An Episodic History of Mathematics: Mathematical Culture through Problem Solving

An Episodic History of Mathematics delivers a series of snapshots of the history of mathematics from ancient times to the twentieth century. The intent is not to provide an encyclopaedic history of mathematics, but to give the reader a sense of mathematical culture and history. The book also acquaints the reader with the nature and techniques of mathematics through its exercises. The book introduces the genesis of many mathematical ideas. For example, while Krantz does not get into the nuts and bolts of Andrew Wiles’s solution of Fermat’s Last Theorem, he does describe some of the stream of thought that created the problem and led to its solution. The focus in this text is on doing - getting involved with the mathematics and solving problems. Every chapter ends with a detailed problem set that will provide the student with many avenues for exploration and many new entrees into the subject.