Men of Mathematics by E.T. Bell
Men of Mathematics is a well-known book on the history of mathematics written by the mathematician E.T. Bell. After a brief chapter on three ancient mathematicians, the remainder of the book is devoted to the lives of about thirty famous mathematicians who worked in the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The emphasis is on mainstream mathematics following on from the work of Gauss.
To keep the interest of readers, the book typically focuses on unusual or dramatic aspects of its subjects' lives. While Men of Mathematics has inspired many young people, including a young John Forbes Nash Jr., to become mathematicians, it is not known for the accuracy of its historical scholarship.
In particular, the book's most famous chapter, on Galois, is noted for its fanciful and often wholly inaccurate account of the events surrounding Galois's death in a duel at the age of twenty ([1]dead link describes Bell's 'romantic inventions'). The book presents also a somewhat idealised picture of mathematicians, their personalities, research and controversies. (The Mathematical Association of America online site [2] describes it as 'pretty free with the truth'.)
Contents
References
- Bell, E. T. Men of Mathematics. New York : Simon & Schuster, 1937 (o.p.)
- Bell, E. T. Men of Mathematics. New York : Simon & Schuster, 1986 (paperback; ISBN 0-671-62818-6)
- Bell, E. T. Men of Mathematics. New York : Simon & Schuster, 1986 (library binding; ISBN 0-8335-0022-8)
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