Monge's legacy of descriptive and differential geometry (Q2813267)

Gaspard Monge is a well-known figure of French mathematics and the French Revolution and Empire. He was a creative mathematician, an inspiring teacher and an able organizer. After Napoleon's defeat in Waterloo in 1815, Monge lost all his positions and did not survive long to this infamous treatment.NEWLINENEWLINEAfter a chapter recalling the main events of Monge's life and career, the book under review describes Monge's contributions to geometry, the essential part of his mathematical activity. Descriptive geometry is considered first, but the main emphasis of the book is a description of Monge's fundamental contributions to differential geometry. Lagrange said about him, in a prophetic way: ``With his applications of analysis to geometry, this man will become immortal''. The author places special emphasis upon a number of special curves and surfaces considered by Monge in order to motivate their treatment using Maple software. A chapter is devoted to Monge's students Charles Dupin and Jean-Victor Poncelet. Some appendices give a list of papers and books of Monge, the courses and staff at the École Polytechnique from 1794 till 1825, the program of Monge's lecture on descriptive geomety at the Écoles Normales, and copies and translations of some of his letters.NEWLINENEWLINEThis is an interesting contribution to the meager literature about Monge in English language.