characterized by dramatic events. Judith Goodstein traces a full-size portrait of the man, both in his private and public life. All around him, she draws a vivid picture of the very strong and somewhat suffocating ties within the Volterra family; of the very high quality of the gifted group of mathematicians who interacted with Volterra; of the intriguing happenings in the Italian academic community; of the dramatic conditions of intellectuals in a country that was gradually sinking from a freshly built democracy into a coarse Fascist regime. There are also flavorful glimpses on the scientific communities abroad, in Europe as well as and in North and South America. When in the USA, Volterra lectured in French, though admitting "that at the present time the most indispensable language seems to be English".
It would be hard to provide highlights of the story, so many are the facts, the ideas, the emotions, the surprises the reader will meet along this beautifully depicted historical journey. The book will be of interest not only to scientists, but also to historians and to other learned people: it can be read like a novel, where attention paid to meaningful details and little known episodes conveys a realistic picture of the life of Italians in those years - and of the Jewish community in particular - better than many academic historical essays would.
Bravo Goodstein: elegance, style, thorough insight... the reader will feel that she herself was a witness on the scene.

Andrea Frova
(Professor of Physics, Università "La Sapienza", Roma)
and Mariapiera Marenzana
(Professor of History and Italian Literature)

A Master Mathematician
Amust-read foryour specialreading list this summer is The Volterra Chronicles by Judith Goodstein. This book gives a very well-written and detailedaccount of a renowned Jewish Italian mathematician, Vito Volterra, and his rise to fame during a very turbulentperiod inItalian history (1860-1940). For thosenot familiar with Vito Volterra and his scientific and mathematicalwork, Dr. Goodstein offers bothan exciting and captivating biographyof a great and noble mathematician.

Good Read
This book was very enjoyable to read. I recommend it to anyone who would like to learn more about the academic life in Italy during these very interesting times. The portrait of the customs of an Italian Jewish family, to which Volterra belonged, is particularly well drawn.

The Rise and Fall of Italian Mathematics & Science 1960-1940
The Volterra Chronicles: The Life and Times of an Extraordinary Mathematician 1860-1940

Vito Volterra, one of the great Italian scientists and mathematicians, lived during tumultuous times spanning the years of the Italian unification to the outbreak of the Second World War.He was born into a middle class Jewish family His early years were spent in the Jewish ghetto of Ancona under the eyes of his protective mother who tried to discourage him from a career in mathematics.At twenty-three he became a tenured professor at Pisa and by 1900 he was appointed professor at the University of Rome.

Goodstein has constructed a detailed record of Volterra's personal life by gaining access to the Volterra family's letters and photographs.She provides rich insights into the Italian scientific and mathematical achievements and vividly records the Italian academic world and the response to the national political scene.

This biography is a powerful tribute to a man who dominated the field of mathematics. He developed the areas of integral and differential equations, worked in the field of elastic media and then branched into the area of theoretical ecology and began to apply his mathematical expertise to biological systems.

The ascendancy of Fascism brought the golden age of science and mathematics in Italy to an end.It is interesting that there was a disproportionately large number of Jews within Italian science and mathematics.Mussolini's regime was actively anti-Semitic and barred Jewish scientists and mathematicians from holding university posts and membership in scientific organizations.

In 1931 Vito Volterra was one of only twelve Italian university professors who refused to sign the oath of allegiance to the Fascist government required by all members of the faculty, which resulted in his expulsion from the scientific community. Volterra's life parallels the rise and decline of Italian mathematics and science and provides us with a lens to examine the fortunes of Italian science during this time period. ... Read more

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More than 14 percent of the PhD's awarded in the United States during the first four decades of the twentieth century went to women, a proportion not achieved again until the 1980s. This book is the result of a study in which the authors identified all of the American women who earned PhD's in mathematics before 1940, and collected extensive biographical and bibliographical information about each of them. By reconstructing as complete a picture as possible of this group of women, Green and LaDuke reveal insights into the larger scientific and cultural communities in which they lived and worked. The book contains an extended introductory essay, as well as biographical entries for each of the 228 women in the study. The authors examine family backgrounds, education, careers, and other professional activities. They show that there were many more women earning PhD's in mathematics before 1940 than is commonly thought. The material will be of interest to researchers, teachers, and students in mathematics, history of mathematics, history of science, women's studies, and sociology. The data presented about each of the 228 individual members of the group will support additional study and analysis by scholars in a large number of disciplines. Co-published with the London Mathematical Society beginning with Volume 4. Members of the LMS may order directly from the AMS at the AMS member price. The LMS is registered with the Charity Commissioners. ... Read more

