Another excellent book long out of print but much in demand. This book is pulled together by Ramanujan's primary mentor, G. H. Hardy, who was the first to recognize the amazing nature of Ramanujan's ideas. Another exceptional classic from the Chelsea list.
G. H. Hardy was one of this century's finest mathematical thinkers, renowned among his contemporaries as a 'real mathematician ... the purest of the pure'. He was also, as C. P. Snow recounts in his Foreword, 'unorthodox, eccentric, radical, ready to talk about anything'. This 'apology', written in 1940 as his mathematical powers were declining, offers a brilliant and engaging account of mathematics as very much more than a science; when it was first published, Graham Greene hailed it alongside Henry James's notebooks as 'the best account of what it was like to be a creative artist'. C. P. Snow's Foreword gives sympathetic and witty insights into Hardy's life, with its rich store of anecdotes concerning his collaboration with the brilliant Indian mathematician Ramanujan, his aphorisms and idiosyncrasies, and his passion for cricket. This is a unique account of the fascination of mathematics and of one of its most compelling exponents in modern times.
Review of the original edition: This is an inspiring textbook for students who know the theory of functions of real and complex variables and wish further knowledge of mathematical analysis. There are no problems displayed and labelled “problems,” but one who follows all of the arguments and calculations of the text will find use for his ingenuity and pencil. The book deals with interesting and important problems and topics in many fields of mathematical analysis, to an extent very much greater than that indicated by the titles of the chapters. It is, of course, an indispensable handbook for those interested in divergent series. It assembles a considerable part of the theory of divergent series, which has previously existed only in periodical literature. Hardy has greatly simplified and improved many theories, theorems and proofs. In addition, numerous acknowledgements show that the book incorporates many previously unpublished results and improvements of old results, communicated to Hardy by his colleagues and by others interested in the book. —Mathematical Reviews
The letters that Ramanujan wrote to G. H. Hardy on January 16 and February 27, 1913, are two of the most famous letters in the history of mathematics. These and other letters introduced Ramanujan and his remarkable theorems to the world and stimulated much research, especially in the 1920s and 1930s. This book brings together many letters to, from, and about Ramanujan. The letters came from the National Archives in Delhi, the Archives in the State of Tamil Nadu, and a variety of other sources. Helping to orient the reader is the extensive commentary, both mathematical and cultural, by Berndt and Rankin; in particular, they discuss in detail the history, up to the present day, of each mathematical result in the letters. Containing many letters that have never been published before, this book will appeal to those interested in Ramanujan's mathematics as well as those wanting to learn more about the personal side of his life. Ramanujan: Letters and Commentary was selected for the CHOICE list of Outstanding Academic Books for 1996.
This classic of the mathematical literature forms a comprehensive study of the inequalities used throughout mathematics. First published in 1934, it presents clearly and lucidly both the statement and proof of all the standard inequalities of analysis. The authors were well-known for their powers of exposition and made this subject accessible to a wide audience of mathematicians.
Classic graduate-level text discusses the Fourier series in Hilbert space, examines further properties of trigonometrical Fourier series, and concludes with a detailed look at the applications of previously outlined theorems. 1956 edition.