Reading the Principia

Niccolò Guicciardini holds degrees in physics and philosophy awarded by the Università degli Studi di Milano. His Ph.D. thesis in the history of mathematics was written under the supervision of Ivor Grattan-Guinness at Middlesex Polytechnic and was published by Cambridge University Press in 1989 as The Development of Newtonian Calculus in Britain, 1700–1800. He is Co-Editor in Chief of Historia Mathematica and is a recipient of the Sarton Medal for 2011–2012, awarded by the University of Ghent, Belgium.

'This is a clearly written and informative work that brings alive and throws new light on a compelling episode … It is an attractive book and accessible to a broad constituency.' June Barrow-Green, BSHM Newsletter

• 1. Purpose of this book; Part I. Newton's Methods: 2. Newton's methods of series and fluxions; 3. The mathematical methods of the Principia; Part II. Three Readers: 4. Newton: between tradition and innovation; 5. Huygens: the Principia and proportion theory; 6. Leibniz: not equivalent in practice; Part III. Two Schools: 7. Britain: in the wake of the Principia; 8. Basel: challenging the Principia; 9. Conclusion: Newtonians, Leibnizians and Eulerians; References.