The Poincare Conjecture: In Search of the Shape of the Universe - Softcover

"A layman's guide to this mathematical odyssey is long overdue, and this one will appeal to math whizzes and interested novices alike."--"Discover "magazine

"O'Shea shows that, just like chasing 'sensual passions, ' the single-minded, relentless pursuit of proof can be a creative process."--"Chicago Tribune

""O'Shea tells the whole story in this book, neatly interweaving his main theme with the history of ideas about our planet and universe. There is good coverage of all the main personalities involved, each one set in the social and academic context of his time."--"New York Sun"

Praise for "The Poincare Conjecture":

"A layman's guide to this mathematical odyssey is long overdue, and this one will appeal to math whizzes and interested novices alike."--"Discover "magazine

"O'Shea shows that, just like chasing 'sensual passions, ' the single-minded, relentless pursuit of proof can be a creative process."--"Chicago Tribune

""O'Shea tells the whole story in this book, neatly interweaving his main theme with the history of ideas about our planet and universe. There is good coverage of all the main personalities involved, each one set in the social and academic context of his time."--"New York Sun" "Donal O'Shea has written a truly marvelous book. Not only does he explain the long-unsolved, beautiful Poincare conjecture, he also makes clear how the Russian mathematician Grigory Perelman finally solved it. Around this drama O'Shea weaves a tapestry of elementary topology and astonishing concepts, such as the Ricci flow, that have contributed to Perelman's brilliant achievement. One can't read "The Poincare Conjecture" without an overwhelming awe at the infinite depths and richness of a mathematical realm not made by us."--Martin Gardner, author of "The Annotated Alice" and "Aha! Insight"
"The history of the Poincare conjecture is the story of one of the most important areas of modern mathematics. Donal O'Shea tells that story in a delightful and informative way--the concepts, the issues, and the people who made everything happen. I recommend it highly."--Keith Devlin, Stanford University, author of "The Millennium Problems"
"In "The Poincare Conjecture," Mr. O'Shea tells the fascinating story of this mathematical mystery and its solution bythe eccentric Mr. Perelman . . . Mr. O'Shea does a good job of explaining the mathematics involved in solving the conjecture . . . [He] avoids cliche (we're spared the usual reference to coffee cups turning into doughnuts as an explanation of how surfaces might stretch without closing holes), and he tries to keep things lively."--Amir D. Aczel, "The Wall Street Journal"

Praise for "The Poincare Conjecture":

"O'Shea inspires readers to note the beauty, application, and humanity involved with this mathematical journey."--"Library Journal"

O'Shea describes mind-bending structures in topology as clearly as most of us can "describe a cube..."--"Publishers Weekly""Accessible.... valiant nonnumerical clarity..."--"Booklist" "Fascinating....[O'Shea] does a good job of explaining the mathematics involved in solving the conjecture..."--"Wall St Journal"

"A layman's guide to this mathematical odyssey is long overdue, and this one will appeal to math whizzes and interested novices alike."--"Discover "magazine

"O'Shea shows that, just like chasing 'sensual passions, ' the single-minded, relentless pursuit of proof can be a creative process."--"Chicago Tribune

""O'Shea tells the whole story in this book, neatly interweaving his main theme with the history of ideas about our planet and universe. There is good coverage of all the main personalities involved, each one set in the social and academic context of his time."--"New York Sun" "Donal O'Shea has written a truly marvelous book. Not only does he explain the long-unsolved, beautiful Poincare conjecture, he also makes clear how the Russian mathematician Grigory Perelman finally solved it. Around this drama O'Shea weaves a tapestry of elementary topology and astonishing concepts, such as the Ricci flow, that have contributed to Perelman's brilliant achievement. One can't read "The Poincare Conjecture" without an overwhelming awe at the infinite depths and richness of a mathematical realm not made by us."--Martin Gardner, author of "The Annotated Alice" and "Aha! Insight"

"The history of the Poincareconjecture is the story of one of the most important areas of modern mathematics. Donal O'Shea tells that story in a delightful and informative way--the concepts, the issues, and the people who made everything happen. I recommend it highly."--Keith Devlin, Stanford University, author of "The Millennium Problems""In "The Poincare Conjecture," Mr. O'Shea tells the fascinating story of this mathematical mystery and its solution by the eccentric Mr. Perelman . . . Mr. O'Shea does a good job of explaining the mathematics involved in solving the conjecture . . . [He] avoids cliche (we're spared the usual reference to coffee cups turning into doughnuts as an explanation of how surfaces might stretch without closing holes), and he tries to keep things lively."--Amir D. Aczel, "The Wall Street Journal"

Praise for "The Poincaré Conjecture":

“O'Shea inspires readers to note the beauty, application, and humanity involved with this mathematical journey.”—"Library Journal"

