NONFICTION - Jan. 4, 1987

MATHEMATICAL MODELS: FROM THE COLLECTIONS OF UNIVERSITIES AND MUSEUMS, edited by Gerd Fischer (Friedrich Vieweg & Sohn: $48 for the set: Vol. 1, Commentary, 83 pp.; Vol. 2, Models, 129 pp.) is a two-volume set dealing with the representation of mathematical formulas in three-dimensional models. The first volume contains 132 photographs of unusual but mathematically rigorous clay models, and the second volume contains explanations and commentary on the shapes. The second volume requires some mathematical background, while the first is breathtaking in its simplicity and beauty. Both volumes are published as part of the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the publisher, Friedrich Vieweg & Sohn of Branuschweig and Wiesbaden, Germany. There are probably not too many publishers in the world that have been in business for more than two centuries.