Ideas of Space

Ideas of Space is a lively and readable account of the development of Euclidean, non-Euclidean, and relativistic ideas of the shape of the universe. Jeremy Gray reviews the history of geometry from classical times and shows how it ledto the formulation of Einstein's theories of special and general relativity which today form the basis of our conception of the universe.

In this second edition the author has updated much of the material, and has added a new chapter on the emerging story of the Arabic contribution to this fascinating aspect of the history of mathematics.