Good “casual” advanced math books












17












$begingroup$


I understand this is likely to be closed as off-topic, but I thought I would give it a try regardless.



I'm curious if there are any good math books out there that take a "casual approach" to higher level topics. I'm very interested in advanced math, but have lost the time as of late to study textbooks rigorously, and I find them too dense to parse casually.



By "casual", I mean something that goes over maybe the history of a certain field and its implications in math and society, going over how it grew and what important contributions occurred at different points. Perhaps even going over the abstract meaning of famous results in the field, or high level overviews of proofs and their innovations. Conversations between mathematicians at the time, stories about how proofs came to be, etc.



I suppose the best place to start would be math history books, but I was curious what else there may be. Are there any good books out there like this? What are your recommendations?










share|cite|improve this question











$endgroup$








  • 3




    $begingroup$
    Dieudonne has a few maths history books on algebraic geometry and algebraic geometry, which explain the context in which these fields developed. The Grothendieck-Serre correspondence contains an exchange of letters of who might be the most influential postwar mathematicians. Villani has his book "the birth of a theorem" or something like that.
    $endgroup$
    – Mere Scribe
    8 hours ago






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    This is not history of mathematics, and I don't know if the material can be considered "advanced" in any sense but looks fun: bookstore.ams.org/mbk-46
    $endgroup$
    – Qfwfq
    8 hours ago






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    I really liked Love & Math by Edward Frenkel.
    $endgroup$
    – Fred Rohrer
    8 hours ago






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    I really enjoyed History of Topology by I.M. James. It's a very casual read, but walks you through a lot of "advanced" mathematics.
    $endgroup$
    – yousuf soliman
    6 hours ago






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    Not a book, but the ICM surveys (impa.br/icm2018) are often great for getting a very basic idea of what's going on in various fields outside of one's own.
    $endgroup$
    – Sam Hopkins
    2 hours ago
















17












$begingroup$


I understand this is likely to be closed as off-topic, but I thought I would give it a try regardless.



I'm curious if there are any good math books out there that take a "casual approach" to higher level topics. I'm very interested in advanced math, but have lost the time as of late to study textbooks rigorously, and I find them too dense to parse casually.



By "casual", I mean something that goes over maybe the history of a certain field and its implications in math and society, going over how it grew and what important contributions occurred at different points. Perhaps even going over the abstract meaning of famous results in the field, or high level overviews of proofs and their innovations. Conversations between mathematicians at the time, stories about how proofs came to be, etc.



I suppose the best place to start would be math history books, but I was curious what else there may be. Are there any good books out there like this? What are your recommendations?










share|cite|improve this question











$endgroup$








  • 3




    $begingroup$
    Dieudonne has a few maths history books on algebraic geometry and algebraic geometry, which explain the context in which these fields developed. The Grothendieck-Serre correspondence contains an exchange of letters of who might be the most influential postwar mathematicians. Villani has his book "the birth of a theorem" or something like that.
    $endgroup$
    – Mere Scribe
    8 hours ago






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    This is not history of mathematics, and I don't know if the material can be considered "advanced" in any sense but looks fun: bookstore.ams.org/mbk-46
    $endgroup$
    – Qfwfq
    8 hours ago






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    I really liked Love & Math by Edward Frenkel.
    $endgroup$
    – Fred Rohrer
    8 hours ago






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    I really enjoyed History of Topology by I.M. James. It's a very casual read, but walks you through a lot of "advanced" mathematics.
    $endgroup$
    – yousuf soliman
    6 hours ago






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    Not a book, but the ICM surveys (impa.br/icm2018) are often great for getting a very basic idea of what's going on in various fields outside of one's own.
    $endgroup$
    – Sam Hopkins
    2 hours ago














17












17








17


13



$begingroup$


I understand this is likely to be closed as off-topic, but I thought I would give it a try regardless.



I'm curious if there are any good math books out there that take a "casual approach" to higher level topics. I'm very interested in advanced math, but have lost the time as of late to study textbooks rigorously, and I find them too dense to parse casually.



