Although she was famous as the "mother of modern algebra," Emmy Noether's life and work have never been the subject of an authoritative scientific biography.
Emmy Noether - Mathematician Extraordinaire represents the most comprehensive study of this singularly important mathematician to date. Focusing on key turning points, it aims to provide an overall interpretation of Noether's intellectual development while offering a new assessment of her role in transforming the mathematics of the twentieth century.
Hermann Weyl, her colleague before both fled to the United States in 1933, fully recognized that Noether's dynamic school was the very heart and soul of the famous Göttingen community. Beyond her immediate circle of students, Emmy Noether's lectures and seminars drew talented mathematicians from all over the world. Four of the most important were B.L. van der Waerden, Pavel Alexandrov, Helmut Hasse, and Olga Taussky. Noether's classic papers on ideal theory inspiredvan der Waerden to recast his research in algebraic geometry. Her lectures on group theory motivated Alexandrov to develop links between point set topology and combinatorial methods. Noether's vision for a new approach to algebraic number theory gave Hasse the impetus to pursue a line of research that led to the Brauer-Hasse-Noether Theorem, whereas her abstract style clashed with Taussky's approach to classical class field theory during a difficult time when both were trying to find their footing in a foreign country.
Although similar to Proving It Her Way: Emmy Noether, a Life in Mathematics, this lengthier study addresses mathematically minded readers. Thus, it presents a detailed analysis of Emmy Noether's work with Hilbert and Klein on mathematical problems connected with Einstein's theory of relativity. These efforts culminated with her famous paper "Invariant Variational Problems," published one year before she joined the Göttingen faculty in 1919.
Rezensionen / Stimmen
"Throughout this book there is discussion of a great variety of mathematical topics . . David Rowe is to be congratulated on the production of this fine book. He provides a vivid presentation of Emmy Noether as a warmly magnanimous person and gives an exact account of her achievements in the context of early twentieth century mathematics." (P. N. Ruane, The Mathematical Gazette, Vol. 107 (570), November, 2023)
"The text is carefully written and dotted with references to and direct quotations from original sources . . I strongly recommend this book to everyone who is interested in Emmy Noether or the history of mathematics in general. It does an excellent job at what it sets out to do, namely, provide a full picture of Emmy Noether's mathematics in its historical context. Certainly it would also serve well as a textbook for a lecture on the matter." (Alexander Bors, SIAM Review, Vol. 65 (3),2023)
"Rowe's book is not only a further work on Noether's life and mathematical achievements but a much more comprehensive and more detailed one than its predecessors." (Karl-Heinz Schlote, Mathematical Reviews, May, 2022)
"This book presents the most comprehensive to date view of the life of Emmy Noether . . It also collects numerous complimentary opinions about Noether's research and publications . . this book well enhances its coverage by presenting a broad spectrum . . The book is well written, enhanced by a good number of rare photographs, and is a valuable contribution to a better understanding of an important period in the life of mathematics and her daughter Emmy Noether." (Alexander Soifer, zbMATH 1473.01005, 2021)
"Emmy Noether Mathematician Extraordinaire is a wonderful mathematical biography of Emmy Noether which provides the reader with an interesting overview of her life, mathematical contributions, and perseverance over discrimination. A reader desiring specific details about how Emmy Noether earned her title of the mother of Abstract Algebra, along with the fascinating biographical details, would benefit from reading this book." (Cynthia J. Huffman, MAA Reviews, July 4, 2021)
