Linda Keen - Böcker

Written for graduate students, this book presents topics in 2-dimensional hyperbolic geometry. The authors begin with rigid motions in the plane which are used as motivation for a full development of hyperbolic geometry in the unit disk. The approach is to define metrics from an infinitesimal point of view; first the density is defined and then the metric via integration. The study of hyperbolic geometry in arbitrary domains requires the concepts of surfaces and covering spaces as well as uniformization and Fuchsian groups. These ideas are developed in the context of what is used later. The authors then provide a detailed discussion of hyperbolic geometry for arbitrary plane domains. New material on hyperbolic and hyperbolic-like metrics is presented. These are generalizations of the Kobayashi and Caratheodory metrics for plane domains. The book concludes with applications to holomorphic dynamics including new results and accessible open problems.

Written for graduate students, this book presents topics in 2-dimensional hyperbolic geometry. The authors begin with rigid motions in the plane which are used as motivation for a full development of hyperbolic geometry in the unit disk. The approach is to define metrics from an infinitesimal point of view; first the density is defined and then the metric via integration. The study of hyperbolic geometry in arbitrary domains requires the concepts of surfaces and covering spaces as well as uniformization and Fuchsian groups. These ideas are developed in the context of what is used later. The authors then provide a detailed discussion of hyperbolic geometry for arbitrary plane domains. New material on hyperbolic and hyperbolic-like metrics is presented. These are generalizations of the Kobayashi and Caratheodory metrics for plane domains. The book concludes with applications to holomorphic dynamics including new results and accessible open problems.

The book is part biography and part collection of mathematical essays that gives the reader a perspective on the evolution of an interesting mathematical life. It is all about Lipman Bers, a giant in the mathematical world who lived in turbulent and exciting times. It captures the essence of his mathematics, a development and transition from applied mathematics to complex analysis - quasiconformal mappings and moduli of Riemann surfaces - and the essence of his personality, a progression from a young revolutionary refugee to an elder statesman in the world of mathematics and a fighter for global human rights and the end of political torture.The book contains autobiographical material and short reprints of his work. The main content is in the exposition of his research contributions, sometimes with novel points of view, by students, grand-students, and colleagues. The research described was fundamental to the growth of a central part of 20th century mathematics that, now in the 21st century, is in a healthy state with much current interest and activity. The addition of personal recollections, professional tributes, and photographs yields a picture of a man, his personal and professional family, and his time.