A quest for perspectives. Selected works of S. Chandrasekhar. With commentary. Edited by Kameshwar C. Wali. Vols. 1 and 2 (Q2781420)

In `Selected papers' published by the University of Chicago Press in seven volumes [see Vol 2 (1989; Zbl 0749.01014), Vol. 3 (1989; Zbl 0734.01025), Vol. 4 (1989; Zbl 0734.01026), Vol. 7 (1997; Zbl 0999.01526)], an extensive collection of \textit{S. Chandrasekhar}'s publications can be found. The goal here is to present a smaller anthology which will be more ``affordable and accessible to individual researchers''. The text is divided into parts that correspond to periods into which S. Chandrasekhar's scientific life can be divided.NEWLINENEWLINEPart one mainly deals with the theory of white dwarfs and stellar interiors. The main contribution consists in showing that white dwarfs cannot be too massive. Part two presents his results related to radiative transfer, the polarization of the sky due to solar radiation, the ionization of the hydrogen atom. Part three displays four publications involved with statistical methods and applications in astronomy. Part four shows works in turbulence (still using statistical methods). Let us notice a second instance where S. Chandrasekhar attacks problems previously dealt with by Rayleigh. Part five focusses on topics related to hydrodynamic stability.NEWLINENEWLINEIn Volume two, Part six is devoted to ellipsoidal figures of equilibrium. (Let us observe here a filiation with Lyapunov.) Here, one looks at problems in stellar dynamics as well as gaseous masses and their oscillation. The methods use the virial theorem or are variational. Part seven treats dynamical problems in astronomy and related ones in the framework of general relativity. Part eight deals with black holes within general relativity via perturbation methods. Part nine develops further work on oscillations in stars in a relativistic context. Finally one finds a set of miscellaneous writings of historical, psychological or cultural interest.NEWLINENEWLINEThe title refers to a citation of S. Chandrasekhar ``\dots my scientific work has followed a certain pattern motivated principally by a quest for perspectives''. Even if this pattern has been divided into periods (somewhat like P. Picasso), a continuity exists between them and the evolution is not necessarily seen as a succession of successful hopes between new problems: The fundamental object to study is the understanding of stellar structure and dynamics, and the perspectives are enrichments in the methods of investigation (quantum mechanics, relativity, stochastic methods, \dots) giving increased depth to this understanding.