This book explores the history of mathematics from the perspective of the creative tension between common sense and the "impossible" as the author follows the discovery or invention of new concepts that have marked mathematical progress: irrational and imaginary numbers, the fourth dimension, curved space, infinity, and others. The authors puts these creations in to a broader context involving related "impossibilities" from art, literature, philosophy, and physics. By embedding mathematics into a broader cultural context and through his clever and enthusiastic explication of mathematical ideas the author broadens the horizon of students beyond the narrow confines of rote memorization and engages those who are curious about the place of mathematics in our intellectual landscape.

This book is unique in that it looks at geometry from 4 different viewpoints - Euclid-style axioms, linear algebra, projective geometry, and groups and their invariantsApproach makes the subject accessible to readers of all mathematical tastes, from the visual to the algebraicAbundantly supplemented with figures and exercises

This textbook demonstrates that geometry can be developed in four fundamentally different ways, and that all should be used if the subject is to be shown in all its splendor. The Four Pillars of Geometry contains more than 100 figures, and a large selection of exercises in each chapter.From the reviews:"Gives a brief introduction to many sides of geometry and includes many beautiful results, each explained from a perspective that makes it easy to understand." --SIAM Review

Solutions of equations in integers is the central problem of number theory and is the focus of this book. The amount of material is suitable for a one-semester course. The author has tried to avoid the ad hoc proofs in favor of unifying ideas that work in many situations. There are exercises at the end of almost every section, so that each new idea or proof receives immediate reinforcement.

A beautiful and relatively elementary account of a part of mathematics where three main fields - algebra, analysis and geometry - meet. The book provides a broad view of these subjects at the level of calculus, without being a calculus book. Its roots are in arithmetic and geometry, the two opposite poles of mathematics, and the source of historic conceptual conflict. The resolution of this conflict, and its role in the development of mathematics, is one of the main stories in the book. Stillwell has chosen an array of exciting and worthwhile topics and elegantly combines mathematical history with mathematics. He covers the main ideas of Euclid, but with 2000 years of extra insights attached. Presupposing only high school algebra, it can be read by any well prepared student entering university. Moreover, this book will be popular with graduate students and researchers in mathematics due to its attractive and unusual treatment of fundamental topics. A set of well-written exercises at the end of each section allows new ideas to be instantly tested and reinforced.

This book is a concise, self-contained introduction to abstract algebra that stresses its unifying role in geometry and number theory. Classical results in these fields, such as the straightedge-and-compass constructions and their relation to Fermat primes, are used to motivate and illustrate algebraic techniques. Classical algebra itself is used to motivate the problem of solvability by radicals and its solution via Galois theory.
This historical approach has at least two advantages: On the one hand it shows that abstract concepts have concrete roots, and on the other it demonstrates the power of new concepts to solve old problems.
Algebra has a pedigree stretching back at least as far as Euclid, but today its connections with other parts of mathematics are often neglected or forgotten. By developing algebra out of classical number theory and geometry and reviving these connections, the author has made this book useful to beginners and experts alike. The lively style and clear exposition make it a pleasure to read and to learn from.