"Donal O'Shea's beautifully written new book, The Poincaré Conjecture, begins with a quick tour of the history of ideas of geometry and topology that set the stage for Poincaré . . . O'Shea goes on to trace the history of modern geometry and the mathematical giants who founded it in the second half of the 19th century . . . No matter what their mathematical background, readers will find much to further stimulate their interest and will learn about both the history of mathematics and its most recent spectacular advances. The book should also be required reading for mathematicians, who will derive great pleasure from seeing their subject so well presented. It should serve as a model to inspire more good general writing by mathematicians, whose field has so much worth explaining."—John Morgan, American Scientist

"The volume gets off to a bracing start, deftly dismantling creationist arguments that the astonishing complexity of life could have come about only through the efforts of a master designer, by succinctly showing how Darwin's theory of natural selection and free-market economics provide well-confirmed alternative explanations for the evolution of complex systems . . . Writing in clear, direct prose, Paulos shows how even everyday references to purpose and intention can be easily reformulated in scientific, nonpurposive terms."—Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times