Series and Products in the Development of Mathematics: Volume 1

First of two volumes tracing the development of series and products. Second edition adds extensive material from original works.

This second edition of Sources in the Development of Mathematics, now in two volumes, traces the development of series and products from 1380–2000 through the interconnected concepts and results of unsung and celebrated mathematicians. This first volume is accessible to undergraduates, adding extensive context, detail, and primary source material.This is the first volume of a two-volume work that traces the development of series and products from 1380 to 2000 by presenting and explaining the interconnected concepts and results of hundreds of unsung as well as celebrated mathematicians. Some chapters deal with the work of primarily one mathematician on a pivotal topic, and other chapters chronicle the progress over time of a given topic. This updated second edition of Sources in the Development of Mathematics adds extensive context, detail, and primary source material, with many sections rewritten to more clearly reveal the significance of key developments and arguments. Volume 1, accessible to even advanced undergraduate students, discusses the development of the methods in series and products that do not employ complex analytic methods or sophisticated machinery. Volume 2 treats more recent work, including deBranges' solution of Bieberbach's conjecture, and requires more advanced mathematical knowledge.