O'Shea describes mind-bending structures in topology as clearly as most of us can “describe a cube...”—"Publishers Weekly"“Accessible.... valiant nonnumerical clarity...”—"Booklist" "Fascinating....[O'Shea] does a good job of explaining the mathematics involved in solving the conjecture..."—"Wall St Journal"

“A layman’s guide to this mathematical odyssey is long overdue, and this one will appeal to math whizzes and interested novices alike.”—"Discover "magazine

“O’Shea shows that, just like chasing ‘sensual passions,’ the single-minded, relentless pursuit of proof can be a creative process.”—"Chicago Tribune

"“O’Shea tells the whole story in this b

Praise for "The Poincare Conjecture"

"O'Shea inspires readers to note the beauty, application, and humanity involved with this mathematical journey."--"Library Journal"

O'Shea describes mind-bending structures in topology as clearly as most of us can "describe a cube..."--"Publishers Weekly""Accessible.... valiant nonnumerical clarity..."--"Booklist" "Fascinating....[O'Shea] does a good job of explaining the mathematics involved in solving the conjecture..."--"Wall St Journal"

"A layman's guide to this mathematical odyssey is long overdue, and this one will appeal to math whizzes and interested novices alike."--"Discover "magazine

"O'Shea shows that, just like chasing 'sensual passions, ' the single-minded, relentless pursuit of proof can be a creative process."--"Chicago Tribune

""O'Shea tells the whole story in this book, neatly interweaving his main theme with the history of ideas about our planet and universe. There is good coverage of all the main personalities involved, each one set in the social and academic context of his time."--"New York Sun" "Donal O'Shea has written a truly marvelous book. Not only does he explain the long-unsolved, beautiful Poincare conjecture, he also makes clear how the Russian mathematician Grigory Perelman finally solved it. Around this drama O'Shea weaves a tapestry of elementary topology and astonishing concepts, such as the Ricci flow, that have contributed to Perelman's brilliant achievement. One can't read "The Poincare Conjecture" without an overwhelming awe at the infinite depths and richness of a mathematical realm not made by us."--Martin Gardner, author of "The Annotated Alice" and "Aha! Insight"

"The history of the Poincare conjecture is the story of one of the most important areas of modern mathematics. Donal O'Shea tells that story in a delightful and informative way--the concepts, the issues, and the people who made everything happen. I recommend it highly."--Keith Devlin, Stanford University, author of "The Millennium Problems""In "The Poincare Conjecture," Mr. O'Shea tells the fascinating story of this mathematical mystery and its solution by the eccentric Mr. Perelman . . . Mr. O'Shea does a good job of explaining the mathematics involved in solving the conjecture . . . [He] avoids cliche (we're spared the usual reference to coffee cups turning into doughnuts as an explanation of how surfaces might stretch without closing holes), and he tries to keep things lively."--Amir D. Aczel, "The Wall Street Journal"

"O'Shea inspires readers to note the beauty, application, and humanity involved with this mathematical journey."--"Library Journal"

O'Shea describes mind-bending structures in topology as clearly as most of us can "describe a cube..."--"Publishers Weekly""Accessible.... valiant nonnumerical clarity..."--"Booklist" "Fascinating....[O'Shea] does a good job of explaining the mathematics involved in solving the conjecture..."--"Wall St Journal"

"A layman's guide to this mathematical odyssey is long overdue, and this one will appeal to math whizzes and interested novices alike."--"Discover "magazine

"O'Shea shows that, just like chasing 'sensual passions, ' the single-minded, relentless pursuit of proof can be a creative process."--"Chicago Tribune

""O'Shea tells the whole story in this book, neatly interweaving his main theme with the history of ideas about our planet and universe. There is good coverage of all the main personalities involved, each one set in the social and academic context of his time."--"New York Sun" "Donal O'Shea has written a truly marvelous book. Not only does he explain the long-unsolved, beautiful Poincare conjecture, he also makes clear how the Russian mathematician Grigory Perelman finally solved it. Around this drama O'Shea weaves a tapestry of elementary topology and astonishing concepts, such as the Ricci flow, that have contributed to Perelman's brilliant achievement. One can't read "The Poincare Conjecture" without an overwhelming awe at the infinite depths and richness of a mathematical realm not made by us."--Martin Gardner, author of "The Annotated Alice" and "Aha! Insight"

"The history of the Poincare conjecture is the story of one of the most important areas of modern mathematics. Donal O'Shea tells that story in a delightful and informative way--the concepts, the issues, and the people who made everything happen. I recommend it highly."--Keith Devlin, Stanford University, author of "The Millennium Problems""In "The Poincare Conjecture," Mr. O'Shea tells the fascinating story of this mathematical mystery and its solution by the eccentric Mr. Perelman . . . Mr. O'Shea does a good job of explaining the mathematics involved in solving the conjecture . . . [He] avoids cliche (we're spared the usual reference to coffee cups turning into doughnuts as an explanation of how surfaces might stretch without closing holes), and he tries to keep things lively."--Amir D. Aczel, "The Wall Street Journal"

