Stamping through Mathematics

From the reviews: MATHEMATICAL REVIEWS "?n entertaining book that may by enjoyed by mathematicians, scientists, historians, teachers, students, and stamp collectors." "The title of this beautifully produced book should not discourage the reader. It is written for the layman with practically no technical formalism or equations. Each topic has an accompanying page of pertinent postage stamps. ... Many of the pertinent illustrative stamps reproduce paintings or sculptures. The make-up of the volume is an exemplar of the standards encompassed in the books published by Springer-Verlag, probably one of the world's most eminent publishers of scientific publications." (Journal of Fine and Performing Arts Philately, Vol. 50 (1), 2004) "In Stamping through mathematics, Robin J. Wilson utilizes postage stamps from countries around the world as an intriguing means of presenting some major themes and people in the development of mathematics ... . It may serve as a unique introduction for ... students to the rich multicultural influences that have resulted in the historical developments yielding what we now call modern mathematics ... . Stamping through mathematics is an entertaining book that may be enjoyed by mathematicians, scientists, historians, teachers, students, and stamp collectors." (Craig W. Roberts, Mathematical Reviews, Issue 2002 f) "If you are interested in the beauty of mathematics, you must go out and buy Robin Wilson's absolutely stunning book of mathematical stamps ... . It is not just a collection of beautiful images, because it does contain text explaining the stamps. And it is not a textbook, although it is a book one could easily share with students. It is just a fascinating book in which you can lose yourself for hours, one which may inspire you ... ." (Victor Katz, MAA Online, September, 2003) "The book has full-color illustrations of nigh on 400 postage stamps which illustrate a mathematical theme. The format of the main body of the text has a righthand page of stamps on a particular topic, accompanied by a lefthand page giving some mathematical background to the illustrations, and over 50 topics are covered that way. ... the accompanying illustrations would certainly be useful for insertion in an all-too-often dry undergraduate lecture." (John Clark, New Zealand Mathematical Society Newsletter, Issue 85, 2002) "This book is really exceptional: there are only a few books of this sort. ... it will be appreciated by many mathematicians, in particular by those interested in stamp collecting. The book shows nice pictures of 400 stamps without descriptions which are appreciated only by real collectors. ... The book would be a nice present for anybody with interests in mathematics and stamp collecting as well." (European Mathematical Society Newsletter, March, 2002) "This book brings together 55 sets of stamps, each set consisting of around half a dozen examples related by a common theme. ... The accompanying text benefits from Wilson's broad knowledge of the history of mathematics, and is a fascinating read in its own right. ... Stamping through mathematics would be a good purchase for a school or public library. With its stunning illustrations and gentle text, the book will find favour among a wide audience." (Steve Abbott, The Mathematical Gazette, Vol. 86 (507), 2002) "Approximately 400 illustrations are provided, all done in beautiful detail. ... A useful bibliography also provides additional information. The publisher has done a superb job of reproducing the stamps so they look almost real, employing bright colors. The color plates are fantastic! One need not be a mathematician to appreciate this book. ... It will make a wonderful coffee table book or gift and is fun to browse through! It is well worth the price." (Monty J. Strauss, Journal of the Indian Academy of Mathematics, Vol. 24 (1), 2002) "How I wish

Introduction; Preface; 1. Early mathematics; 2. Egypt; 3. Greek geometry; 4. Plato's Academy; 5. Euclid and Archimedes; 6. Greek astromony; 7. Ancient board games; 8. China; 9. Central America; 10. India; 11. Islamic mathematics: Al-Khwarizmi to Alhazen; 12. Islamic astronomy; 13. Islamic mathematics: Avicenna to al-Tusi; 14. Late Islamic mathematics; 15. Europe: the Middle Ages; 16. The growth of learning; 17. Art and mathematics; 18. Chess and Go; 19. The age of exploration; 20. Map making; 21. MAthematical instruments; 22. Globes; 23. Nicolaus Copernicus; 24. Brahe, Kepler, and Galileo; 25. Calendars and clocks; 26. Calculating numbers; 27. France: Descartes and Pascal; 28. Isaac Newton; 29: The Continent: Leibniz to Euler; 30. Reactions to Newton; 31. Halley's comet; 23. Determination of longitude; 33. Mathematics in the New World; 34. Enlightenment France; 35. The French Revolution; 36. Gauss and non-Euclidian geometry; 37. The development of algebra; 38. 19th-century astronomy; 39. Russia; 40. Eastern Europe; 41. China and Japan; 42. Mathematical physics 1; 43. Mathematical physics 2; 44. Albert Einstein; 45. Mathematical physics 3; 46. Statistics; 47. 20th-century mathematics; 48. The birth of computing; 49. The development of computing; 50. International congresses; 51. Mathematics and nature; 52. Mathematics and art; 53. The geometry of space; 54. Mathematical recreations; 55. Mathematical education; 56. Metrication; 57. Mathematical shapes; List of stamps; Index.