History of Mathematics
Volume: 40;
2014;
231 pp;
Hardcover
MSC: Primary 01;
Print ISBN: 978-1-4704-1076-6
Product Code: HMATH/40
List Price: $39.00
AMS Member Price: $31.20
MAA Member Price: $35.10
Electronic ISBN: 978-1-4704-1527-3
Product Code: HMATH/40.E
List Price: $39.00
AMS Member Price: $31.20
MAA Member Price: $35.10
You may also like
Pearls from a Lost City: The Lvov School of Mathematics
Share this pageRoman Duda
Translated by Daniel Davies
The fame of the Polish school at Lvov rests
with the diverse and fundamental contributions of Polish
mathematicians working there during the interwar years. In
particular, despite material hardship and without a notable
mathematical tradition, the school made major contributions to what is
now called functional analysis. The results and names of Banach, Kac,
Kuratowski, Mazur, Nikodym, Orlicz, Schauder, Sierpiński, Steinhaus,
and Ulam, among others, now appear in all the standard textbooks.
The vibrant joie de vivre and singular ambience of Lvov's once
scintillating social scene are evocatively recaptured in personal
recollections. The heyday of the famous Scottish
Café—unquestionably the most mathematically productive
cafeteria of all time—and its precious Scottish
Book of highly influential problems are described in detail,
revealing the special synergy of scholarship and camaraderie that
permanently elevated Polish mathematics from utter obscurity to global
prominence.
This chronicle of the Lvov school—its legacy and the tumultuous
historical events which defined its lifespan—will appeal equally to
mathematicians, historians, or general readers seeking a cultural and
institutional overview of key aspects of twentieth-century Polish
mathematics not described anywhere else in the extant English-language
literature.
Readership
Undergraduate, graduate, and research mathematicians interested in the history of mathematics and the Polish history of sciences.
Reviews & Endorsements
Many journal articles have been devoted to various aspects of mathematics in Lvov or to biographies of Lvov mathematicians, but Duda's book is the first comprehensive exposition...In summary, I conclude that Duda's book is a must for everyone interested in the history of functional analysis or in the history of mathematics in Poland.
-- Lech Maligranda, Mathematical Intelligencer
This eagerly awaited translation of the book Pearls describes a world-class Polish school of mathematics at Lvov (now the Ukrainian Lviv) that thrived during the interwar period and has left an enduring legacy that remains part of the folklore today. Published in English translation after a somewhat protracted period of negotiation, this important work fills a niche in the history of science and should become a standard source of mathematics in Poland, especially the genesis of functional analysis during its Golden Age, 1918-1939. Moreover, the translator, Oxford's Daniel Davies, explains material that is unlikely to be familiar to readers outside Poland.
-- Isis, A Journal of the History of Science Society
Many journal articles have been devoted to various aspects of mathematics in Lwów or to biographies of Lwów mathematicians, but Duda's book is the first comprehensive exposition. It is a must-read for everyone interested in the history of functional analysis or of mathematics in Poland, where the original Polish edition from 2007 ... has been highly successful. There is good reason to assume that the English version will be likewise successful.
-- Dirk Werner, ZMATH
This book gives the history of Lvov as a mathematical center, from pre-WWI to Soviet and Ukrainian times, looking especially at the interwar golden age and the special favorable environment for mathematical scholarship. The author also describes the ways in which the Soviets and Germans destroyed this rich environment. The book includes a list, with biographical sketches, of mathematicians associated with Lvov, and a Lvov biography. It was a special time and place for mathematics, disrupted by war and politics and oppression and murder, and one wonders what more could have been achieved in a peaceful environment.
-- CHOICE Reviews
The book under review is well and carefully written. The translation from Polish into English is polished and lively. ... I highly recommend the book for all university libraries, and I recommend it to those interested in the history of mathematics. The general mathematical reader will find it an entertaining and informative story about mathematicians and a truly extraordinary mathematical community.
-- Henry Heatherly, MAA Reviews
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Pearls from a Lost City: The Lvov School of Mathematics
- Cover Cover11
- Title page iii4
- Contents v6
- Preface ix10
- Background 114
- The University and the Polytechnic in Lvov 316
- Polish mathematics at the turn of the twentieth century 720
- Sierpiński’s stay at the University of Lvov (1908–1914) 1124
- The University in Warsaw and Janiszewski’s program (1915–1920) 1730
- World mathematics (active fields in Poland) around 1920 2134
- The golden age: Individuals and community 2538
- The mathematical community in Lvov after World War I 2740
- Mathematical studies and students 3750
- Journals, monographs, and congresses 4356
- The popularization of mathematics 4962
- Social life (the Scottish Café, the Scottish Book) 5568
- The Polish Mathematical Society 6376
- Collaboration with other centers 6780
- In the eyes of others 6982
- The golden age: Achievements 8396
- Stefan Banach’s doctoral thesis and priority claims 8598
- Probability theory 91104
- Measure theory 97110
- Game theory: A revelation without follow-up 103116
- Operator theory in the 1920s 105118
- Methodological audacity 109122
- Banach’s monograph: Polishing the pearls 113126
- Operator theory in the 1930s: The dazzle of pearls 119132
- New perspectives for which time did not allow 123136
- On the periphery 131144
- Oblivion 133146
- Ukrainization the Soviet way (1939–1941) 135148
- The German occupation (1941–1944) 141154
- The expulsion of Poles (1945–1946) 149162
- Historical significance 153166
- Chronological overview 155168
- Chronology of events as perceived elsewhere 165178
- Influence on mathematics of the Lvov school 169182
- A tentative summary 173186
- Mathematics in Lvov after 1945 175188
- List of Lvov mathematicians 177190
- Mathematicians associated with Lvov 179192
- Bibliographies 193206
- Bibliography A 195208
- Bibliography B 205218
- Bibliography C 219232
- List of illustrations 225238
- Index of names 227240
- Back Cover Back Cover1247