By "casual", I mean something that goes over maybe the history of a certain field and its implications in math and society, going over how it grew and what important contributions occurred at different points. Perhaps even going over the abstract meaning of famous results in the field, or high level overviews of proofs and their innovations. Conversations between mathematicians at the time, stories about how proofs came to be, etc.



I suppose the best place to start would be math history books, but I was curious what else there may be. Are there any good books out there like this? What are your recommendations?










share|cite|improve this question











$endgroup$




I understand this is likely to be closed as off-topic, but I thought I would give it a try regardless.



I'm curious if there are any good math books out there that take a "casual approach" to higher level topics. I'm very interested in advanced math, but have lost the time as of late to study textbooks rigorously, and I find them too dense to parse casually.



By "casual", I mean something that goes over maybe the history of a certain field and its implications in math and society, going over how it grew and what important contributions occurred at different points. Perhaps even going over the abstract meaning of famous results in the field, or high level overviews of proofs and their innovations. Conversations between mathematicians at the time, stories about how proofs came to be, etc.



I suppose the best place to start would be math history books, but I was curious what else there may be. Are there any good books out there like this? What are your recommendations?







soft-question big-list textbook-recommendation books






share|cite|improve this question















share|cite|improve this question













share|cite|improve this question




share|cite|improve this question








edited 5 hours ago


























community wiki





user3002473









  • 3




    $begingroup$
    Dieudonne has a few maths history books on algebraic geometry and algebraic geometry, which explain the context in which these fields developed. The Grothendieck-Serre correspondence contains an exchange of letters of who might be the most influential postwar mathematicians. Villani has his book "the birth of a theorem" or something like that.
    $endgroup$
    – Mere Scribe
    8 hours ago






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    This is not history of mathematics, and I don't know if the material can be considered "advanced" in any sense but looks fun: bookstore.ams.org/mbk-46
    $endgroup$
    – Qfwfq
    8 hours ago






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    I really liked Love & Math by Edward Frenkel.
    $endgroup$
    – Fred Rohrer
    8 hours ago






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    I really enjoyed History of Topology by I.M. James. It's a very casual read, but walks you through a lot of "advanced" mathematics.
    $endgroup$
    – yousuf soliman
    6 hours ago






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    Not a book, but the ICM surveys (impa.br/icm2018) are often great for getting a very basic idea of what's going on in various fields outside of one's own.
    $endgroup$
    – Sam Hopkins
    2 hours ago














  • 3




    $begingroup$
    Dieudonne has a few maths history books on algebraic geometry and algebraic geometry, which explain the context in which these fields developed. The Grothendieck-Serre correspondence contains an exchange of letters of who might be the most influential postwar mathematicians. Villani has his book "the birth of a theorem" or something like that.
    $endgroup$
    – Mere Scribe
    8 hours ago






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    This is not history of mathematics, and I don't know if the material can be considered "advanced" in any sense but looks fun: bookstore.ams.org/mbk-46
    $endgroup$
    – Qfwfq
    8 hours ago






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    I really liked Love & Math by Edward Frenkel.
    $endgroup$
    – Fred Rohrer
    8 hours ago






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    I really enjoyed History of Topology by I.M. James. It's a very casual read, but walks you through a lot of "advanced" mathematics.
    $endgroup$
    – yousuf soliman
    6 hours ago






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    Not a book, but the ICM surveys (impa.br/icm2018) are often great for getting a very basic idea of what's going on in various fields outside of one's own.
    $endgroup$
    – Sam Hopkins
    2 hours ago








3




3




$begingroup$
Dieudonne has a few maths history books on algebraic geometry and algebraic geometry, which explain the context in which these fields developed. The Grothendieck-Serre correspondence contains an exchange of letters of who might be the most influential postwar mathematicians. Villani has his book "the birth of a theorem" or something like that.
$endgroup$
– Mere Scribe
8 hours ago




