Henri Poincare: A Scientific Biography

Description

Henri Poincar (1854-1912) was not just one of the most inventive, versatile, and productive mathematicians of all time - he was also a leading physicist who almost won a Nobel Prize for physics. This book explores all the fields that Poincar touched, the debates sparked by his investigations, and how his discoveries still contribute to society.

Jeremy Gray is professor of the history of mathematics at the Open University, and an honorary professor at the University of Warwick. His most recent book is "Plato's Ghost: The Modernist Transformation of Mathematics" (Princeton).

"[M]asterly ... Gray encapsulates Poincare's multiple dimensions; his intellectual biography is both a tour de force and a triumph of readability."--George Szpiro, Nature "Gray shows us the full dazzling sweep of what Poincare accomplished, including the work on dynamical systems and chaos that only came into its own in recent years. A tour de force, Gray's masterful treatment will long remain an invaluable resource for all who want to understand Poincare, so embedded within his times and yet so far ahead of them."--Peter Pesic, Science "[A] comprehensive but uncluttered guide to Poincare's extensive oeuvres."--Madeline Muntersbjorn, Times Higher Education "Full of the mathematical, physical and metaphysical ideas of a man who was not only a dispassionate observer of the world around us, but of our way of understanding it."--Mark Ronan, Standpoint Magazine (U.K.) "[A] comprehensive assessment of Poincare's work and its importance, essential for anyone interested in Poincare's scholarship or the history of mathematics."--Laura Tarwater Scharp, Sacramento Book Review "Comprehensive ..."--Science News "A fundamental study of the scientific work of one of the greatest mathematicians and mathematical physicists of the three decades straddling the 19th and 20th centuries... Chapters are organized topically, not chronologically. Each illuminates in depth one or other of Poincare's works but all are set in context both historical and temathic such that each can serve as an introduction into the many subjects to which Poincare made a contribution."--Alexander Bogomolny, CTK Insights "Poincare's work is fully alive in science today. This biography is one of the first thorough introductions to his work, it should get the attention of mathematicians, natural scientists and philosophers."--Ferdinand Verhulst, European Legacy "Gray, a mathematics historian and scholar on the life and work of Henry Poincare, has, with the support of a Leverhulme Research Fellowship, produced this comprehensive and definitive 'scientific biography.' Gray offers abundant rich information on Poincare's ideas and scientific process, the evolution and maturity of his mathematics including missteps, the dexterity of his reasoning, and the influences that shaped his thought."--Choice "I recommend [this] book highly."--Robert E. O'Malley, Jr., SIAM Review "Jeremy Gray's book on Poincare's mathematics, physics, and philosophy is an important contribution to the literature and a huge step towards a full biography of this pioneer of modern science."--Reinhard Siegmund-Schultze, Zentralblatt MATH "Gray's book is a comprehensive scientific biography of Poincare. It embraces the broad scope of Poincare's work, from his philosophical speculations to his popular writing, and gives a thorough overview of his extensive mathematical researches."--Peter Lynch, Irish Mathematical Society Bulletin