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2012d.00018 Gonz\'alez-Velasco, Enrique A. Journey through mathematics. Creative episodes in its history. Berlin: Springer (ISBN 978-0-387-92153-2/hbk; 978-0-387-92154-9/ebook). xi, 466~p. EUR~59.95/net; SFR~86.00; \$~79.95; \sterling~53.99 (2011). 2011 Berlin: Springer EN A30 history of mathematics textbook

doi:10.1007/978-0-387-92154-9

As the author states in the preface, the present book owes its existence to the retirement of a colleague of the author who used to teach History of Maths. Forced to give the course by himself he had to single out some events in the history of mathematics which would give the students a guideline on a {\it Journey through Mathematics} -- the title of the present book. The book is affectionately written and one feels on nearly every page that the author eventually fell in love with his subjects. He decided in favour of eight subjects in the history of maths, namely: Trigonometry, Logarithms, Complex Numbers, Infinite Series, The Calculus, and Convergence, and these topics already determine the chapter headings. The book not only lives from the witty descriptions of what was going on mathematically by a working mathematician, but also from an extensive study of sources. Many illustrations from those sources as well as modern drawings and copper engravings of the mathematicians involved contribute to the readability of the text and invite the reader rummaging in the book. This is an honest book. Don't expect stories or even anecdotes about mathematicians or in-depth historical analyses of the times these mathematicians lived in. You need pencil and paper to work through the book but if you are willing to spend time and energy the book will start paying back. Students of mathematics, mathematicians with an inclination towards the history of their subject, and teachers of mathematics will profit much from this book. Thomas Sonar (Braunschweig)