$begingroup$
Dieudonne has a few maths history books on algebraic geometry and algebraic geometry, which explain the context in which these fields developed. The Grothendieck-Serre correspondence contains an exchange of letters of who might be the most influential postwar mathematicians. Villani has his book "the birth of a theorem" or something like that.
$endgroup$
– Mere Scribe
8 hours ago




1




1




$begingroup$
This is not history of mathematics, and I don't know if the material can be considered "advanced" in any sense but looks fun: bookstore.ams.org/mbk-46
$endgroup$
– Qfwfq
8 hours ago




$begingroup$
This is not history of mathematics, and I don't know if the material can be considered "advanced" in any sense but looks fun: bookstore.ams.org/mbk-46
$endgroup$
– Qfwfq
8 hours ago




1




1




$begingroup$
I really liked Love & Math by Edward Frenkel.
$endgroup$
– Fred Rohrer
8 hours ago




$begingroup$
I really liked Love & Math by Edward Frenkel.
$endgroup$
– Fred Rohrer
8 hours ago




1




1




$begingroup$
I really enjoyed History of Topology by I.M. James. It's a very casual read, but walks you through a lot of "advanced" mathematics.
$endgroup$
– yousuf soliman
6 hours ago




$begingroup$
I really enjoyed History of Topology by I.M. James. It's a very casual read, but walks you through a lot of "advanced" mathematics.
$endgroup$
– yousuf soliman
6 hours ago




1




1




$begingroup$
Not a book, but the ICM surveys (impa.br/icm2018) are often great for getting a very basic idea of what's going on in various fields outside of one's own.
$endgroup$
– Sam Hopkins
2 hours ago




$begingroup$
Not a book, but the ICM surveys (impa.br/icm2018) are often great for getting a very basic idea of what's going on in various fields outside of one's own.
$endgroup$
– Sam Hopkins
2 hours ago










8 Answers
8






active

oldest

votes


















11












$begingroup$

What's one person's "higher level topics" is another person's "elementary math", so you should be more specific about the desired level.



But still you may try these books:




  1. Michio Kuga, Galois' dream,


  2. David Mumford, Caroline Series, David Wright, Indra's Pearls,


  3. Hermann Weyl, Symmetry.


  4. Marcel Berger, Geometry revealed,


  5. D. Hilbert and Cohn-Vossen, Geometry and imagination,


  6. T. W. Korner, Fourier Analysis,


  7. T. W. Korner, The pleasures of counting.


  8. A. A. Kirillov, What are numbers?


  9. V. Arnold, Huygens and Barrow, Newton and Hooke.


  10. Mark Levi, Classical mechanics with Calculus of variations
    and optimal control.


  11. Shlomo Sternberg, Group theory and physics,


  12. Shlomo Sternberg, Celestial mechanics.



All these books are written in a leisurely informal style, with a lot of
side remarks and historical background, and almost no prerequisites.






share|cite|improve this answer











$endgroup$













  • $begingroup$
    Kirillov's is "What are numbers?"
    $endgroup$
    – Amir Asghari
    5 hours ago






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    To the reader: the title of Kuga's book might be misleading: the book is not about classical Galois theory (as one might expect), but about some of its more recent extensions, such as fundamental groups of covering spaces or differential Galois theory.
    $endgroup$
    – Alex M.
    5 hours ago










  • $begingroup$
    @Amir Asghari: thanks for the correction. I only have the Russian original.
    $endgroup$
    – Alexandre Eremenko
    13 mins ago



















4












$begingroup$

Elementary Applied Topology by Ghrist does a fantastic job surveying recent trends in the application of (co)homological methods to practical science and engineering. It goes all the way from Euler characteristic to sheaf cohomology.



