Book Description
Read about the dramatic life of an outstanding mathematical genius: Niels Henrik Abel (1802-1829). Arild Stubhaug, who is both a historian and a mathematician, has written the definitive biography of Niels Henrik Abel. The Norwegian original edition was a sensational success, and Arild Stubhaug was awarded the most prestigious Norwegian literary prize (Brageprisen) in the category non-fiction. Everyone with an interest in the history of mathematics and science will enjoy reading this book on one of the most famous mathematicians of the 19th century. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A biography by his countryman.
Abel's short life will leave an indellible mark in all mathematicians ( professional and amateur )'s heart.
This superb biography will remind us again and pay an respect
to this genius. One will be hard to resist sadness about
reading this book, but fact is fact, history cannot be changed.
Let us pay a tribute to this superb genius again by reading
this biography.

Excellent
This is an excellent book about the norwegian mathematical genius Niels Henrik Abel. This book is also very painfull to read, since it is about a man who dies at only 26 years of age, just before he is to reach to glory. It's a tragedy. But none the less what he accomplish in his life is just tremendous. This is a real book. And it will not leave you unaffected. ... Read more

Book Description

This book contains a series of research papers on subjects related to the work of Niels Henrik Abel, written by some of the foremost specialists in their fields.
Some of the authors have been specifically invited to present papers, discussing the influence of Abel in a mathematical-historical context. Others have submitted papers presented at the Abel Bicentennial Conference, Oslo June 3-8, 2002. The idea behind the book has been to produce a text covering a substantial part of the legacy of Abel, as perceived at the beginning of the 21st century.

Product Description
This volume is produced from digital images from the Cornell University Library Historical Mathematics Monographs collection. ... Read more

Product Description
This volume is produced from digital images from the Cornell University Library Historical Mathematics Monographs collection. ... Read more

Book Description

Auszüge aus einer Rezension der englischen Ausgabe:
"Ein mathematisches Genie, das viel zu früh starb und das quasi erst auf dem Totenbett die Stelle angeboten bekam, die seinem Leben eine finanzielle Basis gegeben und ihm eine große Karriere eröffnet hätte... In der Mathematikgeschichte ist eine Biographie, aus der man leicht ein Film-Drehbuch machen könnte, kein Einzelfall (Galois, Ramanujan, ...), im vorliegenden Buch wird das Leben von Abel liebevoll und sehr ausführlich nachgezeichnet. Man kann das Buch als erste Einführung in die von Abel entwickelte Mathematik lesen. (Es gibt in dem Buch aber keine einzige Formel, wirklich schwierig wird es an keiner Stelle.) Es bietet auch die Möglichkeit, viel Interessantes aus der europäischen, insbesondere der norwegischen Geschichte zu Beginn des neunzehnten Jahrhunderts zu erfahren. ..."

Product Description
This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 1880 edition by P. A. Norstedt & söner, Stockholm. ... Read more

Book Description
Niels Henrik Abel (1802-1829) compte parmi les plus grandsmathématiciens de son temps. Au cours d'une vie exceptionnellement brève etfertile, ce jeune Norvégien résout un problème séculaire et ouvre denouvelles voies dans le domaine mathématique. En compagnie d'Abel et de ses amis, le lecteur est invité àparcourir la Norvège et une grande partie de l'Europe du début du XIXesiècle. Il se rend au théâtre, croise Hegel, fréquente des salonslittéraires, attend l'avis de l'Académie des sciences à Paris, rencontreles grands mathématiciens. En cette période troublée, il assiste àl'évolution politique de la Norvège qui s'affranchit de la tutelle danoisepour jeter, dans le cadre de l'union avec la Suède, les fondations de sonindépendance. Abel meurt de tuberculose, criblé de dettes, sans avoir obtenu unposte digne de son talent. L'Académie des sciences lui décerne un grandprix à titre posthume. En 1902, la Norvège lui rend un hommage national.L'année 2002 voit la création du prix Abel décerné tous les ans au plusgrand mathématicien et destiné à pallier l'absence de prix Nobel dans ladiscipline. Écrivain passionné de mathématiques et d'histoire, Arild Stubhaugnous relate le destin singulier de celui qui fut l'un des plus grandsgénies des mathématiques en le replaçant dans le contexte culturel etpolitique de l'époque. ... Read more

