The Bones

A handy where-to-find-it pocket reference companion to Euclid’s Elements

Based on the translation by T. L. Heath

5 x 7", 212 pages.
Publication date, October 2002
For pricing and ordering information, see the ordering section below.

Euclid's Elements coverThe Bones, a concise overview of Euclid's Elements, provides all the propositions and diagrams without the detailed proofs. Readers can use it to see the scope and structure of Elements, identify exactly what Euclid covers and what he doesn't, and to find the location of remembered propositions.

The Table of Contents lists the subject matter of each book, number of propositions, and locations of definitions, to further assist the reader in seeing the scope and structure of Elements and to examine Euclid's treatment of specific areas.

Equally at home in backpack or pocket, on desk or bedside table, it has enjoyable possibilities limited only by your imagination.

Its sturdy construction, heavy cover, and rounded corners make The Bones an excellent traveler. Tuck it into your pack when headed for a week in the backcountry — or a wait at the airport — and pull it out to offer yourself the entertainment of trying to reconstruct the proofs on your own.

Read through this succinct presentation of the statements of Euclid’s propositions, with their diagrams, to see the ingenious and elegant structure of Elements emerge.

The Bones is valuable for anyone reading authors who cite Euclid, and especially for readers of authors who, like Newton, rely on Euclid without always citing the specific propositions.

Features

  • Concise overview of Euclid's Elements
  • Includes propositions and diagrams without detailed proofs
  • Comprehensive annotated Table of Contents
  • Sturdy construction with rounded corners


Reviews

This is one of those books that should be in every mathematical library, academic and personal. It contains a distillation of "Euclid's Elements"; all the common notions, definitions, postulates, and propositions. All that is missing are the proofs. As such, it is the best quick geometry reference in existence and has been placed on my reference shelf where it will remain until it is wore out and I need to purchase another copy. I would argue that it is the most significant 200 pages of published mathematics now in existence.

— Goodreads.com


Sample pages

Below are links to PDF versions of the Annotated Table of Contents and Sample pages from Book III.
You may need to open these PDF documents in Adobe Reader or an equivalent program.


Ordering Information for The Bones

Sewn softcover, ISBN 978-1-888009-21-7, list price: $12.95.

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