A Historian Looks Back

Judith Grabiner has written extensively on the history of mathematics, principally for mathematicians rather than historians. This collection of her work highlights the benefits of studying the development of mathematical ideas and the relationship between culture and mathematics. She also considers the struggles and successes of famous mathematicians with the aim of inspiring students and teachers alike. A large part of this book is the author's The Calculus as Algebra: J.-L. Lagrange, 1736-1813 which focuses on Lagrange's pioneering attempt to reduce the calculus to algebra. The nine other articles are on a broad range of other topics such as some widely held myths about the history of mathematics and the work of heavyweight mathematicians such as Descartes, Newton, Maclaurin and Lagrange. Six of these articles have won awards from the MAA for expository excellence. This collection is an inspiring resource for history of mathematics courses.