The Man Who Saved Geometry: The Multidimensional Mind of Donald Coxeter

An illuminating biography of perhaps the greatest geometer of the twentieth century

Paperback

Price:
$29.95/£25.00
ISBN:
Published (US):
Oct 29, 2024
Published (UK):
Jan 7, 2025
2024
Pages:
416
Size:
5.25 x 8 in.
Illus:
74 b/w illus.
Notify Me

Driven by a profound love of shapes and symmetries, Donald Coxeter (1907–2003) preserved the tradition of classical geometry when it was under attack by influential mathematicians who promoted a more algebraic and austere approach. His essential contributions include the famed Coxeter groups and Coxeter diagrams, tools developed through his deep understanding of mathematical symmetry. The Man Who Saved Geometry tells the story of Coxeter’s life and work, placing him alongside history’s greatest geometers, from Pythagoras and Plato to Archimedes and Euclid—and it reveals how Coxeter’s boundless creativity reflects the adventurous, ever-evolving nature of geometry itself. With an incisive, touching foreword by Douglas R. Hofstadter, The Man Who Saved Geometry is an unforgettable portrait of a visionary mathematician.