His ideas turned the mathematical world on its head. He calculated the currents of liquids, the moment of inertia, developed the calculus of variations and the modern number theory. As a scientist he should be placed on the same level as Newton and Einstein. Engineers all over the world use his formulas every day - whether it be for constructing the hull of the "Alinghi" or for calculating the vibrations of the "Viaduc de Millau", the world's highest motorway bridge. This account of Euler's life and livings is embedded in the great political developments of his time, particularly in Austria, Prussia and Russia. The comic by Elena Pini (illustrations) and Alice and Andreas K. Heyne (text) follows the life of the genius from Basel, who, born 300 years ago, would set out to change the scientific world. The book is completed by a short biography of Euler and relevant data of the most important politicians and contemporaries.
Rezensionen / Stimmen
From the reviews:
"This is the wittiest biography of Euler I have ever read. The two authors of the text and the artist are extremely well acquainted with all aspects of Euler's life. . It is the ideal gift for a mathematician and all those who like mathematics and are able to smile about the amiable human weaknesses of a mathematician." (Eberhard Knobloch, Zentralblatt MATH, Vol. 1179, 2010)
"The authors and illustrator describe the most important moments from Euler's live in Switzerland, Russia and Germany. They show his significant discoveries in fields as divers as analysis, algebra, geometry, topology, mechanics, optics, astronomy, geography etc. The book written like a modern comics is a remarkable and easily readable story and can be recommended to children, students and their teachers to attract their interest to mathematics and scientific research." (Martina Becvárová, Mathematica Bohemica, Issue 2, 2010)
"This interesting and delightfully illustrated comic book describes and depicts the life of the mathematical genius, Leonhard Euler, in celebration of the 300th anniversary of his birthday. . The book is recommended for general, light reading, and is especially suitable for a school library . . for the scholar of the history of mathematics, or a mathematics student interested in some historical background, it will be a useful starting point." (Michael de Villiers, The Mathematical Gazette, Vol. 94 (531), November, 2010)