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Fascinating History of Women Mathematicians
Meticulously researched, this book offers an in-depth look at a particular group of interesting women:those who obtained the Ph.D. in mathematics before 1940. The brief biographical entry for each of the 228 women is more a well-written and appreciative "portrait" than a mere listing of historical facts.As a whole, the entries provide the rich background from which the authors draw historical overviews and conclusions about the accomplishments (both great and mundane) of these women.Some of the women became famous; many did not.The surprisingly readable and accessible essay by LaDuke and Green puts these women into historical perspective. It is great fun to refer to the individual entries that augment and reinforce the authors' conclusions.The work (and the accompanying free website that gives even more biographical and bibliographical detail) is a brilliant piece of research and scholarship. ... Read more

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A fascinating biography of a great scientist
The biography is written brilliantly and is quite fascinating. The 98-year long life of Hadamard was extraordinary, filled with fantastic joys, like playing the violin with Albert Einstein, and terrible hardships, as losinghis three sons in the two World Wars. He was a man of amazing activity andgreat social commitment, being involved in the struggle for human rights.In his lifetime, the world was a scene of tremendous perturbations andchanges in all respects, and so also in the area of science, where Hadamardwas a great driving force especially in mathematics, but also in physics,mechanics, psycology of invention etc. Little did he realise during hiscareer that his matrices later would be used in the coding theory oftoday.

The chapters about Hadamard's work in mathematical physicscontains a lot of untraditional, interesting and almost unknown material.It is hard to find elsewhere such a complete and clearly written survey ofthe history ofthe disproval of several "obvious" hypotheses.

The textis tastefully mixed with illustrations and the occasional anecdote makes ita quite entertaining read. I can higly recommend it to anybody, fromundergraduate students to high-level professionals. ... Read more

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A biography profiling the life of scientist and mathematician Benjamin Banneker. Includes source notes and timeline. ... Read more

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Average
This is your average Banneker book. It has some original documents as far as his work on almanacs is concerned, but it gives him totally no credit for the design of Wash. D.C. Rather over priced as well. ... Read more

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In 1957 Stephen Smale startled the mathematical world byshowing that, in a theoretical sense, it is possible to turn a sphereinside out. A few years later, from the beaches of Rio, he introducedthe horseshoe map, demonstrating that simple functions could havechaotic dynamics. His next stunning mathematical accomplishment was tosolve the higher-dimensional Poincaré conjecture, thus demonstratingthat higher dimensions are simpler than the more familiar three. In1966 in Moscow, he was awarded the Fields Medal, the most prestigiousprize in mathematics.

Smale's vision and influence extended beyond mathematics into two vastly different realms. In 1965 in Berkeley, he initiated a program with Jerry Rubin of civil disobedience directed at ending the Vietnam War. And as a mineral collector, he accumulated a museum-quality collection that ranks among the finest in the world. Despite these diverse accomplishments, Smale's name is virtually unknown outside mathematics and mineral collecting. One of the objectives of this book is to bring his life and work to the attention of a larger community.

There are few good biographies of mathematicians. This makes sense when considering that to place their lives in perspective requires some appreciation of their theorems. Biographical writers are not usually trained in mathematics, and mathematicians do not usually write biographies. Though the author, Steve Batterson, is primarily a mathematician, he has long been intrigued by the notion of working on a biography of Smale. In this book, Batterson records and makes known the life and accomplishments of this great mathematician and significant figure in intellectual history. ... Read more

