VNR Concise Encyclopedia of Mathematics (Second Edition)

By S. Gottwald and W. (Editors) and Gellert

It is commonplace that in our time sc: iem: e and technology cannot be mastered without the tools of mathematics; but the same applies to an ever growing extent to many domains of everyday life, not least owing to the spread of cybernetic methods and arguments. As a consequence, there is a wide demand for a survey of the results of mathematics. for an unconventional approach that would also make it possible to fill gaps in one's knowledge. We do not think that a mere juxtaposition of theorems or a collection of formulae would be suitable for this purpose, because this would over. emphasize the symbolic language of signs and letters rather than the mathematical idea, the only thing that really matters. Our task was to describe mathematical interrelations as briefly and precisely as possible. In view of the overwhelming amount of material it goes without saying that we did not just compile details from the numerous text-books for individual branches: what we were aiming at is to smooth out the access to the specialist literature for as many readers as possible. Since well over 700000 copies of the German edition of this book have been sold, we hope to have achieved our difficult goal. Colours are used extensively to help the reader. Important definitions and groups of formulae are on a yellow background, examples on blue, and theorems on red.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0442205902
• ISBN13: 9780442205904
• Release Date: January 1989
• Publisher: Springer
• Length: 768 Pages
• Weight: 3.16 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.3" x 1.8" x 6.5"

Customer Reviews

A reference that I have used often and will never be without

I purchased my copy of this book in the late seventies and it is the reference work that I have used most often since that time. Nearly all the areas of basic mathematics are covered and I used it when I was teaching mathematics full time in the eighties. I also found it invaluable when I was solving problems that appeared in math journals and now use it extensively in my role as co-editor of Journal of Recreational Mathematics. This book, or a subsequent edition when this copy wears out, will always be within arms length on my reference shelf when I am doing mathematics.

Excellent Text for Learning, Review and Reference of Mathematics

I purchased this book new in 1980. It is one of the best math reference books I have seen and that I own. It's coverage is quite broad and rigorous and it treats each subject with care and often works from first principles and introduces the applications and often the historical context. I used it extensively during college and keep it here at work for reference when I need to get up to speed in a certain area of mathematics. I was a double major in physics and mathematics as an undergraduate and kept this nearby at all times. Of course some texts provide more detail in specific areas, but this is definitely one of the best, if not the best reference review mathematics book available. Very few books or sets of books have the breadth or scope of this book and the technical depth and rigorousness without becoming pedantic or obtuse. I highly recommend this book for anyone who is interested in mathematics or would like a good mathematics reference book that covers most topics that might be of interest. The only issue is that the book was written in 1977 and so does not cover some topics that have been expanded on and become popular since that time. Fractals, computational proofs of theorems, etc. This is the math book I wish I had in high school or middle school, but I didn't get it until college and it wasn't out in print until late in my high school years anyway.

One of the Best Books on Earth

If you can get your grubby hands on this book, DO IT. This book is AMAZING. I really fell in love with it when I checked it out of my middle school library. It was dusty, and no one had checked it out for...TWENTY-FIVE YEARS. I checked it out...and ended up checking it out for the year. Sadly, they did not let me buy it from them. But, to my luck, I found one when I was on ... vacation! Though, it is in poor condition. This book has so much information. It is very compact and dense. It uses about...hmm...three colors, and black. Each color means something different. For example, each thing in a blue background means it is a sample problem or example. The colors make it absolutely fantastic, and readable. This has a pretty good overview of A LOT of mathematics up to about 1980. That is, there is no fractal geometry and stuff. And take the word 'overview' lightly...it can get pretty in-depth. I wish they made these kind of books today, where content and quality is more important than eye-candy and superficial explanation. Get this book if you can.

Amazing book

I have two editions of this text, both bought back in the 1980s, and it is one of the most amazing books I have ever owned. Over the years, time and again this book has delivered when I needed some quick facts and a refresher on material I may have learned elsewhere. The best part of it is that it is full of illustrations, important when one is trying to obtain intuition on a subject. Not much is missed here, at least as of the date of publishing. Facts that might require pages and pages to uncover in a more comprehensive title on a subject, e.g., differential calculus, are all packed within a few pages in this title, making it a good reference. I was suprised to see this title is out of print. Hopefully it makes a comeback. So much information never took up so little shelf space as this book. For those who love mathematics, this is a must buy in my opinion.

Flawless! A clear guide to novice!

This book gives very detailed information about mathematics related matter. One can use this forever without having to refer to any other books. Very sad that this is out-of-print. Absence simply makes the heart grows fonder, I've fallen in love with you, The VNR Concise Encyclopedia.