Stillwell, J: Yearning for the Impossible

John Stillwell, originally from Melbourne, Australia, is a Mathematics Professor at the University of San Francisco. He earned his M.Sc. in 1965 from the University of Melbourne, and his Ph.D. from MIT in 1970. His writing covers a wide spectrum of mathematics. He has translated classic texts by Dirichlet, Dedekind, Poincare, and Dehn and has written several originals, including: Mathematics and Its History, The Four Pillars of Geometry, and Elements of Number Theory, among others. In 2005 he was awarded the Chauvenet Prize of the Mathematical Association of America for his expository writing.

Like the White Queen in Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass, mathematicians are called upon to believe in things that, at first glance, defy common sense and appear impossible... As Stillwell puts it, 'Mathematics is a story of close encounters with the impossible because all its great discoveries are close to the impossible.' -Ivars Peterson, Science News , July 2006 Stillwell weaves historical details into his writing seamlessly, helping to give the reader the true feeling that mathematics is more than just a bunch of people playing games with symbols, but rather a rich and rewarding intellectual endeavor important to the human enterprise. -Marcus E. Barnes, MAA Reviews, August 2006 Yearning for the Impossible is as much of a celebration of the greater understanding mathematics has brought to the world as it is a history and discussion of innovative concepts. and is highly recommended for library and personal reading shelves. -Wisconsin Bookwatch, August 2006 Rises nobly to the challenge of describing these topics to a genuine novice...There is much to admire in Stillwell's attempt... he's accomplishing something very important and difficult here in demonstrating that there's some real struggle present in the process of mathematical discovery. -Daniel Biss, Notices, June 2007 Yearning for the Impossible offers a fascinating, historical look at some popular mathematical concepts used in music, art and philosophy... This book is an interesting find and provides a readable approach to some higher-level mathematics. The chapters can be read independently, and the reader can dig deeper into textbooks and history books for additional problems and details. I give a high recommendation for this book! -Lynn Godshall, Convergence Magazine (MAA), June 2007 A wonderful journey through mathematical discoveries... this book is an excellent vehicle for giving mathematics students new research ideas and, most important, for planting the seed in their minds to 'yearn for the