Oh, and the illustrations, depending on how far you get with deciphering them, are pretty cool too:



enter image description here






share|cite|improve this answer











$endgroup$





















    2












    $begingroup$

    Birth of a Theorem: A Mathematical Adventure, by Cedric Villani. I've linked to a review.






    share|cite|improve this answer











    $endgroup$





















      2












      $begingroup$

      I personally enjoyed The KAM Story by H. Scott Dumas. It gives an overview of the history of KAM theory. Very enjoyable and yet informative.






      share|cite|improve this answer











      $endgroup$





















        2












        $begingroup$

        I think that the "Number Theory" series by Kato, Kurokawa, Kurihara and Saito fits here. They are beautifully written and require only some undergradute algebra and analysis. They were published (translated) in the AMS Translations of Mathematical Monographs:



        Number theory. 1. Fermat's dream



        Number theory. 2. Introduction to class field theory



        Number theory. 3. Iwasawa theory and modular forms






        share|cite|improve this answer











        $endgroup$





















          1












          $begingroup$

          Regarding differential geometry and topology, there is the 3 volume "A Mathematical Gift - The Interplay Between Topology, Functions, Geometry, and Algebra" by K. Ueno, K. Shiga, S. Morita, T. Sunada. The level is "relaxed undergraduate mathematics". The book attempts to bring to the front the intuition behind some of the concepts encountered in geometry. (All the 4 authors are mathematicians working in Japanese universities.)






          share|cite|improve this answer











          $endgroup$





















            1












            $begingroup$

            In 'How to bake a π?', Eugenia Cheng provides a nice view of mathematics in general and category theory in particular that may fit your definition of 'casual'. Either way it is a very nice reading.






            share|cite|improve this answer











            $endgroup$





















              1












              $begingroup$

              I find the Carus Mathematical Monographs to be in this category.



              Also, by Julian Havil - "The Irrationals" and "Exploring Gamma".






              share|cite|improve this answer











              $endgroup$













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                8 Answers
                8






                active

                oldest

                votes








                8 Answers
                8






                active

                oldest

                votes









                active

                oldest

                votes






                active

                oldest

                votes









                11












                $begingroup$

                What's one person's "higher level topics" is another person's "elementary math", so you should be more specific about the desired level.



                But still you may try these books:




                1. Michio Kuga, Galois' dream,


                2. David Mumford, Caroline Series, David Wright, Indra's Pearls,


                3. Hermann Weyl, Symmetry.


                4. Marcel Berger, Geometry revealed,


                5. D. Hilbert and Cohn-Vossen, Geometry and imagination,


                6. T. W. Korner, Fourier Analysis,


                7. T. W. Korner, The pleasures of counting.


                8. A. A. Kirillov, What are numbers?


                9. V. Arnold, Huygens and Barrow, Newton and Hooke.


                10. Mark Levi, Classical mechanics with Calculus of variations
                  and optimal control.


                11. Shlomo Sternberg, Group theory and physics,


                12. Shlomo Sternberg, Celestial mechanics.



                All these books are written in a leisurely informal style, with a lot of
                side remarks and historical background, and almost no prerequisites.






                share|cite|improve this answer











                $endgroup$













                • $begingroup$
                  Kirillov's is "What are numbers?"
                  $endgroup$
                  – Amir Asghari
                  5 hours ago






                • 1




                  $begingroup$
                  To the reader: the title of Kuga's book might be misleading: the book is not about classical Galois theory (as one might expect), but about some of its more recent extensions, such as fundamental groups of covering spaces or differential Galois theory.
                  $endgroup$
                  – Alex M.
                  5 hours ago










                • $begingroup$
                  @Amir Asghari: thanks for the correction. I only have the Russian original.
                  $endgroup$
                  – Alexandre Eremenko
                  13 mins ago
















                11












                $begingroup$

                What's one person's "higher level topics" is another person's "elementary math", so you should be more specific about the desired level.