Book Description
In 1824 a young Norwegian named Niels Henrik Abel proved conclusively that algebraic equations of the fifth order are not solvable in radicals. In this book Peter Pesic shows what an important event this was in the history of thought. He also presents it as a remarkable human story. Abel was twenty-one when he self-published his proof, and he died five years later, poor and depressed, just before the proof started to receive wide acclaim. Abel's attempts to reach out to the mathematical elite of the day had been spurned, and he was unable to find a position that would allow him to work in peace and marry his fiancée

But Pesic's story begins long before Abel and continues to the present day, for Abel's proof changed how we think about mathematics and its relation to the "real" world. Starting with the Greeks, who invented the idea of mathematical proof, Pesic shows how mathematics found its sources in the real world (the shapes of things, the accounting needs of merchants) and then reached beyond those sources toward something more universal. The Pythagoreans' attempts to deal with irrational numbers foreshadowed the slow emergence of abstract mathematics. Pesic focuses on the contested development of algebra--which even Newton resisted--and the gradual acceptance of the usefulness and perhaps even beauty of abstractions that seem to invoke realities with dimensions outside human experience. Pesic tells this story as a history of ideas, with mathematical details incorporated in boxes. The book also includes a new annotated translation of Abel's original proof. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Henk's review on Abel's proof
The actual proof of Abel is in the appendix at the end of the book and the book outlines a history on the life of the mathematicians that worked on the problem.So the book is in fact a history book instead of a real
mathematics book.Therefore I was a little bit disappointed because there is little explanation on the actual proof.

focuses on the contributions of Abel to the unsolvability of the quintic
Abel's Proof takes an interesting approach to mathematical writing. The author places all mathematical formulas and derivations in boxes that are separate from the flow of the text so you don't have to do the math if all you want is a knowledge of the history of this era in mathematics. The author does a great job of explaining this history, covering the story of the factoring of polynomials in general but focusing on the unsolvability of the quintic. Abel's life of poverty is covered in detail. There is a lot of mathematics, if you are interested, including how to factor a cubic polynomial and Abel's proof of the unsolvability of the quintic. I found the math somewhat hard to follow but worth the effort of doing so. I found Abel's story to be very sad. The book is worth reading just for his life story alone.

a nice little gem
"Abel`s Proof" is a nice little book which tackles with the unsolvability issue in mathematics within the context of Niels Henrik Abel`s proof of the unsolvability of quintic equations with radicals. The text is an enjoyable account of a rather importantsubject in the whole history of mathematics in some 200 pages, and the quality of writing is laudable. The mathematical details and clarifications are given in boxes along the way, and the book in general is blended with numerous mathematical figures and portraits.

A firm high-school background in basic algebra should suffice to grasp the whole material, yet it has a real potential of teaching a noticeable chunk of mathematics to almost anyone along with valuable comments on its subject-matter.

I recommend this book wholeheartedly to anyone who has some genuine interest in going one step beyond the conventional popular science writing. And the price is right of course.

Omar Khayam and Al-Khwarazimi were Persian
Both Omar Khayam and Al-Khwarazimi were undoubtedly Persian and the author did make a mistake referring to them as Arab mathematicians.Both came from the greater Khorasan province, which was a Persian province and populated by a completely Persian speaking population.

For a musician Peter Pesic is a damn good mathematician
Peter Pesic has done a wonderful job in explaining the development of Abel's work.I suspect there are many mathematicians who couldn't do such a good job.He puts all the relevant building blocks together in their historical context.He gives in a veryconcise way the "helicopter" view of the substance of the issues that excited some very good minds. Unfortunately many standard texts on Galois theory fail to really develop the motivation for the theory. I commend this to anyone interested in the subject. ... Read more