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Biography of an Unusual Mathematician
Batterson's book is the only book length biography of Stephen Smale, a Field medalist (1966), who made major contributions to topology and dynamical systems. In the first half of the book, Smale is depicted as a brilliant mathematician who had a relatively humble beginning and was a relatively late bloomer as well.Atheme that runs through the book and one that predominates the middle part of the book is Smale's social activism. The last one-third of the book deals with a variety of topics - Smale interests in minerals and photography, his adventures trips (e.g. climbing mountains, sailing) and "other people" (family members, students and his involvement in a gender discrimination lawsuit filed a by a junior colleague). The book ends with a chapter with anassessment of Smale contributions and stature as a mathematician as well as his departure to take up an appointment in Hong Kong. Personally, I found the book to be fairly uneven - I particularly enjoyed reading the early chapters on Smale's coming of age as a creative mathematician.The middle part dealing his social activism was for me less enjoyable - partly due the extensive effort made to explain the socio-political events in the 1960s. These narratives distract the readers away from Smale mathematical work during this period but are essential as they provide the social-political environment within which Smale's activism was prominent. The last few chapters seemed to be a few chapters thrown together to cover topics that were left out earlier.The fact that I had such a mixed view of the book is probably not due to the author's writing ability but more to Smale's unusual character - very few mathematicians are known for their brilliance as well as for their active commitment to social issues.

A marvelous book
This book not only provides a useful description of some of the theory at a level technical enough to be satisfying, but also gives a fascinating view into the life and thinking of a Field's Medal winner (1966).Who would have guessed that the future Field's Medal Winner received a C in Calculus II and Physics and that he had a B- average Jr. year at the University of Michigan?And perhaps particularly heartening to those who have been through the graduate school experience, that he was less favored than Munkries and received an ultimatum from the chairman to improve (and that in graduate school, according to Raul Bott, Smale sat in the back and it wasn't clear he was always paying attention). But, of course, Smale more than redeems himself resulting in a storied career and a reputation that surpasses the boundaries of his specialties.This is a marvelous book. ... Read more

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The name Bourbaki is known to every mathematician. Many also know something of the origins of Bourbaki, yet few know the full story. In 1935, a small group of young mathematicians in France decided to write a fundamental treatise on analysis to replace the standard texts of the time. They ended up writing the most influential and sweeping mathematical treatise of the twentieth century, Les élements de mathématique. Maurice Mashaal lifts the veil from this secret society, showing us how heated debates, schoolboy humor, and the devotion and hard work of the members produced the ten books that took them over sixty years to write. The book has many first-hand accounts of the origins of Bourbaki, their meetings, their seminars, and the members themselves. He also discusses the lasting influence that Bourbaki has had on mathematics, through both the Élements and the Seminaires. The book is illustrated with numerous remarkable photographs. Readership Students, mathematicians, and historians interested in the group of mathematicians known as Bourbaki. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Balanced overview of rebarbative biographees
This is a very solid overview of the Bourbaki school, though obviously nothing like a full-fledged biography or monograph. The treatment is slightly more sophisticated than what you might find in a series of Scientific American articles (e.g., the author is confident that readers won't be scared off by an occasional integral sign or 2x2 matrix). I read the French edition, so I can't comment on the translation, though I was abashed to learn that the French adjectival form is not "bourbakien," as I might have guessed, but "bourbachique".

One of the main virtues of the book is that it's frank enough to include many thoughtful criticisms of the Bourbaki style and content. For example, although the Bourbaki were dedicated to following an axiomatic method, they ignored Gödel's incompleteness theorem, aside from an occasional dismissive reference. (That theorem shows that if you start from a system of axioms, you can't deduce all "mathematical truths" from them -- i.e., you can run across some statements that are consistent with the axioms but that cannot be deduced from them). The Bourbaki also ignored category theory, even though one of its inventors (Samuel Eilenberg) was a member of the group for a while. Today category theory is the dominant framework for describing the fundamental structures of mathematics. The Bourbaki also disdained so-called applied mathematics, including probability theory and dynamics, for its lack of "purity," even though it has yielded much mathematical fruit in the past 50 years. (Indeed it represents much of the lasting glory of French mathematics, e.g. the work of Fourier, Legendre, Lebesgue, Henri Poincaré and even Jacques Hadamard, whose seminars were a role model for the Bourbakis' and who supervised the PhDs of two of the group's founding members.) In short, the Bourbaki seem to have ignored or disdained rather lots of stuff. The bourbachique closed-mindedness ultimately contributed to the obsolescence of their approach.