                But still you may try these books:




                1. Michio Kuga, Galois' dream,


                2. David Mumford, Caroline Series, David Wright, Indra's Pearls,


                3. Hermann Weyl, Symmetry.


                4. Marcel Berger, Geometry revealed,


                5. D. Hilbert and Cohn-Vossen, Geometry and imagination,


                6. T. W. Korner, Fourier Analysis,


                7. T. W. Korner, The pleasures of counting.


                8. A. A. Kirillov, What are numbers?


                9. V. Arnold, Huygens and Barrow, Newton and Hooke.


                10. Mark Levi, Classical mechanics with Calculus of variations
                  and optimal control.


                11. Shlomo Sternberg, Group theory and physics,


                12. Shlomo Sternberg, Celestial mechanics.



                All these books are written in a leisurely informal style, with a lot of
                side remarks and historical background, and almost no prerequisites.






                share|cite|improve this answer











                $endgroup$













                • $begingroup$
                  Kirillov's is "What are numbers?"
                  $endgroup$
                  – Amir Asghari
                  5 hours ago






                • 1




                  $begingroup$
                  To the reader: the title of Kuga's book might be misleading: the book is not about classical Galois theory (as one might expect), but about some of its more recent extensions, such as fundamental groups of covering spaces or differential Galois theory.
                  $endgroup$
                  – Alex M.
                  5 hours ago










                • $begingroup$
                  @Amir Asghari: thanks for the correction. I only have the Russian original.
                  $endgroup$
                  – Alexandre Eremenko
                  13 mins ago














                11












                11








                11





                $begingroup$

                What's one person's "higher level topics" is another person's "elementary math", so you should be more specific about the desired level.



                But still you may try these books:




                1. Michio Kuga, Galois' dream,


                2. David Mumford, Caroline Series, David Wright, Indra's Pearls,


                3. Hermann Weyl, Symmetry.


                4. Marcel Berger, Geometry revealed,


                5. D. Hilbert and Cohn-Vossen, Geometry and imagination,


                6. T. W. Korner, Fourier Analysis,


                7. T. W. Korner, The pleasures of counting.


                8. A. A. Kirillov, What are numbers?


                9. V. Arnold, Huygens and Barrow, Newton and Hooke.


                10. Mark Levi, Classical mechanics with Calculus of variations
                  and optimal control.


                11. Shlomo Sternberg, Group theory and physics,


                12. Shlomo Sternberg, Celestial mechanics.



                All these books are written in a leisurely informal style, with a lot of
                side remarks and historical background, and almost no prerequisites.






                share|cite|improve this answer











                $endgroup$



                What's one person's "higher level topics" is another person's "elementary math", so you should be more specific about the desired level.



                But still you may try these books:




                1. Michio Kuga, Galois' dream,


                2. David Mumford, Caroline Series, David Wright, Indra's Pearls,


                3. Hermann Weyl, Symmetry.


                4. Marcel Berger, Geometry revealed,


                5. D. Hilbert and Cohn-Vossen, Geometry and imagination,


                6. T. W. Korner, Fourier Analysis,


                7. T. W. Korner, The pleasures of counting.


                8. A. A. Kirillov, What are numbers?


                9. V. Arnold, Huygens and Barrow, Newton and Hooke.


                10. Mark Levi, Classical mechanics with Calculus of variations
                  and optimal control.


                11. Shlomo Sternberg, Group theory and physics,


                12. Shlomo Sternberg, Celestial mechanics.



                All these books are written in a leisurely informal style, with a lot of
                side remarks and historical background, and almost no prerequisites.







                share|cite|improve this answer














                share|cite|improve this answer



                share|cite|improve this answer








                edited 36 secs ago


























                community wiki





                4 revs
                Alexandre Eremenko













                • $begingroup$
                  Kirillov's is "What are numbers?"
                  $endgroup$
                  – Amir Asghari
                  5 hours ago






                • 1




                  $begingroup$
                  To the reader: the title of Kuga's book might be misleading: the book is not about classical Galois theory (as one might expect), but about some of its more recent extensions, such as fundamental groups of covering spaces or differential Galois theory.
                  $endgroup$
                  – Alex M.
                  5 hours ago










                • $begingroup$
                  @Amir Asghari: thanks for the correction. I only have the Russian original.
                  $endgroup$
                  – Alexandre Eremenko
                  13 mins ago


















