Florin Diacu is Associate Professor of Mathematics at the University of Victoria in Canada. Philip Holmes, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, is Professor of Mechanics and Applied Mathematics at Princeton University, where he directs the Program in Applied and Computational Mathematics.
"One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 1997"
"[S]tories about the history of celestial mechanics are the subject
of this delightful book. The authors interweave numerous anecdotes
about the personalities involved in the discoveries with technical
details of the mathematical ideas themselves. . . . a pleasant mix
of things technical and things historical. . . . written in a
lively and informative way."---Robert L. Devaney, Science
"This book, which should be required reading for every
nonspecialist astronomer, may well be headed toward becoming a
classic."
*Choice*
"A particular strength of Celestial Encounters is the impression,
conveyed with a deft touch, that mathematics is an international
and collective effort made by real people for real reasons in the
real world. All the players in the drama, alive or dead, come over
as human beings who happen to have a passion for mathematics and an
ability to fulfill that passion. This feature alone justifies
buying the book."---Ian Stewart, New Scientist
"A lively introduction to the fascinating story of celestial
mechanics."---Jacques Laskar, Nature
"Throughout the book one finds a vital quality that derives from
the authors' real success in presenting mathematics as a human
endeavor.... A valuable and accessible contribution to the chaos
literature."---June Barrow-Green, Isis
"A pleasant mix of things technical and things historical....
Written in a lively and informative way."---Robert Devaney, Science
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