O'Shea inspires readers to note the beauty, application, and humanity involved with this mathematical journey. "Library Journal"

O'Shea describes mind-bending structures in topology as clearly as most of us can "describe a cube "Publishers Weekly"

Accessible . valiant nonnumerical clarity "Booklist"

Fascinating .[O'Shea] does a good job of explaining the mathematics involved in solving the conjecture "Wall St Journal"

A layman's guide to this mathematical odyssey is long overdue, and this one will appeal to math whizzes and interested novices alike. "Discover magazine"

O'Shea shows that, just like chasing sensual passions, ' the single-minded, relentless pursuit of proof can be a creative process. "Chicago Tribune"

O'Shea tells the whole story in this book, neatly interweaving his main theme with the history of ideas about our planet and universe. There is good coverage of all the main personalities involved, each one set in the social and academic context of his time. "New York Sun"

Donal O'Shea has written a truly marvelous book. Not only does he explain the long-unsolved, beautiful Poincare conjecture, he also makes clear how the Russian mathematician Grigory Perelman finally solved it. Around this drama O'Shea weaves a tapestry of elementary topology and astonishing concepts, such as the Ricci flow, that have contributed to Perelman's brilliant achievement. One can't read "The Poincare Conjecture" without an overwhelming awe at the infinite depths and richness of a mathematical realm not made by us. "Martin Gardner, author of The Annotated Alice and Aha! Insight"

In "The Poincare Conjecture," Mr. O'Shea tells the fascinating story of this mathematical mystery and its solution by the eccentric Mr. Perelman . . . Mr. O'Shea does a good job of explaining the mathematics involved in solving the conjecture . . . [He] avoids cliche (we're spared the usual reference to coffee cups turning into doughnuts as an explanation of how surfaces might stretch without closing holes), and he tries to keep things lively. "Amir D. Aczel, The Wall Street Journal"

The history of the Poincare conjecture is the story of one of the most important areas of modern mathematics. Donal O'Shea tells that story in a delightful and informative way--the concepts, the issues, and the people who made everything happen. I recommend it highly. "Keith Devlin, Stanford University, author of The Millennium Problems""

O'Shea inspires readers to note the beauty, application, and humanity involved with this mathematical journey. Library Journal

O'Shea describes mind-bending structures in topology as clearly as most of us can "describe a cube Publishers Weekly

Accessible . valiant nonnumerical clarity Booklist

Fascinating .[O'Shea] does a good job of explaining the mathematics involved in solving the conjecture Wall St Journal

A layman's guide to this mathematical odyssey is long overdue, and this one will appeal to math whizzes and interested novices alike. Discover magazine

O'Shea shows that, just like chasing sensual passions, ' the single-minded, relentless pursuit of proof can be a creative process. Chicago Tribune

O'Shea tells the whole story in this book, neatly interweaving his main theme with the history of ideas about our planet and universe. There is good coverage of all the main personalities involved, each one set in the social and academic context of his time. New York Sun

Donal O'Shea has written a truly marvelous book. Not only does he explain the long-unsolved, beautiful Poincare conjecture, he also makes clear how the Russian mathematician Grigory Perelman finally solved it. Around this drama O'Shea weaves a tapestry of elementary topology and astonishing concepts, such as the Ricci flow, that have contributed to Perelman's brilliant achievement. One can't read The Poincare Conjecture without an overwhelming awe at the infinite depths and richness of a mathematical realm not made by us. Martin Gardner, author of The Annotated Alice and Aha! Insight

In The Poincare Conjecture, Mr. O'Shea tells the fascinat...

"O'Shea tells the fascinating story of this mathematical mystery and its solution by the eccentric Mr. Perelman."-Wall Street Journal
In 1904, Henri Poincaré, a giant among mathematicians who transformed the fledging area of topology into a powerful field essential to all mathematics and physics, posed the Poincaré conjecture, a tantalizing puzzle that speaks to the possible shape of the universe. For more than a century, the conjecture resisted attempts to prove or disprove it. As Donal O'Shea reveals in his elegant narrative, Poincaré's conjecture opens a door to the history of geometry, from the Pythagoreans of ancient Greece to the celebrated geniuses of the nineteenth-century German academy and, ultimately, to a fascinating array of personalities-Poincaré and Bernhard Riemann, William Thurston and Richard Hamilton, and the eccentric genius who appears to have solved it, Grigory Perelman. The solution seems certain to open up new corners of the mathematical universe.