                • $begingroup$
                  Kirillov's is "What are numbers?"
                  $endgroup$
                  – Amir Asghari
                  5 hours ago






                • 1




                  $begingroup$
                  To the reader: the title of Kuga's book might be misleading: the book is not about classical Galois theory (as one might expect), but about some of its more recent extensions, such as fundamental groups of covering spaces or differential Galois theory.
                  $endgroup$
                  – Alex M.
                  5 hours ago










                • $begingroup$
                  @Amir Asghari: thanks for the correction. I only have the Russian original.
                  $endgroup$
                  – Alexandre Eremenko
                  13 mins ago
















                $begingroup$
                Kirillov's is "What are numbers?"
                $endgroup$
                – Amir Asghari
                5 hours ago




                $begingroup$
                Kirillov's is "What are numbers?"
                $endgroup$
                – Amir Asghari
                5 hours ago




                1




                1




                $begingroup$
                To the reader: the title of Kuga's book might be misleading: the book is not about classical Galois theory (as one might expect), but about some of its more recent extensions, such as fundamental groups of covering spaces or differential Galois theory.
                $endgroup$
                – Alex M.
                5 hours ago




                $begingroup$
                To the reader: the title of Kuga's book might be misleading: the book is not about classical Galois theory (as one might expect), but about some of its more recent extensions, such as fundamental groups of covering spaces or differential Galois theory.
                $endgroup$
                – Alex M.
                5 hours ago












                $begingroup$
                @Amir Asghari: thanks for the correction. I only have the Russian original.
                $endgroup$
                – Alexandre Eremenko
                13 mins ago




                $begingroup$
                @Amir Asghari: thanks for the correction. I only have the Russian original.
                $endgroup$
                – Alexandre Eremenko
                13 mins ago











                4












                $begingroup$

                Elementary Applied Topology by Ghrist does a fantastic job surveying recent trends in the application of (co)homological methods to practical science and engineering. It goes all the way from Euler characteristic to sheaf cohomology.



                Oh, and the illustrations, depending on how far you get with deciphering them, are pretty cool too:



                enter image description here






                share|cite|improve this answer











                $endgroup$


















                  4












                  $begingroup$

                  Elementary Applied Topology by Ghrist does a fantastic job surveying recent trends in the application of (co)homological methods to practical science and engineering. It goes all the way from Euler characteristic to sheaf cohomology.



                  Oh, and the illustrations, depending on how far you get with deciphering them, are pretty cool too:



                  enter image description here






                  share|cite|improve this answer











                  $endgroup$
















                    4












                    4








                    4





                    $begingroup$

                    Elementary Applied Topology by Ghrist does a fantastic job surveying recent trends in the application of (co)homological methods to practical science and engineering. It goes all the way from Euler characteristic to sheaf cohomology.



                    Oh, and the illustrations, depending on how far you get with deciphering them, are pretty cool too:



                    enter image description here






                    share|cite|improve this answer











                    $endgroup$



                    Elementary Applied Topology by Ghrist does a fantastic job surveying recent trends in the application of (co)homological methods to practical science and engineering. It goes all the way from Euler characteristic to sheaf cohomology.



                    Oh, and the illustrations, depending on how far you get with deciphering them, are pretty cool too:



                    enter image description here







                    share|cite|improve this answer














                    share|cite|improve this answer



                    share|cite|improve this answer








                    answered 5 hours ago


























                    community wiki





                    Vidit Nanda
























                        2












                        $begingroup$

                        Birth of a Theorem: A Mathematical Adventure, by Cedric Villani. I've linked to a review.






                        share|cite|improve this answer











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                          Birth of a Theorem: A Mathematical Adventure, by Cedric Villani. I've linked to a review.






                          share|cite|improve this answer











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                            Birth of a Theorem: A Mathematical Adventure, by Cedric Villani. I've linked to a review.






                            share|cite|improve this answer











                            $endgroup$



                            Birth of a Theorem: A Mathematical Adventure, by Cedric Villani. I've linked to a review.







