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Title: Introduction to Analysis of the Infinite: Book II
ISBN: 0387971327
Author:
Leonard Euler
Publicate Date: 1989-11-13
Publish: 1989-11-13
List Price: $109.00
Average Customer Rating: 4.5
Format: Hardcover
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $87.00
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $91.92
Amazon Merchant Price: $87.00
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| Customer Review: |
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1: Extraordinary and accessible work
This is a seminal text by one of history's greatest mathematicians. Unique to his great mathematical peers, Euler was also an extraordinary teacher and expositor. His enthusiasm and genius pour through the pages of this book, with Euler making his characteristically bold and ingenious symbolic arguments to come up with many of the well known formulas that were probably mentioned in your math class. For example, Euler brilliantly uses basic algebra (plus infinitesimals) to come up with some very deep and beautiful formulas, such as Sine's infinite product, e's continued fraction expansion and much more. In fact, if you have ever wondered how all of Euler's beautiful formulas that you saw in class were actually derived; here is your chance to get it straight from the genius who discovered them!
As with any book by a mathematician of the highest rank, this is wholly different from any modern "textbook" and should NOT be considered as such. The should be used for self study or as a compliment to a calculus course, or perhaps most of all (like it was intended in those days believe it or not), be read for the pure enjoyment of the subject. Its format is much more flowing and intuitive than a modern textbook; Euler presents clearly stated mathematical arguments (numbered in order), which he then uses and cites later on to produce more mathematical arguments. He also seems to subtly encourage the reader to pursue various ideas for themselves, lending a certain adventurous quality that in NEVER encountered in the "modern" crap texts.
Be forewarned though; it is NOT for the symbolically weak. If you lack skills in basic algebra its best to brush up before you read this book. Just because it is a "pre-calculus" text does not at all mean that this is elementary. This IS however a relatively easy read IMO due to Euler's intuitive style. Euler is the by far the most accessible compared to his modern peers; Newton and Gauss.
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2: Title of the Translation
The title of the translation is wrong. Anyone who wrote (or writes) in Latin is well aware that the ending -orum is genitive plural, not singular. Clearly, therefore, Euler did mean his book title to read 'Introduction to the Analysis of Infinities.' In effect, the translator says that he changed this, because it doesn't accord with modern mathematics. That is, the plural term 'infinities' is archaic. All current mathematicians (who have looked into the matter) accept that not all infinities are the same size. The implication of this is that there exists more than one 'infinity' (if we're going to talk about 'infinity').
Mathematics are similar in all languages, so the book is still decent (though not as good as it could be).
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3: Review
John D. Blanton did a good job in translating Euler's work on analysis of the infinite. Although I did not read the original copy the book, I could still receive the charm of Euler from the translation. Euler wrote this book because he realized that many mathematics students were lacking of the knowledge of analysis of the infinite. He, as a great master of mathematics and educator and with all his passion, presented this timeless masterpiece to all of us. I recommend this book to every students who want to excel in mathematics!
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