Einstein's Italian Mathematicians

Judith R. Goodstein, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA.

A wonderfully written chronicle of the lives of two great mathematicians and how their work shaped Einstein's masterpiece as well as ushering in new fields of mathematics. The book is also an intriguing and insightful portrait of Italy during the period from Italian independence in 1870 until the onset of World War II."— Gino Segre, Physics Department, University of Pennsylvania"Galileo said that mathematics is the language of nature. Einstein might have found himself mute when it came to describing gravity if it weren't for the mathematics of covariant derivatives developed by Galileo's countrymen Gregorio Ricci-Curbastro and Tullio Levi-Civita. Judy Goodstein tells their stories and their connection to Einstein with clarity and grace in a most readable book."— Barry Simon, California Institute of Technology"The theory of general relativity would never have seen the light without the absolute differential calculus invented by the Italian mathematicians Gregorio Ricci Curbastro and Tullio Levi-Civita. This wonderful book carefully examines the academic, cultural, political, and historical framework in Italy of that time, and explores the deep relation — always fed with sincere respect, admiration, and affection — between these two great mathematicians at the turn of the twentieth century."— Tullio Ceccherini-Silberstein, Universita del Sannio, Benevento, Italy

• The Ricci of LugoThe making of a mathematicianMunichPaduaMath and marriageA promotion that wasn'tThe absolute differential calculusThe alter egoIntermezzoThe indispensable mathematical tool"Write to me next time in Italian"Parallel displacementsFrom Ricci's absolute differential calculus to Einstein's theorem for general relativityT. Levi-Civita, "Gregorio Ricci-Curbastro"Obituary of Tullio Levi-CivitaSelected referencesNotesIndex