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Hardcover
ISBN: 0-8027-1499-4
ISBN 13: 978-0-8027-1499-2
Price: $25.00
320 pages
Size: 6-1/8 x 9-1/4
August 2006
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King of Infinite Space
Donald Coxeter, The Man Who Saved Geometry
Siobhan Roberts
Reviews of King of Infinite Space
"Roberts' book really soars in its description of Coxeter's work and his
ability to visualize space, to communicate the poetry of geometry and to
inspire other mathematicians, physicists and artists...Through Coxeter, Roberts reminds
the reader of the visceral and visual excitement that can be found in the
universal alphabet of lines and shapes. Although Aczel's book is called "The
Artist and the Mathematician," it is Coxeter, and not Bourbaki, who emerges
as a true creator of beauty, not just elegance."
—Nathan L. Harshman, Chicago Tribune
"King of Infinite Space can be enjoyed even without a specialized knowledge
of geometry or math. (Ms. Roberts's own exposition is admirably clear and
conscientiously footnoted.) And the book's narrative is heartening. Too
often -- think of A Beautiful Mind or Proof -- mathematicians are
portrayed these days as seriously disturbed or weirdly obsessed or burnt out
at an early age. Here, by contrast, is the true story of an eminent
mathematician, active, alert, acute and ever alive to new ideas over a
period of 80 years."—Robert Osserman, Wall Street Journal
"Roberts takes readers on a
wide-ranging tour of contexts in which Coxeter's beloved symmetries have
made themselves known, from geodesic domes to the error-correcting codes
that make digital recording possible. As always, what is beautiful has ended
up being useful...Invaluable... There is no substitute
for Coxeter, and no substitute for this long-overdue treatment of his life."
—Jordan Ellenberg, Washington Post
 "(Donald) Coxeter
(1907-2002) was widely recognized and honored by his peers as the
greatest living geometer. He was a prolific writer, publishing 12 books
and more than 200 papers while at Cambridge, Princeton, and-for 67
years-the University of Toronto. He influenced prominent researchers,
artists, and architects while pursuing theoretical and applied
mathematical concepts of space, time, and shape. Canadian journalist
Roberts, who won a National Magazine Award for her profile of Coxeter in
Toronto Life, uses diaries, interviews, notes, personal vignettes, and
stories to depict vividly Coxeter's passion for music, art, mathematics,
life in general, and all things of beauty. In addition to successfully
crafting a poignant biography, she accurately documents 20th-century
mathematical research and scholarship. The author is to be congratulated
on the book's simplicity; completeness; excellent use of diagrams,
figures, and photographs; appendixes of mathematical notes; and reams of
endnotes. A significant work for mathematicians at all levels;
recommended for both academic and public libraries."—Ian D.
Gordon, Library Journal
"Siobhan Roberts has achieved something extraordinary in this book, a
paean to a geometer and all geometry. It tells a brave, compelling
story. It comprehends a whole universe — our universe — of
kaleidoscopes and crystals, groups and symmetry, bicycles and
snowflakes, music and movement. It is lucid, beautiful, and exalting."
—James Gleick, author of Chaos and Faster
"King of Infinite Space gives us a lively view of the history of
mathematics while weaving the story of Donald Coxeter, a broad-minded
genius who built an important bridge between two opposite extremes of
mathematical creation—the pictorial world of classical geometry,
and the ideal world of abstract algebra." —Freeman Dyson, author
of Disturbing the Universe
"Roberts accessibly explains the cruxes of Coxeter's discoveries and his
place in mathematics history, while her narrative of Coxeter's personal
life depicts an aloof but amiable character a bit deficient in the
parenting department. With Coxeter appraised by peers as a modern
Euclid, Roberts' biography bears inclusion in the popular mathematics
collection." —Gilbert Taylor, Booklist
"What emerges loud and clear in King of Infinite Space is that
Siobhan Roberts understands Coxeter¹s spirit very deeply. She
understands what drove him, and she knows just how to put into words the
fire that always inhabits a great mathematician¹s soul. I hope that King
of Infinite Space will bring to many people not only a sense for the
beauty of mathematics itself, but also a sense for how the very human
love of hidden patterns and symmetries can result in a hundred years of
exultant exploration." —Douglas Hofstadter, author of
Gödel, Escher, Bach from the Foreword.
"A biography of Donald Coxeter has long been overdue. Now Siobhan
Roberts has provided one, and a marvelous book it is. King of Infinite
Space covers all of Coxeter¹s major achievements, and in words any
reader can understand. Her beautifully written tribute is rich in
details about Coxeter¹s long life, and his colorful interactions with
the world¹s top mathematicians. I found it impossible to stop reading."
—Martin Gardner, author of The Ambidextrous
Universe.
"What a wonderful world Siobhan Roberts evokes through this scientific
portrait of the inimitable geometer, Donald Coxeter. Geometry: that
subject we all learn early and too quickly forget, opens up again to us
and what a universe Coxeter made of it. Pure mathematics, of course,
but also facets of a pineapple, maps of the early universe, shapes of
immunoglobulin, structures of architecture, images within kaleidoscopes.
Like the fine and thoughtful sketches of Jeremy Bernstein and James
Gleick, Roberts succeeds beautifully in crossing mathematics with the
quirky, imaginative, and productive life of one of our greatest modern
mathematical thinkers. —Peter Galison, author of Einstein's
Clocks, Poincare's Maps
"Many mathematicians the world-over are enchanted with the beauty and
elegance of Donald Coxeter¹s work. Although I never studied with
Coxeter, in many ways I consider myself an honorary student of this
great geometer. Why is it that Coxeter is affectionately remembered by
so many mathematicians? Siobhan Roberts makes the answer quite clear in
King of Infinite Space, an elegant biography of an elegant man."
—John Horton Conway, discoverer of Surreal Numbers
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