                            share|cite|improve this answer














                            share|cite|improve this answer



                            share|cite|improve this answer








                            answered 6 hours ago


























                            community wiki





                            Gerry Myerson
























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                                I personally enjoyed The KAM Story by H. Scott Dumas. It gives an overview of the history of KAM theory. Very enjoyable and yet informative.






                                share|cite|improve this answer











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                                  $begingroup$

                                  I personally enjoyed The KAM Story by H. Scott Dumas. It gives an overview of the history of KAM theory. Very enjoyable and yet informative.






                                  share|cite|improve this answer











                                  $endgroup$
















                                    2












                                    2








                                    2





                                    $begingroup$

                                    I personally enjoyed The KAM Story by H. Scott Dumas. It gives an overview of the history of KAM theory. Very enjoyable and yet informative.






                                    share|cite|improve this answer











                                    $endgroup$



                                    I personally enjoyed The KAM Story by H. Scott Dumas. It gives an overview of the history of KAM theory. Very enjoyable and yet informative.







                                    share|cite|improve this answer














                                    share|cite|improve this answer



                                    share|cite|improve this answer








                                    answered 6 hours ago


























                                    community wiki





                                    Severin Schraven
























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                                        I think that the "Number Theory" series by Kato, Kurokawa, Kurihara and Saito fits here. They are beautifully written and require only some undergradute algebra and analysis. They were published (translated) in the AMS Translations of Mathematical Monographs:



                                        Number theory. 1. Fermat's dream



                                        Number theory. 2. Introduction to class field theory



                                        Number theory. 3. Iwasawa theory and modular forms






                                        share|cite|improve this answer











                                        $endgroup$


















                                          2












                                          $begingroup$

                                          I think that the "Number Theory" series by Kato, Kurokawa, Kurihara and Saito fits here. They are beautifully written and require only some undergradute algebra and analysis. They were published (translated) in the AMS Translations of Mathematical Monographs:



                                          Number theory. 1. Fermat's dream



                                          Number theory. 2. Introduction to class field theory



                                          Number theory. 3. Iwasawa theory and modular forms






                                          share|cite|improve this answer











                                          $endgroup$
















                                            2












                                            2








                                            2





                                            $begingroup$

                                            I think that the "Number Theory" series by Kato, Kurokawa, Kurihara and Saito fits here. They are beautifully written and require only some undergradute algebra and analysis. They were published (translated) in the AMS Translations of Mathematical Monographs:



                                            Number theory. 1. Fermat's dream



                                            Number theory. 2. Introduction to class field theory



                                            Number theory. 3. Iwasawa theory and modular forms






                                            share|cite|improve this answer











                                            $endgroup$



                                            I think that the "Number Theory" series by Kato, Kurokawa, Kurihara and Saito fits here. They are beautifully written and require only some undergradute algebra and analysis. They were published (translated) in the AMS Translations of Mathematical Monographs:



                                            Number theory. 1. Fermat's dream



                                            Number theory. 2. Introduction to class field theory



                                            Number theory. 3. Iwasawa theory and modular forms







                                            share|cite|improve this answer














                                            share|cite|improve this answer



                                            share|cite|improve this answer








                                            edited 1 hour ago


























                                            community wiki





                                            2 revs, 2 users 95%
                                            EFinat-S
























                                                1












                                                $begingroup$

                                                Regarding differential geometry and topology, there is the 3 volume "A Mathematical Gift - The Interplay Between Topology, Functions, Geometry, and Algebra" by K. Ueno, K. Shiga, S. Morita, T. Sunada. The level is "relaxed undergraduate mathematics". The book attempts to bring to the front the intuition behind some of the concepts encountered in geometry. (All the 4 authors are mathematicians working in Japanese universities.)






                                                share|cite|improve this answer











                                                $endgroup$


















                                                  1












                                                  $begingroup$

                                                  Regarding differential geometry and topology, there is the 3 volume "A Mathematical Gift - The Interplay Between Topology, Functions, Geometry, and Algebra" by K. Ueno, K. Shiga, S. Morita, T. Sunada. The level is "relaxed undergraduate mathematics". The book attempts to bring to the front the intuition behind some of the concepts encountered in geometry. (All the 4 authors are mathematicians working in Japanese universities.)