The book's candor is also a bit of a flaw. By the end of the book the members of the group come across as the dogmatic, elitist clique their contemporaries accused them of being. They do seem to have been a livelier bunch in person than what I'd expected from their impersonal, austere, diagram-less presentation of mathematics. But while having a sense of humor was a prerequisite for being invited to join, the examples of their humor are for the most part sophomoric, and occasionally mean-spirited. Readers who already weren't Bourbaki fans might feel vindicated after reading this book; I can't vouch for what their fans might feel. Overall a quite interesting, but not uplifting, brief intellectual biography.

Despite Obvious Flaws, it's a colorful book, providing a clear look at rather common mathematical values and beliefs
For values and beliefs for a large group of mathematicians, this is a helpful book.For Bourbakian values and beliefs have been, by and large, adopted by the academic masses, alas. (expression of a Bourbakian value and a Bourbakian belief from p.75 "basic concepts are treated as abstract entities whose nature and concrete meaning are insignificant") Still, it's a nice tourist guide, even has lots and lots of color snaps.

But the text just reads and feels odd. It might just be due to some weaknesses in the text's translation from the French. All the same, sometimes I have no idea what is being written about or why.

For example, on page 41 I read "the fundamental theorem of algebra, which states that any polynomial with real coefficients has at least one complex root (in other words, there is a complex numer x that makes the expression equal to zero)" WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?! Not only useless, it's nonsense. The basic thought on complex numbers and polynomials with real-valued coefficients is the following. If any polynomial equation with real coefficients has a complex number z as a root, then the complex conjugate of z is also a root of the polynomial equation.

Interesting for fans of Bourbaki's texts
This is very interesting for fans of any of Bourbaki's mathematics texts.It has photos of many of the members taken at their meetings, and information about how the group operated.You'd never know it from the final product, but their original goal was to write a calculus book!Several of the founding members had just begun teaching, and they were unhappy with the standard French calculus text of the day--a multivolume work by Goursat that they considered out of date.They decided to write a little bit of background material on algebra and general topology, and somehow ended up with the books we all know and love.
The book also describes the personality quirks of the members, and has some commentary on the contents of the various texts of Bourbaki.It doesn't explain technical details like why Bourbaki chose to define integrals the way they did.
If you didn't major in math, this book probably won't interest you. ... Read more

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Includes nine articles about Wiener by a variety of authors, and a Wiener bibliography. ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from The Black Collegian, published by iMinorities, Inc. on March 1, 1993. The length of the article is 2087 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

From the supplier: Career guidance is presented for mathematicians and those unfamiliar with the wide variety of professions available after a mathematics degree. Statistics demonstrate the field's high demand up to the year 2000, while expected salaries are summarized. Afro-Americans, not enough of whom are mathematicians or scientists, are advised to realize that competence will not be an issue among peers should they be hired. Instead, interpersonal skills should be further developed. Finally, Afro-American mathematicians are encouraged to contribute to the black community by teaching.

Citation Details
Title: Career opportunities for mathematicians. (Annual Jobs Issue)(Career Reports/Mathematics and Science)
Author: Valerie L. Thomas
Publication: The Black Collegian (Magazine/Journal)
Date: March 1, 1993
Publisher: iMinorities, Inc.
Volume: v23Issue: n4Page: p144(4)

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

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This annual directory provides a handy reference to various organizations in the mathematical sciences community. Listed in the directory are the following: officers of over thirty professional mathematical organizations; addresses of selected government agencies; academic departments in the mathematical sciences; and alphabetic listings of colleges and universities. ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from Science and Its Times, brought to you by Gale®, a part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses.The length of the article is 127 words.The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase.You can view it with any web browser.The histories of science, technology, and mathematics merge with the study of humanities and social science in this interdisciplinary reference work. Essays on people, theories, discoveries, and concepts are combined with overviews, bibliographies of primary documents, and chronological elements to offer students a fascinating way to understand the impact of science on the course of human history and how science affects everyday life. Entries represent people and developments throughout the world, from about 2000 B.C. through the end of the twentieth century. ... Read more