Revealing the richness and influence of Oxford's mathematical tradition and the fascinating characters that have helped to shape it for over 800 years, this second edition brings the story right up to the opening of the new Oxford Mathematical Institute in 2013, with a foreword from Marcus du Sautoy and recent developments from Peter M. Neumann.
From the back of the book: "This book presents mathematics with a human face, celebrating the achievements of the great mathematicians in their historical context. Here you will meet time-measurers (the Mayans, Huygens), astronomers (Ptolemy, Halley), logicians (Aristotle, Russell), calculators (Napier, Babbage), geometers (Archimedes, Bolyai), and arithmeticians (Pythagoras, al-Khwarizmi), as well as such well-known figures as Geoffrey Chaucer, Christopher Wren, Napoleon, Florence Nightingale, and many more."
Most people have heard of the Mobius band. But the work and influence of August Mobius are more far-reaching than a topological toy. For some fifty years of the nineteenth century, August Mobius taught astronomy and researched in mathematics at Leipzig University. During those years, which saw the German nation move towards unification, German mathematics developed into the most powerful and influential in the world and German astronomers became the world leaders. How did this come about? In this fascinating, richly illustrated, and accessible book, leading scholars assess the contribution of Mobius and others of his time to the practice of mathematics and astronomy today. Mobius and his band has been written for all those interested in the historical development of ideas and their legacy, and thus both the general reader and specialists in particular fields will find much of interest.