                                                  share|cite|improve this answer











                                                  $endgroup$
















                                                    1












                                                    1








                                                    1





                                                    $begingroup$

                                                    Regarding differential geometry and topology, there is the 3 volume "A Mathematical Gift - The Interplay Between Topology, Functions, Geometry, and Algebra" by K. Ueno, K. Shiga, S. Morita, T. Sunada. The level is "relaxed undergraduate mathematics". The book attempts to bring to the front the intuition behind some of the concepts encountered in geometry. (All the 4 authors are mathematicians working in Japanese universities.)






                                                    share|cite|improve this answer











                                                    $endgroup$



                                                    Regarding differential geometry and topology, there is the 3 volume "A Mathematical Gift - The Interplay Between Topology, Functions, Geometry, and Algebra" by K. Ueno, K. Shiga, S. Morita, T. Sunada. The level is "relaxed undergraduate mathematics". The book attempts to bring to the front the intuition behind some of the concepts encountered in geometry. (All the 4 authors are mathematicians working in Japanese universities.)







                                                    share|cite|improve this answer














                                                    share|cite|improve this answer



                                                    share|cite|improve this answer








                                                    answered 5 hours ago


























                                                    community wiki





                                                    Alex M.
























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                                                        $begingroup$

                                                        In 'How to bake a π?', Eugenia Cheng provides a nice view of mathematics in general and category theory in particular that may fit your definition of 'casual'. Either way it is a very nice reading.






                                                        share|cite|improve this answer











                                                        $endgroup$


















                                                          1












                                                          $begingroup$

                                                          In 'How to bake a π?', Eugenia Cheng provides a nice view of mathematics in general and category theory in particular that may fit your definition of 'casual'. Either way it is a very nice reading.






                                                          share|cite|improve this answer











                                                          $endgroup$
















                                                            1












                                                            1








                                                            1





                                                            $begingroup$

                                                            In 'How to bake a π?', Eugenia Cheng provides a nice view of mathematics in general and category theory in particular that may fit your definition of 'casual'. Either way it is a very nice reading.






                                                            share|cite|improve this answer











                                                            $endgroup$



                                                            In 'How to bake a π?', Eugenia Cheng provides a nice view of mathematics in general and category theory in particular that may fit your definition of 'casual'. Either way it is a very nice reading.







                                                            share|cite|improve this answer














                                                            share|cite|improve this answer



                                                            share|cite|improve this answer








                                                            answered 5 hours ago


























                                                            community wiki





                                                            Melquíades Ochoa
























                                                                1












                                                                $begingroup$

                                                                I find the Carus Mathematical Monographs to be in this category.



                                                                Also, by Julian Havil - "The Irrationals" and "Exploring Gamma".






                                                                share|cite|improve this answer











                                                                $endgroup$


















                                                                  1












                                                                  $begingroup$

                                                                  I find the Carus Mathematical Monographs to be in this category.



                                                                  Also, by Julian Havil - "The Irrationals" and "Exploring Gamma".






                                                                  share|cite|improve this answer











                                                                  $endgroup$
















                                                                    1












                                                                    1








                                                                    1





                                                                    $begingroup$

                                                                    I find the Carus Mathematical Monographs to be in this category.



                                                                    Also, by Julian Havil - "The Irrationals" and "Exploring Gamma".






                                                                    share|cite|improve this answer











                                                                    $endgroup$



                                                                    I find the Carus Mathematical Monographs to be in this category.



                                                                    Also, by Julian Havil - "The Irrationals" and "Exploring Gamma".







                                                                    share|cite|improve this answer














                                                                    share|cite|improve this answer



                                                                    share|cite|improve this answer








                                                                    edited 2 hours ago


























                                                                    community wiki





                                                                    2 revs, 2 users 80%
                                                                    David Campen































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