Abstract
IT is evident from this book, which is concerned with differential geometry, that Dr. Bagchi knows a great deal of mathematics and that he is a charming man, but it is equally clear that he would have been well advised not to publish this work in its present form. It consists of a kind of commentary or gloss on Forsyth's “Differential Geometry,” to which the author makes handsome acknowledgments—see in particular on p. 228 the disarming way in which he ventures to point out a misprint. He deals at great length with rather elementary and trivial points, referring to Forsyth for the serious algebra and for the explanation of his terms, so that the book is unintelligible by itself. There are long digressions on such matters as homogeneous functions and Jacobians, in which the author has really nothing to say which should not be well known to any one beginning the subject. In fact, the book would be intolerably prolix and quite unreadable were it not for the delightfully quaint turns of speech which are to be found on every other page, but from which, in spite of the temptation, we refrain from quoting. Twenty rupees is a large sum to pay for this kind of amusement; after all, Mr. Anstey has done it quite as well long ago. It is a great pity, because Dr. Bagchi is undoubtedly capable of doing good work in mathematics, if he would not spread himself so much.
A Course of Geometrical Analysis.
Dr.
Haridas
Bagchi
By. Pp. xi + 562. (Calcutta: Chuckervertty, Chatterji and Co., Ltd., 1926.) 20 rupees.
Article PDF
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
A Course of Geometrical Analysis . Nature 118, 766 (1926). https://doi.org/10.1038/118766c0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/118766c0